Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with comments

What's your favorite favorite?

A Terrible Llama — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:01:04 -0800

What's the best way to rate comments and why? I'm doing research into what is the best way to rate comments online. 'Best' being a) it is pleasing and appealing to the user and b) it encourages positive behavior.

Some sites show only positive votes (comment has 100 favorites').
Some sites show both positive and negative votes (100 thumbs up, 200 thumbs down)
Some sites show only the aggregate score (-100 points)

I'm interested in what people find appealing, why they find it appealing, and if there's any commonly-accepted thinking among those who design CMSs regarding which works best.

Best blog platform for easy commenting but little spam

bystander — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:12:42 -0800

Best blogging software to allow easy commenting by strangers but avoiding comment spam. I want to start a new non-commercial blog that encourages comments from readers, but avoids as much comment spam as possible. I realise this is tough, but what is the best current solution? I am not up to date on this area, but I want a middle ground that perhaps avoids a registration stage or moderating every comment. Is there possibly a comment option that allows a comment to be written, but it only goes live after a link delivered to a valid email is clicked? Is there a better solution? I feel captchas are not as effective as they have been, yet I want to avoid robot spam, but also make drive by valid comments be possible. Is this a pipe dream?
I can probably install any suitable software, but my preference is a *nix based solution or hosted. Free is better but not essential.

Tagging in Acrobat Pro 8

nosila — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:59:38 -0800

I would like to be able to search comments in numerous pdf files at once using Adobe Acrobat Pro 8. Can it be done? Ideally, I would be able to designate a folder to search within. This way, the comments could act as tags. E.g. if I have a folder that is full of articles about Haydn that I've read and marked up, I could easily locate every comment in which I've written "Symphony No. 8." Then I could click on the search result and the appropriate pdf would open magically at the right place.

If this isn't possible in Acrobat Pro 8, any suggestions on how I might do it? I'm willing to entertain the possibility of using other software, though I really like Acrobat Pro aside from this.

Is there a way to kill the "story comments" section on CBC.ca?

Decimask — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:35:21 -0800

Every time I scroll too far down on a CBC.ca news story, I feel a piece of my humanity being chewed off by the mire that is the CBC reader comments section. I wasn't able to find a greasemonkey script to hide or expurgate them, at least not one that mentioned the CBC specifically. Any suggestions? The brain bleach is chewing up my budget.

What percentage of comments on large blogs/newspapers are propaganda?

Damn That Television — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:20:35 -0800

What percentage of comments on large blogs/newspapers are planned propaganda? As an example:
http://nymag.com/news/features/43892/comments.html#comments

Pretty scary article about an anti-smoking drug with lots of user comments in favor of the drug. I know that many, possibly all, are sincere anecdotes from people who have been helped. But how many are accounts from Pfizer or their PR firm, trying to spin/discredit it?

Are website user comments even something that companies/political groups really bother with?

A song is worth a thousand words

Gungho — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:50:05 -0800

I'm looking for a piece of software that would work like a photo album, except for MP3s. For example, I use the PHP Gallery software on my own website to post pictures. Like Facebook, it lets users leave comments and lets me add captions, etc.

I'd like to do the same with MP3s, ideally with an embedded player.

Facebook lets you link to MP3s on other sites, but there doesn't seem to be a way to organize them into "albums" like you can with photos. You can just post link after link to your profile, but that's not what I'm looking for.

Any suggestions?

Experiences with Disqus or IntenseDebate on Wordpress?

daboo — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:08:56 -0800

I'm interested in using one of these social commenting systems on my blog, but I'm unsure about their integration into wordpress, and the general future of either. Disqus is on Tumblr, but Automattic acquired IntenseDebate. Do you use either (either as a blogger or commenter)? What are your thoughts? I finally looked into Disqus after seeing it on Tumblr blogs for a while now, and its an interesting idea. There is another similar system called IntenseDebate that I've seen on a few Wordpress blogs now, and does pretty much the same thing.

On the blogging side of things, I'm a little worried about moving my comments offsite, but apparently Disqus syncs their comments with my database, so I won't lose any if I stop using them (I think). I haven't seen if IntenseDebate does the same, but because of the Automattic acquisition, I would imagine it is coming soon if not there already.

On the commenting side, it sucks that there are two competing systems out there. Prior to today, I hadn't signed up for either, and had just left 'unclaimed comments'. But I would imagine someone who uses one comment system often would be unhappy about having to use the other. Maybe I'm wrong?

I'm really just looking for thoughts and experiences concerning either of these social commenting systems. Thanks

Reinstalling Wordpress to Dump Spam Comments?

sjuhawk31 — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:22:20 -0800

WordpressFilter: Haven't blogged in about three months, and am considering a return at the same URL, but don't want to inherit all my old spam comments. Would deleting the Wordpress installation at that address then re-installing it essentially reset the spam, allowing me to better control it this time? FWIW, I've been using Akismet, etc., to monitor and catch most spam but would like as clean a slate as possible.

Simple commenting system

bjork24 — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:39:18 -0800

Is there a simple PHP/MYSQL commenting system available anywhere on the internets? The Google has failed me. All I'm looking for is a very simple commenting script, like what you'd see on any given blog, but I don't need all the bloggy stuff. Just a form, a database connection, and output. I'll style everything myself, of course, but I'm too lazy to roll my own (last time I did, it got bombarded by spam). Any suggestions?

PS - Searching google for anything that involves the words "comments" or "commenting" is very difficult.

More Conversation, Less Marketing

DarlingBri — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:44:12 -0800

[DoMyHomeworkFilter] When commercial businesses post comments on a blog, what does "best practice" look like to you? And what companies have this conversational part of "conversational marketing" down to an exemplary science? I need to produce a short guide for PR people and marketers - traditionally aka Satan's Hounds - who are preparing to dip their toes into posting comments on blogs in their niches, whatever they may be.

I have an exhaustive list of Do Nots - no astroturfing, don't try to sell products in comments, don't write or post in boilerplate marketingspeak - but I am so traumatised by seeing this done so badly so often that I'm having a hard time coming up with any Do items.

These people are wading in regardless of what I say, so I'd just like to help them not crap on people's lawns. I'm interested in how people see comments from commercial entities, what makes some comments OK or even positive to you while others are unacceptable - where that line is, and what it looks like to you. And if there's some company or organisation out there doing this really well, I'd love to know who they are so I can study what they're doing right.

Thanks!

How can I disable comments on specific posts in my wordpress blog?

chinese_fashion — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:02:29 -0800

Can any of you recommend a Wordpress plugin that will enable me to turn comments on/off for particular blog posts? I'm trying to disable commenting on specific blog posts, but only seem to be able to turn them off on all posts. Is there a plugin that will allow me to turn comments on and off as necessary?

And, do you recommend any other comment plugins?

Thanks!

If you'll just point me in the right direction...

segatakai — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:10:01 -0800

I have a question in two parts. If that's illegal, admin, please delete the last part. I'd like to hear suggestions for websites I should look at, and then advice on whether this is really how I should move forward with this. Hopefully, this is much clearer in the ... part 1: I'm thinking about putting together a blog/website/internet doohickey that would eventually become an online encyclopedia about a very narrow topic. Narrow as it is, there could end up being many hundreds, but probably not thousands of entries. I'm intrigued by the wikipedia idea, where others can contribute and change etc, but for the time being, I'd like to have comments be the modus operandi for feedback and improvement on the main entry. I think the main thing about the wikipedia model that I like is the community aspect. I like the idea of building something with a group of people across the world (as far fetched as it may be, ultimately). My question is, what recommendations do you have for internet doohickeys that do this well? Do you know of a good encyclopedia/glossary/dictionary type site that ingeniously (or quite capably) handles comments and feedback from visitors? One obvious example is, ahem, AskMe, but please give me some more things to look at and get inspired by. Additionally, one thing that AskMe doesn't really allow that I'd like to incorporate if possible, is a way to comment about, say, one sentence in the main entry, and be able to see that comment in close proximity to the sentence in question, but never be confused about what is the main entry and what is the comment (like notes in the margin?). And I'd like people to be able to comment on the comment, etc. So there might eventually be six or more 'conversations' going on about different parts of one entry, all viewable (with some scrolling necessary, perhaps) on one page per entry. Does that make sense? Is that possible?

part 2: Should I do this?
Sometimes lately (in my more hubristic moments) I've begun to feel that maybe, among English-speaking individuals, I might actually be on the brink of becoming the most knowledgeable person on my narrow topic. I want to share the knowledge I've acquired over the last 10 years studying this narrow topic, but I do feel uncertain about 'giving it away.' The topic is narrow enough (and the 'target marget' infinitesimal enough) that I'm never going to make a million bucks writing books or lecturing about it, but I'm sure there's some money to be made, and I am reluctant to just toss it up on the net for the world to cannibalize. I understand the idea that having an effective web-presence leads to other opportunities, but there's a part of me that can't help asking: Wouldn't I be better off to write a book and just advertise it on the web? I sense that there are probably two camps on this -- please tell me which camp you are in and why, and where possible/applicable, point me to other resources to support your argument.

Thank you kindly for your support.

*I realize this "narrow topic" stuff is a little hinky, but somehow I'm uncomfortable spilling the details (though I realize you can all probably figure it out, this being the internet, and all). I also feel that being more general might induce more creative answers (?).

How can I remember to read followups to my comments?

jacquilynne — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:18:48 -0800

Is there a website or firefox extension that will help me keep track of my blog comments? By blog comments, I mean comments I've left on other people's blogs. Obviously the software for my own blog lets me know when there are new comments on it, but I read a fair few other blogs and often like to leave comments. I'd like to follow the discussion after that, but there often isn't a good way to do it. Some blogs offer email notification, but that's annoying and spammy if it's a very active blog. Some blogs offer per thread RSS feeds which is better, but not all of them do.

Is there some kind of tool / site that I can use to push a button and say 'track the comments on this post forever more'?

Best way to deal fairly with non-spam, malicious comments on a personal blog?

gemmy — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:09:05 -0800

Best way to deal fairly with non-spam, malicious comments on a personal blog? Deleting them straight away, or allowing such comments but following up with an answer/reply? I have a pretty boring personal blog (website in profile), where I post occasionally. One old blog post (with my thoughts on the Obama assassination fears) has seen consistent traffic and a few comments over the last few months - some comments to date have been on the "internet crazy" side, but fairly benign. Then today, someone added a comment stating their intention to commit a murder/suicide, should Obama become president. This comment is currently in my moderation queue.

Now, my first instinct was to just delete it. But if I delete this comment, I should probably go back and delete some of the others too - even though they were not quite as bad. I originally decided to post them since it's always fun to get comments, and because I think some of the crazies out there are interesting. Also, what's the point of allowing comments at all if I'm going to uber-moderate them?

The other option would be to allow this comment, and then make a very strong statement against it. A friend suggested that I should say that I have forwarded the commenter's IP address to the appropriate authorities, then address the inappropriate nature of the comment. I don't know, though, maybe that's overkill.

The only substantive discussions I've seen online on allowing/not allowing negative/malicious blog comments have been about business-related blogs. I am very interested to hear about how others deal fairly with this sort of thing. Thanks!

horse:water::visitors:comments section?

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 10:32:54 -0800

Is it ethical to fake conversation in your own blog's comments section? I don't mean stirring up controversy for the sake of it or setting up straw-man arguments. I mean chucking some "model" comments on to the end of a batch of posts to let readers know the comments are there and easy to use. As a codicil: Has anyone done this and found that it effectively enticed discussion? My target audience isn't necessarily the most web-savvy (OK, they're old). Though I have more visitors than on any of my past blogs where community interaction was a good in both quantity and quality, now I get none. I just want to prime the pump here, nothing more nefarious than that. I know you can lead a horse to water and all that, but sometimes don't you have to get down and show them how it's done?

My blog has become a playground for filthy pornmongers!

Drohan — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:54:37 -0800

How can I restore my totally disgustingly porn-hacked Wordpress blog to its former pristine state? Ugh. My Wordpress blog, hosted by phpwebhosting, has been invaded by the grossest spammer on earth.

Every individual post has been altered, with hundreds of lines unspeakably filthy links, enclosed in div tags.

In addition, comments are continuously being posted to every post, which appear to be coming from me (the blog name as the commenter).

I am locked out Wordpress, insofar as I cannot edit posts, post new ones, or make any security changes (I tried turning off comments, putting my spam blockers at their highest security levels, etc.

I have been using MarsEdit (as once recommended to me by AskMe users--thank you!) to make new posts and go in to each post and delete the horrifying spam. But there are hundreds if not thousands of posts.

1. Help!
2. Is there a way to batch edit all the affected posts? It seems that there are a handful every 10 or 12 or so that have not been touched.
3. How do I get back into Wordpress and regain control of my blog?
4. Has this happened before? What is going on?

I am using Wordpress 2.04 but cannot update. I emailed the abuse line of the spammer's IP address but that won't help me with the situation on my end, but might get the spammer(s) to stop the madness.

Thank you so much.

Is there anything I can do? I contacted Wordpress & phpwebhosting and posted on the Wordpress support forums.

=(pulling my hair out + gah!)

fillsthepews — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:07:31 -0800

Excel for Mac - Where the hell did my comments go!!?? I'm using Excel 2004 for Mac. I've created a lovely spreadsheet to track work turned in, and I leave info about who did the job and when in the comments. Its a very simple, visual way for me to see where I'm at in an instant, and then mouse over for more info as needed.

When I save and close the document, and reopen, some - but not all - of my comments are gone. To be specific, I gray out the box when the work is turned in, and then create the comment. Usually. But even when the comment disappears, the gray remains.

I feel like I'm doing something wrong and its not just the program - but stranger things have happened!

Thanks.

Best discussion/debate sites

grrarrgh00 — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:43:51 -0800

Which websites are the best at conducting vigorous, intelligent online debates and discussions? I'm especially looking for successful examples of collaborative filtering; sites where readers can quickly sort the best posts/arguments to the top of the heap. What I have in mind is a site with some combination of the following traits:

controversial topics are posted
highly-rated responses float to the top of the list
open to general users
the quality of discussion scales even with a high volume of participation
if any human moderation is applied, it's generally light

Slashdot and the Kuro5hin/Scoop sites both offered early models of collaborative filtering for large discussions, but I've gotten the sense that their systems are too complicated for non-techy audiences to understand. I'm intrigued by some of the models being tested at ConvinceMe.net, but that site doesn't let you do much actual filtering (you can't, for example, sort arguments by the number of votes each one receives or collapse unpopular responses), so the discussions seem to be just as noisy.

Are there other examples out there?

YouTube without the comments

billysumday — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:01:01 -0800

Can I send someone a YouTube video without the comments? Recently I've seen a few videos dealing with politics and politicians on YouTube that I'd like to share with family members, though I know they'd be displeased with the language contained in the comments or perhaps imagine that I'm really just interested in having them read the comments rather than just viewing the video. I know we're all grownups, bad words are just words, and the internet is a wild and crazy place, but is there anyway I can just send someone a video without "FUCK u stupid REPUBLITHUGS u are ruin r country u NAZI dickweeds" being seen immediately under the video window?

Is there an RSS reader that can display comments?

zardoz — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 05:37:18 -0800

Can someone suggest an RSS reader (free, Mac Leopard) that will display a blog post's comments? The few RSS readers I've tried for some reason strip out the comments links (say of the mefi RSS feed). Sometimes I'd like to read just the comments of a post and not the post itself...anyone know of a reader that can do this?

Comments with or without a blog

dance — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 13:53:02 -0800

Does anyone have any thoughts on the best way (and the best script?) to implement a commenting system for normal web pages? I am currently torn between setting up WordPress as a CMS which would provide that functionality or trying to find a script I can add to a page (and there are to be 40 or so separate pages each needing separate comment fields). My thoughts thus far: WP as a CMS

Never done it before
Could be difficult to modify a theme to be none 'bloglike'
Would integrate with Akismet to stop the spam

Comment script added to existing page

Might not integrate that well with look and feel of rest of page
Need only be a more professional 'Shoutbox' type script, no real need for commenters' location, email etc though I guess it cuts down on nonsense posts simply because it takes longer!

Printing Out Confessions

crayolarabbit — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 17:00:53 -0800

How do you create a printable version of a livejournal entry's comments when there is more than one page? For the past... year? ish? people at my school have been posting on an Anonymous Confession Board on livejournal. Here is the current iteration, here is the first one, and there have been 7 others in between.

I am utterly fascinated by these, not just because they're kind of about people I know, but because they are so psychologically cathartic. They really demonstrate something about anonymity (I'm not sure what yet, but I'm hoping to do a research project about it in the future). Because of that project, and also because people have always wanted a more searchable format, I've been hoping to find a way to consolidate each of them into one HTML page (the "finished" board generally takes up around 40).

In my search, I came up this greasemonkey script that unfolds all comments on each page. This is a great start, but I'd love something that could "unfold all" pages.

iWeb Comments without .Mac

wavejumper — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 14:15:10 -0800

Is it possible to get "comments" to work on an iWeb web-site -without- using .Mac? Since comments require server-side code, I'm guessing this isn't as easy as a cut-and-paste HTML workaround ;-), but any ideas might help. I'm wanting to put together a blog that includes advertisements. I like iWeb and would love to use just it, but .Mac does not allow commercial stuff of any kind, unfortunately.
Thanks for your help!

How do you trust websites when they edit their comments?

SeizeTheDay — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 17:34:57 -0800

How can you trust websites that include a comments section but delete comments that disagree with the original poster? This question has nothing to do with MetaFilter, first and foremost. I've run into a couple of internet sites who often point me to developments or ideas or products that are new and/or interesting. Just recently I've found a poorly crafted entry which was inevitably filled with a couple of critical comments. Later I discovered that these comments were deleted.

I found the comments to be accurate in their depiction and should have stayed up to balance the site. But instead they were gone. After an event like this, I find myself a bit apprehensive to trust websites in general that edit themselves with such blatant bias.

How do you continue to trust websites knowing that they could be misleading you with such a subtle coercion?