I was talking to Vernon Harleston of HighRoadism.com last night. Unfortunately there seems to be a “virus” that is claiming the lives of comments, making them disappearing into the ether. Hopefully I can shed some light on this problem.
If your readers are telling you there is a problem with your comments or you think your comments are getting lost here are some possible answers and solutions. While you do not want to be inundated with SPAM, legitimate comments are a way to know what is right with your blog and what your blog needs. Comments also help keep your blog alive and reader friendly.
Check your AKISMET, sometimes it catches comments thinking they are spam. Course it does catch a lot of true spam which is what makes it so great!
Other Spam Blockers
Unfortunately some of the spam blocker plugins block not just spam. There are some that block all comments. Now this could be a combination of your plugins not working well together or a theme and plugin issue.
Other Plugins
Unfortunately sometimes other plugins interfere with each other. This means one plugin may prevent another from working appropriately. You can turn off all your plugins by visiting Plugins and then installed, click all and deactivate. Then turn one plugin on at a time. This allows you to check for problems both with comments and also other problems you may have.
What else could it be?
Perhaps it is a problem with your theme. There could be a problem with their browser. It could be a temporary issue, sometimes there are glitches that cause minor and temporary problems. Unfortunately there could be millions of reasons why there is a problem.
Try Disqus
Disqus has been a great solution for me. Since comments are actually hosted on Disqus there seems to be reduced problems. You also receive less spam as Disqus adds additional layers of protection to Akismet. While it is a bit harder to set up, once set up it is easy to use. It is also a free program so that makes it very nice!
~ MJ Schrader
Tomorrow’s Post: Categories vs Tags
Are Your Comments Disappearing?
I was talking to Vernon Harleston of HighRoadism.com last night. Unfortunately there seems to be a “virus” that is claiming the lives of comments, making them disappearing into the ether. Hopefully I can shed some light on this problem.
If your readers are telling you there is a problem with your comments or you think your comments are getting lost here are some possible answers and solutions. While you do not want to be inundated with SPAM, legitimate comments are a way to know what is right with your blog and what your blog needs. Comments also help keep your blog alive and reader friendly.
Check your AKISMET, sometimes it catches comments thinking they are spam. Course it does catch a lot of true spam which is what makes it so great!
Other Spam Blockers
Other Plugins
Unfortunately sometimes other plugins interfere with each other. This means one plugin may prevent another from working appropriately. You can turn off all your plugins by visiting Plugins and then installed, click all and deactivate. Then turn one plugin on at a time. This allows you to check for problems both with comments and also other problems you may have.
What else could it be?
Perhaps it is a problem with your theme. There could be a problem with their browser. It could be a temporary issue, sometimes there are glitches that cause minor and temporary problems. Unfortunately there could be millions of reasons why there is a problem.
Try Disqus
Disqus has been a great solution for me. Since comments are actually hosted on Disqus there seems to be reduced problems. You also receive less spam as Disqus adds additional layers of protection to Akismet. While it is a bit harder to set up, once set up it is easy to use. It is also a free program so that makes it very nice!
~ MJ Schrader
Tomorrow’s Post: Categories vs Tags