One of the most powerful elements of a blog is the ability for people to leave, read and respond to comments. Often, the discussion taking place in the comments is more interesting and certainly more dynamic than the original post.

I was recently faced with a comment that combined some interesting, relevant insights with a mean-spirited tone that was not aligned with my comment policy. I wasn’t sure how to handle this comment, so I turned to the community, my friends on Twitter and Facebook, for advice. I tweeted “Should I delete comment #7 on this blog post? http://is.gd/do0Zx”

First, here’s the comment (on a post about Facebook and “Like” and “Dislike” buttons):

“If you dont like someone, but you want them on your list, it would be good if Facebook made an annoymous dislike button, like on Youtube.

The idea is you cause pain and suffering to the whore who decides to pout her lips in pictures. Or if you get a status update that says “cant wait to go on holidays with ma girliessss”, sooo i actually dislike the damn status because she is an attention whore.

The more dislikes a person gets, then they will think twice before acting the way they are. So what if they get hurt by it? We have a like button to be nice, so why not a dislike button to be horrible.

The reality of the world is, people say what they want, and to refrain from saying whats on your mind is just stupid. If you are fat, bald and ugly, i am going to tell you you are fat bald and ugly.”

And here are some of the responses to my question “Should I delete this comment?”:

Pamela: I probably would delete it but it’s likely that purists would disagree. I have been criticized in past for selectively moderating comments. Frankly, I think it’s fine to do it. It’s your blog and he could have made the same point without being hateful. I particularly object to the last line.

Noa: no - it always makes me feel good about myself when I spot a total moron…

Curt: I am seeing moronic comments more often on corporate sites. Sports comments on newspaper football pages, for instance. … At any rate, the comment does indirectly make the point that many people using a “dislike” button are not going to distinguish between disliking the news, and disliking the person sharing the news.

Sabrina: i’m honestly a little confused by his thesis - he wants the ability to tell people he dislikes them yet wants to do it in the most cowardly way possible (i.e. anonymously)? idiot…you should leave it there and add a dislike button next to it

Richard: Never mind adding a dislike button to your blog. The better feature would be to allow the blog owner to selectively put a picture of a troll next to comments like (that).

Chris: Don’t bother deleting it. Some people are just obnoxious. I don’t feel that a dislike button is needed, but if there is a dislike button added, it should Absolutely NOT be anonymous. The Like button is not anonymous. Anonymity is another word for unaccountable. It would lead to all sorts of bad behavior. He may actually have a case for a “dislike” button. If there was one on your blog, everyone would have “disliked” his comment.

Jeff: just say no to censorship. period.

Marc: there are pluses and minuses as your friends above point out, and well argued. But I like (no pun attended) that you reached out for points of view, exercising a sensitivity that is admirable and reflective of risks and I dare say rewards of censorship. In fact, the decision may have nothing to do with ‘censorship’ per se…”

Barbara: No way! Comments like that are so entertaining.

Based on all of these great insights, I arrived at a solution. I edited the comment and added a note that I had done so. I know, it’s just one comment, how hard can it be? I want to do “the right thing.” I want my blog to be interesting and relevant. I do not want to promote hate and aggression. This discussion raised many of the core considerations that shape a commenting policy.

Commenting Policy

My comment policy is fairly simple. I allow any comment, unless it is completely irrelevant, spam, obscene, racist, inflammatory or unnecessarily mean spirited. I don’t mind if someone disagrees with me. And if I’ve acted like an idiot, they can call me one.

Censorship

There’s no such thing as censorship on this blog. It’s mine. I don’t have to have comments at all. And I won’t post any that are offensive and don’t contribute to the conversation. I set the standards here, and I recommend companies take the same stance. Develop a simple, easy-to-manage comment moderation policy, and publish it on your blog and other public forums that allow comments. Then administer it consistently. Don’t let trolls take over your blog. It’s negligent to permit people to post obscenities, racism, etc. on your blog or web site.

Comment deletion is not meant for comments that are simply negative. A comment that criticizes the company, its products, its services, etc., is an opportunity to respond on behalf of the company. Do not delete this kind of comment. It is considered dishonest to do so. You will never hear the end of it. Instead, use it as an opportunity to create a permanent, web-searchable record of the company’s position on a particular topic. Your company will be engaged directly with consumers. This is a good thing.

Editorial Oversight and Curation

As I mentioned, you own your blog, you set the standards and you have an obligation to the company to maintain the highest standards consistent with those of the company as a whole. Just because it’s a blog – aka “new media” – doesn’t mean it is a completely freewheeling environment. It is one of many corporate communications vehicles.

Recently, I’ve been hearing the term “curation.” As I understand it, curation is the act of reviewing content (first time I have used that heinous term in this post) and posting/featuring only those posts, etc. that meet certain quality and thematic requirements. Supposedly, curation may “save” social media by skimming some of the garbage off the top and bottom of the information pool.

I wonder whether we need a new term. Back in my day we walked three miles uphill in the snow to whatever, and we called it editorial oversight. Curation is a little grandiose. It’s something you would do if you worked in a museum.

This is all a direct product of the “everything-wants-to-be-free revolution,” which is a topic for another day, but is more closely related to troll comments than people realize.

I’m glad this comment was posted on my blog. It gave me a great opportunity to ask some of my good friends for their thoughts and to review my comment moderation policy, which is such an important part of running a good blog.

Tags: comments, moderation, curation, trolls, everything is free