Another milestone in my re-imagining journey for the new Honest Apothecary blog had to do with the issue of comments. Social media is virtually built upon the foundation of a commenting crowd. The number of comments on a post is a sort of status symbol in the content creation world. Comments on a blog are like signatures on a petition. The more the better. The comment section following some posts resembles a CVS pharmacy receipt. It goes on and on.
But comments come with cost.
Moderation
The first cost of comments is just the time it takes to moderate them. If you allow comments to be approved without moderation, sometimes some seedy stuff gets through. Not my style. So the alternative is to require each comment to patient sit in the virtual waiting room of the blogosphere until ushered into the public by the admin’s approval. I would rather invest my time writing than comment checking.
SPAM
The other perpetual issue with comments is the never ending battle with SPAM. No, not the canned meat product. I’m referring to the often bot-created nonsense left in comment sections with clickable links meant to lure unsuspecting readers away into potentially risky websites. SPAM weighs on the soul of a WordPress blogger. It comes in and clutters up your content management system, creating columns of chaos that I’m compelled to clean.
Yes, I’m well aware of the available SPAM filters that exist. I’ve found the best of them to be only marginally effective at keeping out the pests, while at the same time they are maximally effective at annoying honest readers who just want to say thanks. The SPAM filters are a two-edged sword, frustrating both friend and foe at the same time.
If you find yourself needing a mental break at the moment, feel free to listen to the classic Monty Python skit on SPAM. It’s 3 minutes you will never get back, and for that I apologize. But sometimes we all just need a little cognitive downtime.
Preferring Connections to Comments
Personally I prefer connections and contact more than comments. In all of my decades of blogging, I cannot remember a single valuable and thoughtful interchange that grew out of the comment section of any of my blogs or posts. Yes, I received some very kind compliments. Those were nice. But at this stage in my life I’m looking for more substantial interactions. These typically come from those who want to reach out via the contact form. Yes, those can become riddled with SPAM as well, but I find they are more effectively blocked by most filters today. .
Those who choose to reach out via my contact page will find that I, more often than not, will respond and interact, particularly if the person is looking for information or advice.
Contact Page Connections are like Nachos
To use a food illustration (I must be hungry), the little comments left at the bottom of a post are like a dry plate of tortilla chips. Sure, they will fill you up. They can be a satisfying salty snack when you need to moderate those munchies. They are also fast and easy.
But a plate of nachos is on a different level altogether. Sure, they take more time. But that’s the point! Much more is invested in a plate of nachos than a pile of naked chips. And you can taste the difference.
For me, someone reaching out via my contact page is like that delicious plate of nachos, while comments left at the end of a post are only so many chips poured out on a paper plate.
By the way, the specific pile of delicious nachos that you see in the featured image of this post came from a recent trip my wife and I made to the good folks over at Gator’s Pub in North Smithfield, RI.
So if you too prefer a cheesy plate of nachos to a boring plate of naked chips, head over to my contact page and drop me a line.
