Reasons For and Against Comments on Blogs Such as www.TodaysTen.com

In true TodaysTen's Fashion, I have came up with a list. 5 reasons each for allowing or not allowing comments on TodaysTen.com. From this post on, I will be running a trial to see if comments really do increase both the quantity and quality of readership. Of course I would hope that comments will stay and make TodaysTen and me a better resource for you.

5+5 Reasons for/Against comments on Blogs

The 5 reasons TO allow comments:

1. Readers become contributors and are more engaged
-> a. Readers are smart people and they can contribute intelligent viewpoints. Give them a chance!

2. Allow contributors to link to their blog
-> a. I would like to get into the head of my readers. So link your blog from your comments and I will visit your blog. If you do not have a blog, consider starting one. (for some advanced customization of blogs, read my article on 10 Young & Free Web Services you can use on your blog

3. Allow off topic discussion that may become the focus of your next post
-> a. I plan my writing every Sunday. The week's writing is usually planned and written before the day of posting. I like to have a buffer in case I run out of topics to write. However I might still run out of ideas. So please tell me what else you are interested in and I will do my research and write an article on it.

4. Allow you to know what your readers are reading and who they are
-> a. So far this blog has been a one way conversation. What do you all think of my writing so far? What else would you like to read?

5. Allow for self improvement through criticism
-> a. I would like readers to point out my mistakes and shortcoming. If you had been consistently reading my blog, you would have a sense that I like self improvement. One of the best ways is through CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. So please help me by commenting on my short comings and how I can improve them.

The 5 reasons NOT TO allow comments:

6. Spam Comments
-> a. Useless comment that says "I agree/disagree", "Good Job/lousy job" etc
-> b. Truly spam comments from bots and people who have nothing to contribute and just want to promote their obviously glaring ulterior motives