Three Types of Commentators – And How to Deal with Them

When you first begin blogging, every comment your posts get is a thrill. It doesn’t matter if it’s just one comment, either. You’re pretty psyched that you have comments at all. You respond to those comments to encourage people to do it more.

You’ll start to get more comments. This comment increase starts to happen fairly quickly, depending on how active your commentators are. Even ten loyal readers can keep you hopping.

What can they keep you hopping with? Let’s take a look at a few specific types of commentators:

The “Great!” Commenter

This guy shows up, writes something like, “Great post!” and then leaves. This guy is pretty exciting when you’re a newbie, but after you start getting comments that actually facilitate discussion, this guy is just sort of irritating. Imagine the following, if you will:

• Sarah: I love to trampoline too!
• Mike: You’re the last refuge of the writers. Keep on keeping on.
• George: Great post!

Now, when you’re talking to Sarah and Mike, you have something to riff off of. You can write back, “Trampolines are awesome!” Or you can reply,“I am getting a crown with ‘Last Refuge of the Writers’ on it in rubies and sapphires.”

But what the heck do you say to George?

There are usually two reasons for a comment from someone like George. One is that he’s a little shy and doesn’t know what to say, but he liked what you wrote and wants to say something. That’s awesome, and that means you can coax him out of his shell.

Your natural response to George will be “Thanks!” even though it’s awkward after all the banter you just had with Sarah and Mike.

If you want to get George out of his shell, though, try saying thanks and then saying, “What did you like about it?” Get him into the discussion. Let George know you’re interested in his feedback. That should encourage him to respond and discuss, or at least to give a more specific comment next time.

Soon you’ll be bantering back and forth like old pals.

The other reason for commentators like George is bloggers who just want to get any kind of comment in as many blogs as possible to get readers to look at THEIR blog. It’s just plain bad etiquette, and if you know that this is what the guy is doing, simply ignore him. He doesn’t really want to contribute, and he probably hasn’t read the article.

You’re not losing anything.

The Troll

A troll, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, is someone who comes into a discussion purely to start or fuel a fight with someone else. Trolls have the intention to appear as offensive as possible and get off on having a raging argument – on your platform – for as long as both parties can stand it.

This guy gets no sympathy. Tell him once, nicely, politely, that you’re not looking kindly on anyone who comes around just to insult. Conversation and dissenting opinion is fine; insults are not.

If it continues, simply ban him. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Don’t drag the rest of your commentators into the feud. Have some class. Be above it. Just put the troll on the can’t-comment list in your blog and move on.

Then get away from the computer and go do something fun just for yourself to change your mind.

The Whiny Commenter

This guy shows up after every single post, even the most upbeat, happy post, and starts complaining about something. His whining or depressing woe-is-me is often semi-related to what you’ve been blogging about, but it’s not because he has an actual beef with your post.

He just likes to complain, and he’s using your platform to do it.

This guy is perhaps the hardest of all to deal with. The shy ones you can encourage and the mean ones you can discourage, but what do you do with a guy who’s just a whiner? You don’t want to be rude and tell him to keep his Eeyoring and complaining to himself, and he hasn’t really done anything that warrants being booted off your blog.

So what’s the solution?

Sometimes, gently pointing out the behavior is all it takes. Most people who whine aren’t really aware that they’re whining; it’s just their natural default state. They have no idea that they’re dragging everyone else on your blog down with their depressing comments, and they don’t know that it makes people not want to comment.

All they know is that it gets some attention to their problem.

Email the person, even if you don’t know him or her. Don’t call the person out on your blog or embarrass him. Ask if he’s okay. “Hey, it seems like you’ve been having a really rough time lately. Are you all right?” If he replies he’s fine and asks why you asked, then that gives you an opportunity to gently, without being mean about it, point out that for the last five comments (or whatever), this person has had some major complaint.

Ask them, in the same nice tone, if they’re aware that they’re dragging down the conversation on the blog. Explain that everyone else comes around to talk about whatever you blog about, and that you’ve had a few people tell you they feel very uncomfortable with all the personal complaints on that platform.

That should take care of it.

What’s the worst kind of commenter you’ve ever had?