A Haven for Vee

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

An Open Letter to Bloggers

Dear Friend Who Blogs,

Have you seen some of the new features that Blogger is offering? One that I really like is "Popular Posts" under "Add a Gadget." There are a lot of options for it and I prefer it to the "You might also like" that mixes up posts beneath each entry so that you never know what's going to be displayed. Sometimes, what was displayed was something that I'd just as soon have had remain buried in the archives.
 
Have you also seen that Blogger has a new spam detector? You can read more about it on your dashboard or *here,* but I am very pleased with it. As one who has had some trouble with spammers, I know how miserable it can be. I'm announcing something pretty harsh: although my visits to blogs that have word verifications and moderated comments will not diminish, my comments there will. I'm sorry that it has come to this, but I visit nearly two hundred blogs a day. Two hundred! You can see why I need to regain some of my time. And, in fact, I am very soon going to be dividing my blog roll between those who do and those who don't (use word verifications and moderated comments, Silly Girl!). Again, my apologies, it's a time thing. I understand if you've found moderation/verification necessary either because of spammers or because of unkind commenters...wish it didn't have to be this way.
 
There are ways that we can be more friendly to fellow bloggers: 1. finding the proper balance in blog decor 2. trying to be aware of load time by using the tool *Stopwatch*  3. trying a variety of picture sizes 4. selecting the least obstructive way for commenters to comment.

Some are things that I am not willing to do. Some are things that I am perfectly willing to do. We all find the balance somewhere. We will never please everyone. Do you have something that you'd like to suggest? I know that playlists are often on the topic. I love them sometimes and not so much other times. It's a personal preference issue, but when I notice that numbers are dropping or comments are dropping, it is time to see what might be the cause or if it is just the normal ebb and flow.
 
Here's to better blogging and happy blogging and a link to a post that suggests what that is.

Edited to Add: A Day Later and...

I feel as if I should explain some things:

1. I have an addictive personality. If I were not so smitten with blogs, it'd be something else. Just so no one feels sorry for me and all the time I spend cruising. Way too much time, I admit.

2. Sometimes I say that I would love to return to the days when I blogged for myself. I didn't blog for my family because they are addictive personalities as well and would become too involved in the one thing that I reserved for myself. Then a commenter showed up and "ruined" the whole thing. :D  Please don't misunderstand, an entirely new world of community showed up for me that day. I immediately began to feel less isolated. That's a good thing. Very.

3. What I've written here is not meant to point a finger at anyone or single any blog out. No! Heaven's no! I love to visit all the blogs that I visit and I love to comment. I've just run out of time to jump those commenting hoops that some have found necessary. And I understand...I do; hope that you will, too.

4. Some walk; some read; some clean; some craft; some lose themselves in work; some do this; some do that. I blog and read blogs. It's an illness.

Thank you all so much for your feedback. I find it invaluable.

Off to become addicted to scrubbing a few windows...

Create a great Wednesday!
 
 

44 comments:

  1. Being new to the blog world, your post today will be very helpful. Thank you!

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  2. Some great suggestions and info there Vee. I had to go back to word but will try again to see how things go without it. Since I change my addy maybe things will be better as far as annoyances go.
    QMM

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  3. I appreciate your thoughts here. .I wonder how helpful the spammer will be. I really do not like playlists. . ..I play music in my house nearly all the time. It isn't a problem though. . I just have my sound off.

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  4. HI Vee,
    You know what, I'm not sure if I have word verifications on or not..I best go look and see...
    Do you really visit 200 bogs a day, my goodness....how do you do this..
    Thank you for your post today....very informative.
    Have a sweet day and hugs, Elizabeth

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  5. Hmmmm...I added word verification after dealing with a lot of 'stuff'. So now I am on your blacklist...right? I'll have to look into this once again.

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  6. I hate the word verification. Hate it. The comment moderation doesn't bother me though. I just assume that the Blogger I'm visiting has had some problems with "someone". I'm on the brink of putting it on myself actually.
    If only Blogger would come up with a way to block comments of specific people... sigh.

    Great post though and I do agree with a lot of what you said. (especially the playlist thing) Uggh! ;p

    ((Hugs))
    Laura

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  7. Okay. ..trying the no word verification on my blog. In 15 mintues I already had one spam comment. .but blogger sent it to me to ask if it was. .so that is good.
    I'm curious as to why you won't leave comments on moderated comments if it does not require an extra step by you when you comment.

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  8. Lovella, I think it's the loss of control that I experience over my own comment that I don't like about comment moderation. It's my problem entirely...perfectionism yet again rears its ugly head.

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  9. Once again I am receiving good "food for thought" from you. I'm not a fan of word verification, but I still comment if I feel moved to do so. I moderated my comments for awhile, but found that to be extra steps that I could do without. Currently I am moderating anything older than 10 days and have disallowed anonymous comments. I haven't had any spam since doing this.
    I don't really mind playlists except when I have more than one blog open at once and they are mingling together. In that instance the mute button is my friend.
    Great post.

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  10. Two hundred blogs a day??? Wow! That is impressive! I am so honored that Hospitality Lane is on your list.

    I have been so very tempted to add word verification but hate to leave comments on those blogs myself...I hate to do it to others. I know why people resort to it, though.

    Becky K.

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  11. I just recently removed word verification from my blog since I heard about the spam filter. One of the things that bugs me is music. If I want to listen to music, I'd rather play my own. 200 a day, WOW!

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  12. okay .. .trying a different setting. .no wv but added comment moderation.. .let's see if that works okay . .I am not happy to lose you girl.

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  13. I turned off the verification word and left the moderator button on my new blog and I will give it a try. I know how time consuming that is but I want to have a easily visited sit but be safe too.

    Can't imagine visiting over 200 a day but I've only done this since September.

    Thanks for the info.

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  14. Oh dear, I'm on your black list, too. I tried leaving off word verification and ended up with all kinds of spam.

    So I just went in, disallowed anonymous comments and took off word verification. If I keep getting spam I'll go back to WV.

    I don't like playlists at all. My sound is always on because we use Skype to communicate with our children. And if I'm reading a blog, I don't need the musical accompaniment. Especially if I'm reading in the night when I can't sleep and my husband is sleeping.

    Good food for thought.

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  15. I am not at all good with computer stuff and hate to visit a good blog only to find I can't leave a comment for some reason. I haven't used blogger in a long time and now use WP and find it much easier to navigate. Good to see that blogger is improving.

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  16. Great post, lots of good suggestions here. Personally, I don't like most playlists since I have music of my own choosing on most of the time. But then, I don't usually have my speakers on, so it doesn't really matter.

    Wow, I'm impressed by the 200 blogs a day! How do you do that? I just did the math...:)

    Gotta get to work. Two more days, counting today!

    Have a great day,
    Cheryl

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  17. kudos to you for taking a stand for your
    precious time. 200!!!! that takes my
    breath away.

    a few weeks ago, i drastically cut my
    list to blogs i love and blogs who visit
    me. sort of like how i choose my friends.

    it made me feel so much better to clear
    the way a bit, and i'm confident not a
    single one will ever miss me!

    thanks for the tips. unfortunately i barely
    understood some of them. :)

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  18. I don't use the word verifications on my blog because I don't like it on others but it doesn't stop me from commenting.
    If I get spam or a comment that is not wanted I don't find it a problem to just delete it.
    I also don't like music on blogs at all, but I just turn the sound down so it isn't a problem for me either. I guess what it boils down to, if I like to read the blog, I'll just deal with whatever is there. :-)
    200 blogs!!! Wow that is certainly a lot!

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  19. Hmmm. My word verification is staying on for now - sorry. I may reconsider sometime. But it will be good to know you visit anyway! (Even if I will miss your great and often hilarious comments!)

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  20. Great post -I was just going over the blogs that I follow and the ones on my sidebar to see which ones I didn't really keep up with. I actually don't how I wound up with so many. It will take some time to go through them & will have to take great care when choosing which ones to keep and which ones to delete.

    I really liked your idea of keeping a separate blog for your list of followed blogs - might give that some thought, too...

    I agree with you on the confirmation "word" thing. I got rid of that awhile back, and I just checked my "stopwatch" thingie and it was 2.59 sec. I also reduced the sizes of my pictures a few months ago.

    Now how I'm going to stop rambling so much and practice some homeletics has me bumfuzzled, but I'm going to try - no, I'm not... I'd had a couple of spammy things, but they were only annoying. I've never had a playlist (well, actually a few days, but then I trashed it) and I turn my computer on silent when visiting blogs cuz I don't like them. Sometimes I have two or three blogs (or more) open if I'm blog hopping and then I get overlapped music. If there's a special video or something I'll watch it, but I generally leave my sound off.

    Will have to do some cleaning up myself now that you're spurred me on! wow - 200 blogs a day... that's amazing - 'fraid I can't do that!

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  21. Great post! I hope I'm not doing anything that offends you as that is not my intention.

    I have to agree with you about the word identification! It drives me nuts, especially when I find out after I've done that that my post will be moderated! If a blogger moderates posts, she/he does NOT need word identification! Personally, I hate both but I put up with them.

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  22. I love to blog and I love to read and visit every one that I can. I will try really hard to comment but there are times I slip in for a visit and off again. I do blog for me and my family and the grands, so they will know I was here and what I liked and what made me laugh and what made me cry..I print out my blog and have it in a binder..just in case. SO I don;t think I'll change much in what I do..I get rid of spammers when I see them pop up and I will visit as I can..I figure if we don;t like something, we van always delete it, right?

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  23. I LOVE posts like this!!! Meaning, posts where a blogger tells stuff she feels, views, wishes, likes, dislikes about the topic dear to all our hearts.... Blogging!

    We are each individuals and so, there'll never be a complete consensus about How-A-Blog-Should-Be, I don't think.

    But we each have our own favorite stuff, and it's great to feel we can state our fav stuff, now and then. Great! Refreshing! Lets off steam. Etc. :-)

    And I love this "An Open Letter to Bloggers" idea too! Allowing ourselves to state, our own preferences. And to state our decisions, and plans for the future, concerning all or any aspect of blogging! You rock, Lady! Thank you!

    Wheeeee.... Now all of us can link back to this post, and do our own "An Open Letter to Bloggers"! Yesssssssssssss!!!

    Gentle hugs...

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  24. I turned off word verification a few weeks ago. The spam detector does seem to pretty much eliminate spam, so I haven't had any problems since I dropped w.v.

    I'm going to check out the Popular Posts option. Great tip!

    Margaret

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  25. Vee was asked what her problem is, with Comment Verification? And she replied; "Lovella, I think it's the loss of control that I experience over my own comment that I don't like about comment moderation. ......perfectionism yet again rears its ugly head."

    I use Comment Ver. and we've talked about this. :-) I don't understand how you feel loss of control over your Comment, when we can always PREVIEW our Comment, before Publishing it. And in the end, you HAVE to choose to Publish your Comment, eventually. How do you EVER finally relinquish control over your Comment?

    Oh and "perfectionism"? What's that? Who enforces it?

    >,-)

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  26. Aunt Amelia...previewing a comment adds yet another step. Believe me, these steps add up.

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  27. I totally get the time thing, Vee! Keeping up is a daily struggle for me ... always has been & probably always will be. :) Great post! I love the exchange of ideas.

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  28. Enjoyed your suggestions and ideas all related to a favorite topic -- blogging.

    I'm going to check out that popular post gadget -- I find the old posting thing-y at the bottom of each new posting 'cluttered' to look at... so here's to a new way to share what's a favorite or most popular!

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  29. I have to say that the spamming has downright stopped lately! I took my word verification off several weeks ago, and am considering removing the moderation too.

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  30. Can't say that I've really analyzed anything. But between you and Aunt Amelia, you gals seem to be in the know.

    Wishing you a wonderful day tomorrow. I should be in bed, but wanted to return a lot of visits.

    Leann

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  31. 200 blogs a day! No wonder you always tell me you have to come back later to look at my post a little closer (and probably never do...lol)

    I think we all have to do what we feel most comfortable with. Blog writing,reading,and commenting should be enjoyable ...not work or stress.

    Good topic for discussion, Vee!

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  32. Thanks so much this will help me....hugs...m...

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  33. Thanks for the tips Vee! I knew there are some new things but haven't had time to fiddle around with them. Now I'll make time to look at them.

    Hugs, Sherry

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  34. Vee, I must go and make sure my comment thing a ma gig, is easy for bloggers.. I do try and make it as easy as possible. And like you I like to be able to comment without so much hassle. I have been to blogs that took forever to leave a comment, and sometimes just left.
    Thanks for all of these sites and this information, I am going to read them and act accordingly. I have always found you to be so honest and helpful in blogging, and for that I am most thankful.

    When time permits I visit a lot of people too, and try and respond, I have always found you to be so gracious.
    Hugs,
    Sue

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  35. Addictive Personality... Doesn't EVERYONE have one?!? Geeee, I thought everyone had one!

    :-) I understand, Kiddo. I do too. And I fight it off, by trying to cut back my time on the Net. TRYING TO!

    Right now, I must get off line and go get new glasses Rx. Needed, I might add. So why am I still on line? Instead of in the car?

    -Hehhhhhhhhhhh-

    If you're like us, you understand. If not, guess you're lucky. -giggles-

    Gentle hugs...

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  36. Catching up with your blog, Vee. It is beautiful and I love your photography! Love the autumn colors as well. Ours are slowly arriving here -- but mostly everything is still green.

    Now, I am off to look at my blog settings. I don't even remember if I require the word varify feature or not.

    LaTeaDah

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  37. Thanks, Vee. I made some changes --- much appreciation!

    LaTeaDah

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  38. These are great suggestions Vee. I too am not sure if I have word verification on. I will have to go back and check.

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  39. Vee,

    I wanted to drop in an leave you a quick "hello" and let you know that I was just thinking of you.

    WOW! Double WOW! You are a die hard blogger! Thanks for the heads up on new Blogger tools.

    Have a great evening.

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  40. Oh! well Vee looks like I will not be getting comments from you. Ihate that word verification and it is time consuming. But even more the ones with lots of moving stuff and gadgets and music and all those things that slow the blog in loading. Do not have the time.
    How inthe world you can visit 200 blogs and every day I cannot imagine.

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  41. Wow. Good post. I have never used word verification or comment moderation yet I do not get many comments. I visit many blogs but try to focus on my followers and those I follow. I rarely visit a blog without leaving a comment. I blog very early in the morning while it is quiet. If I have forgotten to turn off my speakers the music stuns me and often wakes up my husband. I like to choose my own music but that is just me.

    I find it interesting, if one is able to believe the stats page, that I will, for example, have 94 people view my blog and only have 6 comments. I know I blog for myself but comments do become important.

    Enough said....This rain storm we are having is brutal.

    Carol

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  42. For a person who does extensive virtual travel to 200 blogs a day, this is nothing but a sincere expression and a wish too. Hope your wish comes true. God bless.

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  43. I was very happy to see the new spam settings - it was becoming so annoying. Especially since I still allow anon comments.

    I don't know how you do it - 200 blogs is a lot of blogs! I have trouble visiting 10 a day. Anyway, I do appreciate your visits to me!

    Manuela

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  44. Thanks, Vee, for the very succint comments. I have become a binge blog addict, and agreed with a lot of what you said. I've taken the music off my own blog, too, as a test.

    Mary Ann at www.calamityacres.blogspot.com

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