Comments On or Off?

Do you have comments turned on for your blog?  Many people are turning blog comments off and having the conversation on social media.

We’ve all seen posts where someone posts a negative comment and then a few more people follow suit.  Sometimes people are just being mean.  Should we turn comments off so this can’t happen?

I recently read a post that touched on this topic. This Is Why Blog Comments Are Not Working Anymore over on BLOGGINGPRO raises some interesting points when referencing the potential negative effects of social commenting.

No matter the subject, the chance for negative commenting and badgering exists. One solution is to actively monitor each comment before it get posted, but that  act requires substantial amounts of time.

“Moving away from this kind of negativity is extremely important, since awful commenters can negatively influence a reader’s comprehension. That’s right, a healthy dose of negative comments on your blog’s latest post can actually influence the way readers comprehend it. No one wants that. “

Turning comments off is something to consider.  For those who wish to keep the freedom of comment,  there is software and plugins to police anonymous commenting.

If you decide you want to turn comments off, you have the ability in WordPress to turn comments off globally or post by post.

I would be curious to know what you think, comments on or off?