On Blog Comments
I’ve realised recently that the comments form on my blog is almost meaningless. I generally just get the spam messages, which I, of course, decline without even thinking. I don’t know why the comment system should even be put in place anymore. The spam bots have ruined the website, the web, by the way. I don’t know what other mechanisms exist for writing or actually responding to blog posts online.
There was a time when comments were the most fun. Writing long posts and discussing them with people, and their thoughts about those posts, was really wonderful. People used to visit and drop in short comments, saying either that they liked the post or that it was good to read. They would even, for that matter, just respond to a particular point that I was trying to make in the post.
Most of the time, it was harmless. It was good. It was good to read those comments. It was good to see responses coming in on the post, which doesn’t happen anymore. It’s all spam bots trying to fill the comments with links to some random shit that doesn’t matter to anyone and shouldn’t matter to anyone. I don’t even know why they try. Of course, they are dumb. That’s why they keep trying to send the same comments again and again, and they just don’t work. Most, if not all, rudimentary spam filters should catch it.
I don’t have a very sophisticated comment system. I kept it very simple by adding a layer of comment moderation where I either approve or reject comments. More often than not, I’m just rejecting the comments. Or marking them as spam.
I wonder why I should even have that comment system anymore? Maybe I should just get rid of it. Put back the reply-by-email option, not that anybody does.
I don’t know whether the interaction on the web is dying. Maybe it’s just the socials that matter these days, and that’s why cross-posting to social media is becoming so important. I don’t know whether that really works. Even if it does not, that’s fine.
I guess that’s what happens with technology. The new replaces the old, and some things just disappear along the way. The blog comments probably died with social media posts, where likes, replies, and reposts got more attention than small interactions, a nudge, or an acknowledgement that I was here. I don’t know whether those small interactions matter to people anymore. Sad, but I guess that’s the web we have today.
I think there's a middle ground between completely open comments (which will get spam) and using social media exclusively. This is what we tried to do with Micro.blog by making it easy for blog readers to sign in with Bluesky or Mastodon, but in theory you could have another way to verify people.
You're right that most of the social world has shifted to likes and reposts. Blogs should keep old-school comments alive, in my opinion, because comments are just more meaningful.
Agreed. Comments are meaningful, which is why I brought back the old-school comments. A simple form with no login required. Spam is frustrating, but at least I have control over what gets shown. If it means more work for me, so be it. I accept that Micro.blog makes it easy to comment, but for hosted by Micro.blog.