So I was recently having a great conversation with a blogger, who is a mother (yet I refuse to call her a mom blogger because, well, she is so much more!).
She gets a million times more traffic than I do, a million times more comments, and sometimes a million times more drama.
She talked about a friend of hers who has a really high traffic blog who gave up comments for Lent.
I’ve never given up squat for Lent.
But this really struck me as something I might need to do.
I started blogging because I love writing and I love conversation.? And I get that conversation would be non-exisitent for that time.
But honestly, comments feed my ego sometimes. More than I’d like.
Or at their worst, they damage my ego.
Am I willing to lose risking readers and traffic because the comments are turned off?
Would it do more harm than good?
Or do I just need to do it because I have invested too much into the “worth” comments give me?
Or should my blog just take a break for Lent completely?
Those are some things in my head that I’m working through.
And they affect you.? So I’d be curious as to what you think.
Comments
56 responses to “Turning off Comments?”
Why burden yourself with the law now that you have been set free?
Anne I guess I don’t have to worry about comments,becaue i have written about 45 blogs i only have about 20 comments and I have had about 3000 readers read the,but if it is something that God wants you to do it then I would and just trust in everything that He wants us to do,cause He knows us better than we know ourselves.Will be praying that you trust God in your decision
I am not sure what to tell you Anne. I enjoy reading your posts and the comments from your viewers too. I for one would miss it. The big question is, would you realize it was more of a hassle moderating comments as needed and never have them again, and maybe lose touch with friends like me? lol…I know other ways to contact you if needed. :-)
Either way, I support you 100% in your decision!
Lent is old school. It was a period of time created by religion to help appease people’s guilty consciences. I grew up in the Catholic church seeing people give up beer, cigarettes, sodas, and various vises for lent, only to celebrate the end of lent with a cooler full of beer and alcohol.
This type of religious observance isn’t necessary anymore, with the rise of Jesus as Savior. “Giving up” something for Lent is a form of “sacrifice” in the eyes of its participants, but the ultimate “sacrifice” that we can offer to God is to surrender our lives to him.
So, to answer your question about giving up comments, my response would be “no way”. Comment away. In fact, open the gates for more and more comments during lent. Have a comment party! Have fun.
I think it might be interesting to try. I’d definitely still read even without being able to comment.
Then again, maybe that’s easy for me to say since I rarely get comments on my blog.
I wouldn’t want your blog to take a break completely for Lent… I enjoy reading your posts, they’re insightful and thought-provoking. wait… don’t let that feed your ego! If you were to only turn your comments off it would be like turning your blog off though. The blog would be a one-way street sans comments… without them it appears that the blogger doesn’t want to be challenged or critiqued in any way. That they just want to hand out thoughts without letting others give their 2 cents as well.
Personally… I would advise against turning off the comments. That said… I completely understand limiting your blogging for lent. While I wouldn’t want you think you couldn’t blog at all… limiting your posts might be a good start.
Hi Anne.
Personally, I enjoy the quality of your writings and topics enough that I can take or leave the comment section.
The only time I interact with your comment section is:
– You ask a direct question and are looking for a direct answer.
– You have posted a topic that can be determined “controversial” and the sin nature in me wants to see the car wreck in the comment thread.
– The topic of your post is of great interest and relevance to me and I feel like I can actually add to the conversation.
One thing about Lent that I think is neat, is the term that is used in european countries during the lental season, “Vacare Deo”. Roughly translated it can mean “Vacation with God”. How cool of an idea is that? If it mean you shift things around to accommodate that then awesome! Maybe dedicate the time allotted to reading and responding to comments by spending it in some manner of worship or communion with God!
Blessings in any way you handle it!
Anne…your struggle seems to be between what’s best for you versus what’s best for the community you are building. If that’s right, then I say, serve your community first, then figure out a way to deal with you. Why?
The feedback that a pastor gets from his weekly sermon may go to his head, but he can’t afford to stop preaching in order to put in check.
So think of it this way, if you see yourself as someone who is leading, pastoring and even mentoring your community, then you can’t afford to shut the community down to deal with your own stuff. It’s not fair to us. You have to lead your way out of it.
You’ve got a voice. You obviously are a leader. Please, lead us from where you are, to where you need to be. Perhaps along the way, the rest of us will learn something too.
@ Kyle… this sounds similar to the book Anne wrote.
@ Kyle – what if i lead by saying “i need this time to withdraw and be alone with my father?”
The follower in me agrees with Kyle. You constantly challenge me. Then the been-there-done-that in me says, “do what Anne needs.” Seek God first. Can’t go wrong with that. You can’t lead well if you’re not healthy. (Where did I read that?)
Such decisive advice, huh?
My gut reaction is to say just turn them off.
Yeah, your pride might take a hit because of the lack of all the comment and you might begin to think that the community needs the comments, we don’t. Life will go on.
Pray about it. Listen to what God says to do. Then do it.
Anne,
I guess it depends on what you want out of your Lenten season/journey. First let me say, if folks are simply giving up something because of a childhood-taught ritual, it seems pointless. Plus a lot of churches no longer observe the season or teach the history/meaning behind it. However, if it is to be a season of journey and deepening of one’s intimacy with God (as Jesus experienced in his 40 days in the desert) and being penitant (prepared for transformation) it may mean adding something to your life, modifying it, or dropping it… whatever “it” maybe. It doesn’t have to be fast from something, but that’s what a lot of people do. I usually pray about it and see what God speaks to my heart & where in my life he wants me to focus during that season. Unfortunately, all too often, I fall and it becomes like a new year’s resolution that breaks down after about 2 weeks, which eventually always brings me back to my need for Christ… which I think is the whole point! Man shall not live by bread alone.
A few years back my t.v. broke on the eve of the Lenten season. I had already been praying about how I needed to cut back & was channel surfing/avoiding responsibilities way too much. Well, I said to God, I won’t rush out & get a new t.v. right away, just wait a day or two, then it ended up evolving into a Lenten fast… then it was 10 months later before I got a new t.v. By then, the habit was broken, and my life was more centered on the things God wanted me to hear from him. An extreme example to be sure but journeying with God takes me to places I wouldn’t expect!
Bottom line: whatever you decide, it should be freeing, not shackling.
Your sister in Christ & fellow twitterer,
L
Anne,
Just a thought: for Lent you could have a weekly or something ‘devotional’ with commets off till the end of Lent, when we’ve all had time to reflect and look through them all, rather than just react right away.
Phil
I’d still come to your blog even if it didn’t have comments available because you write honestly about tough issues and I like that. But I must admit, I’d miss reading through the comments section because that’s part of the fun.
@Anne If you’re talking about a sabatical…a true withdraw…then I’d say that this isn’t a question of comments or not. It’s about you retreating to care for you, your family and what’s most important so you can come back and bring us, your community, thoughts, lessons and leadership in a new capacity. If that’s what you’re talking about, then I’d say shut it all down because we _need_ that from you.
But I thought this was about comments?
I would add…if you are retreating then why continue to blog and not allow comments?
Anne.
I would say
unplug.
everything.
Okay, well at least the blog writing and thus, inherently, the comments.
Why?
Well, Why not take a break-it could give you time to focus on other things (projects?) and it would, be more beneficial than just turning comments off.
Here is my logic:
Comment A is negative
Comment B is positive
Comments = Neutral (for the ego)
No Comments = NonA + NonB = Neutral (for the ego)
Then the solution is:
No Blog = Not Neutral
Any thoughts?
I for one have never ever ever liked blogs that do not allow comments. In fact, I even wrote a post about not using comments (sorry in advance for the self plug) at http://twurl.nl/3zh6cq where I explained at the bottom that when you refuse to allow comments, you basically say I don’t care about my readers.
That (IMO) is because one of the main reasons to have a blog is to initiate conversation. Without comments, your blog is a one way monologue that does not allow the readers to give their opinion of your statements.
Ego aside, I rarely read blogs that don’t allow comments. I don’t comment for sake of pumping up the blogger’s ego, I do it for an exchange of ideas and thoughts. What good does it do if you can exchange ideas?
Now if you want to write for the sake of writing because you like writing, than why bother posting it on a public blog? MacJournal is a great program (for mac users) and you can write to your hearts content without comment.
Just my opinion of course, but how else could you even get feedback from this post without comments? :)
I would say if you feel it’s feeding your ego too much,positively or negatively, then do it. I know there are times I have to back away from something because it’s starting to be about things that it wasn’t meant to be about.
And to be honest, if we get our feelings hurt because you turn off comments, our feelings probably got hurt because we like to see our words on the screen a little too much. :)
Thanks for always setting an objective and introspective example.
and one other thought… if you think your message is important for others to read… turn off the comments and watch your stats and see what your readers do. How many did you actually loose according to your stats? You know it won’t go up.
If your blog helps 1,000 people over x period of time and you loose 20% with no comments, so then you are now helping 800 people. Yes, life will go on but what is the point and purpose of your blog. Are you trying to reach more readers becuase your message is important (like your book)? If so, I would turn off the comments and see how it changes your average readership.
Anne,
This is a bold and daring way of thinking! I applaud your thoughtful wrestling….I don’t have any insights into your specific question: comments/no comments.
I am, however, disappointed by the responses of some of the commenters who view Lent as something “old school,” or “under the law,” or as something to assuage guilt.
It’s true: Lent can be all that. And worse. A close and careful reading of church history bears out the excesses and abuses.
But we can’t fix that. Nor should we be held hostage to someone else’s screwed up understandings. We shouldn’t allow someone else’s negative experiences or perceptions to rob us of the great gift that Lent can be for us on our spiritual journey.
In the early Church, Lent was used as a time for teaching new converts prior to their baptism. It was the very first new members’ class! It was the original “40 Days of Purpose.”
Unfortunately throughout history, Lent has become synonymous with giving up something. Their rationale was that if you could give up something for 40 days, you could probably live just as well giving it up for the other 325 days of the year, too! And there certainly is enough in our lives that we probably ought to give up today.
But I would like to advocate for using Lent to DO something. Maybe read a book, keep a journal, keep a fast, serve in a soup kitchen…do something that takes us out of our comfort zones and stretches us.
Martin Luther is credited as saying, “Love God and do as you please.”
You really don’t need our input to make your decision. Just love God and do as you please. We’ll all be alright!
Anne,
I follow your blog pretty religiously, but don’t usually make comments. I think I still glean and a learn a lot from you despite my lack of commenting. So I say go for it, especially if you think it could help your refocus yourself or just your blog. I wouldn’t necessarily say it would have to be during lent, but at anytime you want to check yourself.
As a former Lutheran missionary, I know the freedom that Martin Luther expressed that comes with faith. Sometimes we take it to the extreme and believe that there is no benefit in sacrifice. Sacrifice is something that is scriptural–and if done correctly (unlike those that practice carnival and the after lent parties), it is a time of growth and intimacy with God.
How much time would/could you put towards your relationship with Him if you stopped reading and replying to comments for 40 days?
Jon
I’m thinking….irony! Please leave your comments about whether or not I should continue comments.
I say, it might be worth it for a season, but I’m in the camp that says if something is important to give up for 40 days, give it up completely, and I don’t think that’s the best route for creating community.
i think this could amazing.
If it is truly a sacrifice for you, then you should do it.
I’ve often fasted blogging and commenting because it truly is a sacrifice – and when I give up something that means a lot to me, the reward is a deeper relationship with Jesus that I would ordinarily be too distracted to experience.
BTW, when you bring comments back – would you consider installing Intense Debate? Maybe for Pete too? It’s a great commenting tool because it encourages cross bloggination (like cross pollination :)
first, what Lisa H said above. :)
second, i suspect giving up the blog altogether would provide a fuller sense of freedom.
lotsa love from ky…
Anne,
If you were to give up something for lent, remember the idea is to make room for God. Make room for him in the absence of what you give up or sacrifice. Take time to pray and thank him in that time of wanting. If we give up something for the sake of sacrifice, I think we lose purpose and the real meaning of why its done.
I’ve been working on a blog post and was inspired to finish it when I read this post. You should stop by and read it….
http://allinhisdesign.blogspot.com/2009/02/mission-statements.html
In my opinion, if your purpose is to just get more comments and become a mega blogger for an ego boost-then maybe turning them off isn’t a bad idea.
BUT if your purpose is to help others in whatever way that means for you and you know your readership could suffer from lack of comments/blogging-then you may not be fulfilling one of the purposes that God has for you in your life.
Anne
Before you even ask the question, God has already told you what to do, so in your Father eyes just do that what has been told to you
Anne,
I think @ Kyle nails the heart of this issue with his first comment. Along those lines, a sabbatical of sorts (from comments or the entire thing) might ultimately serve the community best if it means you come back re-connected, revitalized and refreshed and the community knows that it will be able to participate in conversation with you (and each other) at some point in the near future.
I also love what @ jason_73 had to say about vacationing with God for you. I say, ?Bring on the umbrella drinks!?…wait…is that part of the package? Maybe not. ;)
Kris
i’ve given up blogging altogether for periods of time for the purpose of fasting. it sort of changed how i blog. i definitely don’t blog as compulsively as before. not as engaged in the blogosphere. don’t write as much. definitely don’t get as many comments or hits (which was hard at first, but i’m sort of okay with it now). for me, it’s helped me focus on other things i’ve needed to focus on, which was part of the reason i sought the blogging change. :) blogging wasn’t a ‘priority’ activity, and i needed to unplug from it for a while so it wasn’t so consuming.
but for you, you may need to do some more thinking about what blogs and comments are for you. every now and then i feel a need to pull back from social networking stuff (facebook in particular, because it’s so stinkin’ addictive). but these days i’m focusing more on just limiting my time (even though that isn’t working well :) with it rather than taking extended breaks because there’s good community there (connecting with friends from far away, etc.). so yeah… do what you need to do.
if you’re looking for another cool thing to do for lent, blood:water mission is doing this 40 days of water thing, where they’re encouraging people to give up non-water beverages for 40 days and then take the money they would have spent on juice or booze or coffee and put that toward helping provide clean water to people in developing nations who are without it. in these tough economic times, it seems like a very doable, simple way to free up resources to help others. though i’d miss coffee and tea and orange juice. :)
comments damage your ego? then by all means turn them off.
Praying dangerous prayers for you this very moment! You are loved beyond words.
As a youth pastor we are not doing anything for lent. But starting this Wednesday the youth group and I are giving up buying ourselves anything we don’t need for 21 days. No new cloths, shoes, mocha fraps, candy ect. As hard as it is to believe many of us dont need coffee, *Gasp*. For January my wife and I gave up sugar and TV. In turn we realized we watched way to much TV. We still watch some but we try and limit ourselves to one show a week each. Me Heroes, her American Idol. But we have grown a lot closer as a married couple, which is awesome.
Go ahead and kick yourself in the butt a little and give something up for lent or half lent maybe, 21 days seems to have a nice ring to it. Oh and we still try not to eat sugar. I lost 6 pounds and counting and have more energy then when I did eat suger. But, that is all together another story.
Peace
Ben D.
I love it when folks say “Lent is old school.” That’s like saying, “Saving sex for marriage is old school.” I was born and raised Catholic and never did Lent until way after I became a Christian. It’s a personal decision and not one that any of us can necessarily answer for you. AND (someone challenged me with this a few years ago) whatever you do (giving up, adding, etc), keep it between you and God. Don’t hang a shingle out there that says, “I am a superb Christian! I gave up something for Lent!” (Not even beginning to suggest that is what you are doing here… I hope you understand what I’m saying.)
ANYHOW the practice of Lent is NOT old school! And if you take the time that you would normally spend reading comments to pray, read your bible or whatever, then BRAVO! But if you’re doing it just to do it, then bunk that. As with everything, the practice of Lent can be life changing.
Ok, gonna shut up now.
(And how funny that you brought this up today. I was thinking about discussing this very topic in my blog this week!!)
I like Alice’s comment a lot. Sums up what I was gonna say. Practicing any discipline of omission has to come from within. As such, it’s a very subjective decision. Getting input from others endangers the beauty and sanctity of the discipline. It really has to come from within you completely.
You’re getting a shotgun response…lots of points, lots of perspectives. Some say forget Lent, others say no comments, others say drop the whole blog. Wow, that helps…
Make your decision from your heart, Anne. People will always read your blog, whether you take time away or not. The ones who leave and don’t return–it will be their loss.
Anne,
I recently spent just 1 day unplugged from the world completely, no media, no computer, no phone, no talking. I spent the day in silent reflection before the Lord, listening to Him and it was the best thing I’ve ever done.
If you feel that comments, or blogging for that matter, are a potential problem then by all means unplug from them for a season. What truly matters is what God thinks.
Anne, you are a very wise woman, and the fact that you’re asking our opinion shows that you value us, the readers, and I appreciate that.
I think if you look at the intent of your blogs, they are not lectures, but rather starting point for discussion on a wide range of topics. It’s not about the number of readers – quantity should have no bearing – it’s about the quality of the growth you’re instilling with the discussion of the subject.
I personally, don’t practice lent, but respect those that do. If I understand your follow-up at #10, you’re not saying the posting is impacting your time with God, just keeping up with approving the comments. Right? If so, there’s nothing wrong with scheduling time to approve-approve-approve the comments, rather than feel you need to constantly go through them.
Hope that helps.
turn them off.
comments can sometimes suck your life from you in terms of time & energy. go get your ego boosts (or accountability) from those who are in your life everyday. if you recognize that about your ego then you are one step ahead of the game.
if my comments are so important then i’ll start my own blog….duh what is that called irony or what?
God vs. marketing always creates much tension
Practicing the spiritual disciplines of letting go and taking on during Lent are only valuable if they bring you closer to God. If letting go of comments for 40 days will draw you near, then you should do it.
But you’re not just supposed to give something up; you’re also supposed to take something on. Is there a way to create more conversation (the kind that is valuable) in your life that won’t involve ego-feeding? If so, then giving up the comments for awhile might be a really good idea. I don’t think you should worry about us too much.
Hi Anne,
My suggestion would be to leave the comments on and turn the ego off. You’re building a great community here, and it would sad if you got in the way of what God is doing!
Keep up the great work!
@jay comments=ego. therefore, ego, off, comments off
I kinda referred to this in one of my posts today.
I gave up comments on my blog. And I honestly like it better that way.
Like you, I started writing a blog because I enjoy writing and getting things off my mind.
Besides, if people want to get in touch with you, let them do it via e-mail or instant messaging.
But hey…it is your blog. It is up to you!
Hope all is well.
I am leaning towards not doing it all together for Lent. no writing at all. a blog break.
Go for it. I think you will be refreshed and maybe God will give you a renewed sense of focus as to your next steps in writing. If anything the time away will give you a chance to draw closer to Him.
I love your book by the way. I am on page 67 and have just recommended it to the Ministerial here.
DO IT!
I mean, why not?
I’m thinking about unplugging from facebook for lent….but ouch that will hurt.
I don’t come from a tradition that celebrates Lent, but my wife and I have done so in the last few years and found it incredibly worthwhile. Do what you feel you need to do.
I’d say go for it – be extreme. I’m gonna drop all liquids except for water, which is going to be difficult because I just picked up 1.5 lbs of mate from teavana yesterday…ouch…
Oh teavana. I couldnt give that up.
anne…I want you to unplug. you’ve got a lot on your plate and i want you to breathe deep, get rest, and be more alive than ever. thats my two cents.
much love
Blake
I turned off comments on my blog for several months a while (a year?) ago for the same reason, and it worked. It really hurt, but it worked.
In some ways it may have worked better for me than it will for you, ’cause my blog was never as known as this one is. My readership plummeted – which surprised me. Views went way down. It’s been almost a year and I still don’t get a half-dozen comments on any one post where I used to get dozens. My stats overall are still way low compared to what they were.
I actually had one friend who moved out of town come back for a visit and ask if I was still blogging. When I said I was he responded, “Cool. Honestly I stopped reading when you disabled comments.”
It hurt, but it’s STILL working ’cause my stats are still suffering and I’m not. ;)
Not to criticize what you’ve written, but you have a ton of comments here and yet–you’ve replied to but a few. How can great blogging conversations exist if you don’t reply graciously to each and every comment?
This is my thought for the day.
Sorry, bro – I have been traveling a lot this week and have spent about 20 minutes online in the last 2 days. I would have replied to 25k comments if i went by that logic which i can’t. and most of the conversations happen with out me anyway. it’s the community -it’s not me.