I don’t have “moderation” turned on for my comments.

I have been to a few blog sites that have moderation turned on, and as soon as I post a comment I get a “This comment has to be approved before it is posted.” It is basically saying to everyone who wants to post a comment, “I don’t trust you, and I don’t want you posting any yucky stuff on my blog.”

What it actually ends up doing, is not only stopping negative posts, but posts all together. If anyone is like me, no matter how good your blog is, if you treat me like a four year old, I’m not going to stay around.

I do have a third party comment system on my blog that requires you to put in your name and email. This is simply to cut down on spam comments, and you can put bogus stuff in the fields if you want. You can, if you choose to, sign up with the third party, but it is a choice, not a requirement. Ultimately, it won’t stop you from posting!

With all that said, If someone does post offensive comments, they will be removed.

An acquaintance of mine (Jon Dale) puts it this way…

Why I Don’t Moderate Comments and You Shouldn’t Either

I avoid moderation at all costs (I don’t moderate any content on any of the social networks I manage, my facebook page, blog comments…none of it).

The main reason you’d moderate is to stop people saying crazy things or posting inappropriate content.

The problem with moderating is that it makes your readers feel like you don’t trust them…don’t you love the way they compare your receipt to what’s in your cart at Sam’s Club as if you’re trying to steal from them. Moderation also robs your users of the instant gratification of seeing their content on your site.

I’d prefer to have the occasional comment that I have to delete after the fact than to create a full time job of moderating comments.

If something does slip through the cracks, folks understand that it wasn’t you who posted it…and I promise, someone will let you know about it really quickly.

I’ve got thousands of people on social networks that I oversee and I receive about one content complaint a month. It’s not worth telling your readers you don’t trust them to prevent the one idiot who’s going to abuse the system.

I can’t wait to see the comments this post gets!

Update: A reader sent me this post from Guy Kawasaki: The Top Ten Stupid Ways to Hinder Market Adoption (check out #11)

So, comment away!