Astonishing! Some Bloggers Kill Off Comments On Their Blogs. Why?

I’ve always believed that engaging with comments is at the core of what makes blogging so vibrant and interactive.

While I won’t reiterate what has been said about bloggers who choose not to respond to comments, I was taken aback to learn that some bloggers are opting to turn off comments entirely. Some claim that it’s the future of blogging, where people no longer want to engage, mainly because they don’t have the time.

Wait a minute. A silent blog? No comments? No space for discussion or interaction with fellow bloggers and readers? Will these blogs be relegated to ‘library’ status – a place for reading but not engaging?

Is it possible that some of those who neglect to respond to comments are also the ones shutting down comments altogether?

What drives the decision to turn off comments?

The leading reason appears to be time constraints. Many bloggers argue that responding to comments diverts precious time away from creating new content. This perspective honestly frustrates me.

If your content generates a lot of comments, managing responses can indeed feel overwhelming. While it’s true that time spent responding might seem more effectively allocated to writing new posts, with proper time management, it doesn’t have to be a significant issue.

Is there a limit to how many comments are too many?

In my 11 years of blogging, I’ve managed and replied to over 25,000 comments. Whether that’s excessive is debatable, but as a blogger, I continuously seek more engagement. I always feel sad for those blogs that generate little to no comments from readers. What are they doing wrong?

At times, responding to comments might take up an entire morning, time I could dedicate to crafting additional blog posts or short stories. Nevertheless, I’ve always believed that if someone takes the time to read my work and leave a comment, it’s only courteous to return the favour with a response.

“Treat every visitor to your blog, just as you would a guest in your home.”

This advice stuck with me early in my blogging journey, given by a blogger with an awe-inspiring follower count. She made it a point to respond to each comment (except comments from spammers or trolls), a lesson that remains ingrained in my approach.

A priority every morning when I log into my blog is to respond to comments. Not only does this affirm that my writing is resonating with readers, but it also establishes a friendly atmosphere, showing visitors and commenters that their contributions are valued.

Are all comments created equal?

Absolutely not. Comments vary widely. Some reflect that the commenter has read the entire post, generating fresh ideas for future content. Others, however, leave you wondering if they merely clicked the ‘like’ button without engaging deeply with your work. Some find it difficult not to leave a comment, regardless of what it is. Perish the thought that they may upset a blogger by not leaving a comment every time.

I acknowledge these lighter comments by liking them. At the very least, it signifies that I’ve read their input. However, I’ve grown tired of the short, non-engaging comments from the same bloggers all the time, especially those who obviously have not read the posts and who see my blog as a quick way to get some free marketing for their own blog.

Do I have a meaningful quote about comments?

Indeed, I do! This quote has resonated with many over the years:

“Not addressing comments left on your blog is akin to inviting someone over for coffee and ignoring their presence.”

The broader impact of comments.

Comments can spark rich debates among readers. It’s always enlightening to see two or more bloggers engage in discussions about the subject I’ve tackled in my post. I regard this as a ‘healthy debate.’ A blogger once told me that encouraging dialogue through comments showcases your engagement with the audience, even if not every comment is directly addressed to you.

But let’s revisit the question posed in the title: Why should bloggers eliminate comments from their blogs? I understand why some might temporarily disable comments (e.g. when they’re taking a blogging break), but turning them off completely seems contrary to the essence of blogging.

After all, don’t comments facilitate communication between the reader and the author? Isn’t that what most bloggers aspire to do—to connect with their audience?

Are you thinking about turning off comments on your blog? Are you somebody who can’t resist leaving a comment on every single post you check out, or do you just never bother to comment at all? Jump into the chat!

The featured image in this blog post is taken from Pixabay. Spelling and grammar mistakes were checked with the help of AI.

I’m getting tough with non-engaging comments. Any non-engaging comments, such as ‘Nice post’, are marked as spam.

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92 responses to “Astonishing! Some Bloggers Kill Off Comments On Their Blogs. Why?”

  1. annerallen avatar
    annerallen

    I agree 100%, Hugh. A blog with no comments would feel so lonely!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      It’s a horrid thought, isn’t it Anne? A blog all on its own. I liken it to arriving on a lovely planet that has no life.

  2. cagedunn avatar

    I set a time limit for responses – 14 days – otherwise, there’s a tonne of spam gets in.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Unfortunately, I don’t get to read some blogs for many weeks after they are published. Plus, I sometimes read blogs from an SEO search I have done, some of which can be a few years old.

      Spam can be managed much better now, especially here on WordPress so that users never see it. I used to get over 200 spam messages a day. That was cut to on average of two a week after WordPress introduced a new setting users could switch on to no longer see the majority of spam. It’s one of the best new features on WordPress during the last year.

  3. Kay Castaneda avatar

    Hi Hugh, I try to leave a comment if I read a blog. But there are times I’m just not able. Maybe it’s a long blog and I get too tired by the end of it. Than I don’t comment and the writer might not know I read their work. I feel bad not commenting so I leave a Like. I may go back and reread and comment then.

    Sometimes I don’t comment or even read certain blogs due to other issues. I find it hard to engage with blogs where the author uses a nickname or something totally strange to me. I also believe bloggers should use their real names. It takes too much time and energy to investigate who that person is. Is it AI or a bot or someone with ulterior motives? As a woman, I’ve been stalked and insulted on my blog and social media. Some of my experiences have been scary. One man said he knew where I lived and he was coming over. Several comments have been what I call ‘Porno’ plus I’ve received weird photos. I’m getting fewer of those responses since I check my WordPress blog settings often. These people/bots/whatever mostly go to Spam or Trash on my blog. I read a lot about online safety. One comment had me so worried that I debated closing my blog and leaving social media for good. A man said he wished me to Hell and other remarks. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only blogger this happens to. Or maybe other bloggers don’t get affected by this stuff. I make reports to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram if these things happen. FB and Twitter (X) investigate and respond to me with their decision. Instagram isn’t as serious about online issues.

    Your topic today about bloggers not responding to people who leave comments caught my attention. Also, I wish bloggers would use a pic of their real self. Cute puppies or palm trees are creative but not for author photos! Just my opinion, Hugh. Others might not agree. Thanks.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Kay, I am truly sorry to hear of your horrid online experiences. I have had my fair share of trolls, mainly due to being gay, but never allow the trolls to win. Ignoring, blocking and reporting them is the best thing you can do.

      Never feel bad about not leaving a comment. You are not doing anything wrong if you have nothing of value to add to the subject of a post. I’ve always believed that one genuine and meaningful comment every once in a while is worth thousands of those short non-engaging comments you see some bloggers leave everywhere.

      I know that some bloggers do use a pseudonym to protect their identity, but it’s better than not giving readers any name. I honestly believe that any published author should have a profile photo of themselves. If I can not find the name of a blogger from their profile or ‘about’ page, that tells me that the person behind the blog is propbally less likely to want to engage or indeed only ever reply to comments with a thank you. I’ve unfollowed a number of blogs because of the short replies I’ve had back from genuine and meaningful comments I have left. It’s not worth my time or effort when I get short replies that are always the same. I recall one blogger who did this to every comment left of his blog. He no longer blogs.

      I’m glad the subject of this post caught your attention. Carry on with your blogging and ignore the trolls. They are not worth worrying about.

      1. Kay Castaneda avatar

        Thanks Hugh, for responding to my blog issues. I’ll continue blocking, deleting and reporting trolls and ignoring them like you said. That’s good advice about meaningful comments versus thousands of short non-engaging comments. Today I commented on a blog I’ve followed several years. The blogger writes about cooking. One of the dishes she mentioned reminded me of a similar dish popular when I was young. I wrote a comment about being familar with the recipe. I read her blog every week but I usually don’t respond unless I have something to add.

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          I’d say you are commenting the right way, Kay. Commenting just for the sake of commenting or for simply proving you visited the post is something many bloggers frown upon. No one gets upset if you don’t leave a comment. And if they do, then it’s seriously time to think about whether following that blogger is a good idea.

  4. JT Twissel avatar

    I’ve never knowingly killed off comments although sometimes I don’t get a notification from WP and if I don’t regularly check the dashboard, I’ll miss a comment. I suppose folks have their reasons.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      And I would love to know more of those reasons. So far, spam and bloggers who leave short comments and uninvited links have been mentioned as to why some bloggers do not allow comments. But there must be more reasons given that those two reasons should no longer be of any concern.

  5. Erika avatar

    Hmm, I had never thought that there are bloggers who truly think that no discussions are the future… they are rather the ending. I agree, sometimes replying to comments can be very time consuming. But that is a compliment on the content of your post. I try to keep up my regular schedule but if I have too little time I skip a post instead of comments. They have first priority. It is respect, appreciation, and gratitude for others taking the time, reading your post and even engage. I found many friends that way and even met quite a lot in person – like you 😊

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      You said it well, Erika. I have cut back my posting schedule due to time, which I prefer to do at the expense of replying to or leaving comments.

      And you are right about engagement creating friendships. If it had not been for leaving comments on the posts of other bloggers, I’d never have gone on to meet many of those I have already met.

      The Bloggers Bash seems like a long time ago, but what great rewards those five years of get togethers bought many of us.

      1. Erika avatar

        Oh, yes, a little effort and engagement can make the big difference and gives deeper meaning to blogging. The Blogger Bash was great. I still love thinking back of it. To me it as a special gift to meet so many bloggers in person I knew from WordPress. I don’t take that for granted.

  6. Kevin avatar

    I follow one blogger with comments turned off. I like reading the blog because it makes references to topics I share with the author. Just going from memory here. I think the blog has been running for at least twenty years posting every 2 to 4 weeks.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      What kind of topics does that blogger cover, Kevin? I’d be interested in knowing as I’m trying to work out if there are certain subjects where comments are not required.

      I wonder if that blogger also knows if people are actually reading his/her posts? As we all know, just because a post may have had 100 hits, it doesn’t mean the post has been read. Whereas comments being left and some engagement, usually mean the post has been read.

  7. Brenda avatar

    My feeling is that you’re missing out on part of the blogging experience by not enabling comments. That said, it’s worse when you leave a comment and get crickets – I’d not follow such a blog. I can understand that sometimes a blogger might turn off comments for a particular post, but not something in general. I guess it’s dependent on the type of blog, but without engagement why would you write a blog. I think that maybe there are different types of bloggers, and I’ll be sticking with the friendly, communicative ones

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I asked myself the same question about why blog if you don’t allow comments, Brenda? Then I thought maybe blogs that give out information may not want comments, but then I thought about those who may have questions. Spam and too much free marketing have also been mentioned, but both those items can now be managed much better by bloggers.

      Thank you for your input.

  8. RasmaSandra avatar

    I think the interaction between writer and reader is important. I get more likes than comments but I love it when someone says they have enjoyed what I have posted.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      That’s good to hear.

      I’m not too keen on comments where somebody just says ‘Great post,’ but if they say ‘Great post,’ and go on to say why they thought the post was great, it makes all the difference.

  9. Terri Webster Schrandt avatar

    I agree that comments and engagement are the lifeblood for bloggers, Hugh. It’s sad some can’t be bothered to reply to comments left on their posts. But there is something going on with WordPress again. When I use jetpack app on my phone, there are a few blogs that show their comments are unavailable. I’ve shared this info with two bloggers whom I follow. I have to go into their post another way to engage. Also, these show up on my notifications (via Jetpack) “Someone posted on XYZ Blog.” Very odd.

    In fact, I left a comment for one of these folks. He replied back. On Jetpack, when I read his reply, I can only like his reply but the comments are closed. I’m going to let him know about this glitch. Sigh.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      I rarely use the Jetpack app on my phone, so I can’t help with regards the glitches you mentioned, Terri. Notifications can be switched off, but you may then end up switching all WordPress notifications off.

      There are settings I can use to turn off certain WordPress emails (such as as email whenever anyone likes one of my posts), so I wonder if the same can be done for notifications on your phone? In any case, you do right by notifying bloggers whose blogs are affected. It’s then up to them to report it to WordPress. If they don’t or can not be bothered, then I’d stop trying to leave comments. We can all but try, but some bloggers just do not seem to want to be helped. They’d rather bury their heads in the sand, instead.

      1. Terri Webster Schrandt avatar

        What’s strange with these two blogs (and one other), is that I’ve tried signing up for email notifications to their posts more than once and they just don’t come through my email. So I have a handful that come through via notifications and it has worked great until the last couple of week, showing comments disabled and their posts showing as anonymous. I’ve reached out and I’m sure they will consult WP. Both are very active bloggers and talented photographers. Perhaps this is a caser where their themes are outdated. And of course I can see them on my desktop and engage with them just fine. Crazy glitches!

        1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

          Using an outdated and unsupported theme can be the cause of many problems, Terri. I’ve witnessed some blogger use workarounds rather than change to a supported theme and at the same time they will complain bitterly about how they are being treated by WordPress who are doing what they can to help. All WordPress are doing are updating the platform to make it even more safe and secure for users. Unfortunately, some themes are too old for these updates to take effect.

          I recently tried helping another blogger who was using an old retired Classic theme. She was having many problems leaving and responding to comments, as well as other issues. She told me she didn’t have the time to change her blog’s theme and put all the blame on WordPress.

          1. Terri Webster Schrandt avatar

            That is sad, Hugh. It’s not that difficult to change the theme. I always take a screen shot before I change anything so I can remember what legacy widgets to replace or include in my sidebar, etc.

            1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

              That’s a great idea to take a screenshot, Terri.

            2. Terri Webster Schrandt avatar

              Thanks, Hugh. I also look at how the blog’s opening page looks before and after and change appearance (background, colors, header image) when needed.

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