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An interesting thing happened yesterday that I wanted to get your opinion on. I received a comment on this blog that read:
“That cartoon is funny, espcially the PH with the ghostbusters sign through it. Like you, I am competing in the Bloggers Choice Awards, although not in the same category. I hope my email is not an intrusion.
Anyway, I would like it very much if you would go to URL and vote for me for best _____ blog and best overall blog as well, if you feel my blog is of a high quality. I really think I have a legitimate shot at winning. If you are open to spreading the word, that would be cool as well.”
Now this comment was left from a blogger who has NEVER commented on my blog before. I do not know this person and have never been to their blog. I really felt like the author was just going from blog to blog trolling for votes and that this comment was nothing different than the thousands of other comment spams that I and every other blogger get everyday.
So I immediately deleted his comment and posted the following comment:
“I have removed your comments from the site which is the first time I have ever done this. I think you are pretty sad to come to someone else’s blog and beg for votes for your blog… Grow up and realize that begging and spamming will not get you where you want to be.”
Needless to say, the blogger in question was not particularly happy with my response. He sent me several emails questioning my “hostility” and why I was so mean. 
I tried to explain to him that blogging is about creating and developing relationships and coming onto someone’s blog that you do not know and have no relationship with and immediately start promoting your blog and asking for votes is nothing more than comment spam, in my humble opinion. I added that if he does with other blogs, he will get similar responses. He of course, disagreed.
What do you think? Is my thinking wrong here? Was I too hostile? I would love to hear your opinions.
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Technorati Tags: blogger, comment spam
I agree with you on this one. It is definitely comment spam and it didn’t sound like you were too hostile.
If anything, beyond the spam he is disrespecting you as he is coming to your blog for the first time, left no real comment (all it showed is he looked at the picture) and then tried to piggy back off of the readers you’ve but your own love and sweat into fostering.
Removing his comment and replying to him the way you did is generous, if you ask me.
It’s an interesting debate. On the one side, it’s not blatant spam. On the reverse, it’s not the kind of comment bloggers strive for.
There will be those that direct attention and users and there will be those that lurk to snatch up crumbs.
On the whole they are rather harmless…
I noticed this comment on your blog yesterday and felt a little uneasy about it. It hit me wrong. My impression is this is a person naive in the ways of blogging and posting comments. Maybe an email coaching this person as to why this comment was unacceptable would work. Most people have good intentions, but can still really screw things up. Go easy on them the first time, then lay the hammer down on the next time.
Hi Cord,
This is actually the first time I’ve visited your blog (we’re both Age of Conversation authors!) and the comment you posted was the first thing I read. So it kind of threw me off and made me feel uneasy visiting you, to be honest.
I’m sure every blogger has received “comment spam.” I usually just delete it without a retort. If someone’s comment is downright hostile or if they’re looking to debate, then I will engage. But, to be honest, your comment in reply did seem a little over the top (just my two sense
)
Excited to read your chapter!
-Ryan
I think you’re perfectly well justified. It’d be one thing if he was contributing to the discussion by citing his own blog, but this obviously isn’t the case. Comments are a medium for conversation. Using them for anything else is questionable.
Nathan - Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate it. I might of been a bit over the top. Who knows, thanks.
Alex,
Thanks for your thoughts and I agree with you that they are harmless. As I said, I think that blogging is all about developing relationships and someone who does that is no better than the 1000 spam bot comment spams I get everyday. Though I do think now that I am looking back on it, I could of been a bit nicer.
Thanks again.
Scott - I do believe that you are right. I think it had a lot do with the mood I was in and what I was doing when I saw the comment. I should of listened to my number one rule, never reply to emails when angry. Live and learn, thanks for your feedback.
Ryan - I am sorry that my comment was your first impression of both myself and this blog. To be honest, that was the first time I did that and as I said in my previous comment, I think it had more to do with my mood and not the comment. I hope you will not hold the comment against me and continue to come back.
I look forward to reading your article in the Age of Conversation as well. Thanks for your comment and thoughts.
Stephen,
Thanks for your comments. And I apologize, for some wacky reason, your comments always go into the spam filter even though I have added you to my safe senders list. I will try again. Thanks again for your thoughts.
You are right, you were neither hostile nor aggressive. Whether this is strictly spamming or not, it is begging and a little sickening. If what you create is any good you’ve no need to prostitute for votes. It seems a little childish to beg in this way.
Mainliner - Thanks for your thoughts and I agree with you. I do agree with some of the thoughts earlier that this could of been coming from someone with a lack of experience and I could of possibly offered a hand in why I believed this was wrong.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
The person might have been new and didn’t know proper comment etiquette, but what kind of an excuse is that? In wandering around to various blogs and seeing nothing like that ‘alms for the poor’ comment, one should realize that this isn’t acceptable behavior.
I don’t think you can entirely blame your mood for your response. If a stranger walked into your home, took a beer from the fridge, plopped down on the couch, and changed the TV channel, what would be your reaction? This person also invaded your turf and tried to do it out in the open. Good for you.
By the way, I think this is the first time I’ve commented here
Carolyn,
Thanks for your comment and welcome to the Hipster community!!
Your first comment is SOOOO much better than this guys first comment! You analogy is a good one and I think that is why I responded the way I did. He did just walk right into my place, this community and just made himself at home.
Thanks for your insights Carolyn and I hope you will come back and comment again.
I have to say I disagree with Carolyn strongly enough to come out of lurking for the second time.
This is a public blog, not your living room. It’s a social place.
Some people are bound to be inept at protocol and unwritten rules. Usually those people are more deserving of sympathy and guidance than reprimand.
Cord’s reaction leaves me rather neutral. It was a bit harsh but not completely unwarranted. It’s his business.
A misguided newbie leaving a slightly spammy comment is not a personal intrusion. You’d think as a business owner, you’d have developped a thicker skin (@carolyn, not cord) than to get on your high horse and create an analogy befiting a trial lawyer.
Hmmm, you know I have been going back and forth on this and a lot of people are making good points, Alex you definitely being one of them.
So let me ask you this Alex, if this exact scenario happened to you, would you of taken the time to respond and explain to the commentor how this was wrong or would you of just deleted his comment and moved on?
Upon re-reading the comment in question, I can tell you I have received this type of “feeback” before.
In this specific case, I don’t find the comment particularly offensive. I probably would have left it intact and let the commenter and other readers know, I expect people to build a little goodwill before trying to promote themselves and dropping their links.
A little
for humor. Situation diffused, those that had something to learn “get it” and everybody goes back to their business with a smile on their face.
Remember that if the commenter took the time to come back and check your response, he musn’t have been that much of an illegitimate reader/participant in the first place…
Alex, you can consider me to have taken the high-horse road, if you choose. I don’t.
“Some people are bound to be inept at protocol and unwritten rules.” Ok, so far as it goes, this is true. But since when is common courtesy and common sense considered protocol?
Ostensibly, this person is an adult, not a child who hasn’t learned to say ‘please’ after ‘give me’. Maybe that’s what’s most annoying; big people don’t act that way.
Regardless of whether or not you agree with my living room analogy, it was still a good one. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go find my horse and go see if I can pass the bar exam
Asking someone to vote for them (if you have no idea who they are) for the blogger choice award is like them asking you to be a character witness at their trial. How can you vote for someone whom you know nothing about? It goes hand in hand with them email they sent you….why ask
Personally, I liked Carolyn’s analogy - but concede that Alex has a point to an extent.
It might be a public forum, but it’s hosted from your living room, Cord. The comment was an insult to the host.
Your response might have been a little harsh, but understandable given you’d just been insulted. That you are grappling with the situation, is testament to your moral fiber, and commitment to valuable conversation.
Ahhhh Cord,
You continually know how to spark debate. I have to figure this talent out.
The issue at hand here is not the fact that he left the comment, but that this person showed absolutely no regard for you. The message his actions sent was, I am not here to read your blog, or to PARTICIPATE, I am here to TAKE, to see what I can GET from you. Blogging, Social Media is about the participation. You were absolutly within your bounds to remove his sorry a–!
Why would you show regard for his need of votes and exposure when he clearly showed NO regard for your efforts. There is a quid pro quo in Social Media/Blogging that this cat just doesn’t get.
I got an idea, anyone with me? Let’s create a social networking site called the trash bin and anyone who does this goes into the trash bin. Then we can look into and know who the punks are an avoid em like the plague. Maybe we can put a Scarlet “S” widget on their blog!
Peace ya’ll. I’m out!
That’s an S for SPAMMER!
Hi Cord, your actions were spot on. Actually my only concern is that you were not harsh enough.
The commenter in question is not unversed in internet / blogging commenting behavior.
The very fact that they were hunting for votes for the Blogger Choice Awards means that they’ve been around long enough to know what’s what.
The comment was spam, plain and simple and should be treated as such.
Alex,
The commentator did not come back to see my response. Just like you are getting now, I have setup my comments to automatically send the commentator a copy of my reply to their email. I would be willing to put money down that he would of not of come back.
Meg - Thanks for your comments and I agree with you. Now that I have a couple of days behind me, I think that my opinion was right from the go, but I probably could of handled it better.
Ant - Thanks for your kind words and thoughts. I am very sorry I missed you yesterday.
Paul - Thank you for your thoughts. I could not agree more with you. Again, as I said before, I think my thoughts were right on, but I might of been a little nicer, but who knows.
I want to thank everyone for the great feedback and thoughts!
Of course, another way to handle it would be just to delete the comment, without any explanation whatsoever. Hopefully, a person who intrudes rudely in this way will “get the message” if enough people simply delete his, um, contributions.
Steve - You’re right I could of just deleted the comment. But as I said in my response to him, until that comment, I have never deleted any comment from this blog that was actually written by someone and not some spam bot.
I think that was what made me respond. I was angry at him that he made me do something that I had not done and did not think I would ever do.
That was comment spam and I’m glad you took the action you did.
Begging for votes is just as bad as begging for community joining on MyBlogLog.
Hi Cord,
This is my first time reading your blog as well and I like Ryan was a little taken back by the way it was handled. but in saying that you definitly have the right to do as you choose. and it was definitly a spamy post I personally would have just deleted it and not given it another thought. and at most messaged the guy and explained to him/her what he/she was doing wrong and let me know that it is not the way to get his blog out there or the way to get a message across, if he was a newbie I would have maybe given him a few tips for the future.
Other then that I like the site and have just bookmarked it when I came here though I expected to see more about marketing then I have seen
that is a perfect example of spam lol, promoting your site through this site without permission is considered spam.
I would have told him if he has a legitamate chance of winning why’s he begging for votes? and if he got hostile Id just ban him.