This Commenting Policy Is Effective 29th September, 2011

Why This Policy Has Become Necessary

Every blogger agrees that blog commenting is, first and foremost, about interaction and building relationships with other bloggers. The commenting section of a blog is actually where conversation takes place on every blog. Without comments a blog will only be a one-way communication. That indeed will only be going back to the days of the static website.

On this blog I’ve always made it clear that my desire is to build a community of like minds where we can interact and share our knowledge and interests. And to ensure that everyone who is part of this community benefit, in one way or the other, I opened up this blog making it a dofollow blog. Besides, I also installed two powerful plugins (keywordluv and commentluv) to reward and appreciate everyone who leaves a comment here.

It is unfortunate that many have over time taken advantage of this generosity. It is therefore time to take a stand on this. And so from this day the following is to be the commenting policy on this blog. I ask that you note the following very carefully.

1.    Name Field:

I am a blogger and I expect to deal with humans and not  just technology. Now it is clear in every human interaction that what give us our identity are our names. It is expected therefore that we should be able to interact with you using your name when reading or replying to your comments.  As such, from this day on you MUST use your name in the name field. Understanding that you deserve some link juice with your anchor text (I’m into the seo thing too! ) I’ve generously given you that with keywordluv installed. To enjoy this therefore ensure that you enter YOURNAME@YOURKEYWORDPHRASE in the name field.

NOTE: Your keyword phrase MUST not be more than 3 words.  For example, Chadrack@SEO Expert Tips.

2.    Back Links Through Commentluv:

UPDATE: I’ve decided to remove this one after hearing from some of my readers.  All your links are dofollow!

I take seo very seriously and so it’s my desire to reward you on every front. On this blog you can link, not only to your home page using the website field, but can also link to your individual pages (deep linking). This is possible because commentluv is installed. However, because of the abuse of this system over the past months (some people are only here for the back links) I’ve decided to take off dofollow links in commentluv until you have at least 4 approved comments on this blog. Please be clear about this, your link back to your home page in the website field will still be dofollow since this blog is dofollow. It is only your links to your individual links referenced in commentluv that will be affected by this. Be warned however, that any attempt to abuse this by using individual page links in the website field will result in your comment being deleted.

NO NEED TO WORRY: If you already have more than 4 comments approved this does not affect you.

3.    Gravatar:

This is one powerful feature when it comes to interacting with others on the internet. In most cases this is the only way we can see something about you. It is sometimes annoying when you are having a conversation throw the comments with someone and the only thing you see about that person is nothing but that funny gravatar provided by wordpress. I think it is time to stop this and so from this day, for your comment to be acceptable you must have your email linked with your gravatar. You may use a photo of yourself or if you’re using your business logo as a brand it doesn’t matter, but let us at least identify you with something in the comments. No more default wordpress gravatar.

PLEASE NOTE: If you already have one or more comments approved on this blog your comment may show up as approved any time you post it. But note that if your gravatar is not set, I will delete that comment when moderating the comments. So DON’T waste your time.

4.    Stay on Topic:

How do you feel when having a conversation with someone and when replying that person came off with something completely outside the subject matter? Annoying, right? Of course because it shows that person wasn’t really listening to you. If that continues it could lead to misunderstanding. I ask therefore that you should please read the blog post, or at least scan however you do that, before making your comment. Any comment that APPEARS in any way to be outside the purview of the subject discussed in the post, will be deleted.

That also bring me to comments that says nothing but, “Great post, keep it up!” Frankly, I feel honored when you say that. Yes, it gives me some morale boost. But when you say a post is great please let us know why you think it’s great. I think that is not asking too much of you, or is it? Any way, if all you can say about a post is “Great post!” that comment is already doomed, for it will be deleted!

5.    Never Use Throw-away Emails:

I definitely do not have any system to detect this outright neither am I trying to build a list with your comments. However, there are times I may need to contact you through email either to clear a few things or to continue the interaction started on the blog. it is really not pleasant in situations like that when my email returns undelivered because that email address does not exist in the first place. And so, except you have some other hidden agenda, use an active email address when posting your comments. Anyway if you have some hidden agenda please don’t post that comment!

Ok, that’s it for now. The purpose of the policy is to ensure that we make this blog a truly interactive community of like minds. If you have any problem with this, no problem about that, you can always find another place where you will get your own like minds. The World Wide Web is truly wide enough for all us!

If you however, decide to stay with us here, you’re welcome. This blog will continue to remain a dofollow blog and you’ll continue to be rewarded as you deserve. We will continue to provide empowering content and you’ll continue to receive dofollow back links to your home pages and deep links to your individual webpages.

Love that, right?

Alright, welcome to a new era on the WebIncomeJournal.com. Let us make this a wonderful experience indeed.

Chadrack Irobogo