Blogging without comments

Is a blog without comments still a blog?

I guess it depends on who you ask. While most blogs have comments enabled, there are some very prominent bloggers who don't offer this feature to their readers. People like Alex Payne, Dave Winer, Douglas Bowman, Jason Kottke, Joel Spolsky, Brian Cray, John Gruber, Russell Beattie, and Seth Godin readily come to mind.

Over the last four years that I've been running my own blog, 94% of all comments were links to dodgy sites trying to flog viagra, tramadol, xanax, valium, amoxicillin, vicodin and phentermine. Another 3% were "promotions" for mobile phone ringtones, flaky software and nude celebrity downloads.

While the majority of the remaining 3% of messages are genuine interaction by real people who have something to contribute, there's also the regular bit of nonsense, disguised as praise:

I really like your blog and I respect your work. I'll be a frequent visitor.

My writing seems to have psychological benefits too:

Thank you! You often write very interesting articles. You improved my mood.

Sometimes, they're just enamoured with my online presence:

I'm in love with this great website. Many thanks guys!

Gee, how nice. I'm so humbled that my experience and opinions can touch people in such deeply profound ways. Except, these types of comments always link to such obviously questionable websites.

In a nutshell, the amount of time I spend managing comments on this website is overwhelmingly dedicated to keeping spam away from my readers. Because of that, I'm disabling the commenting feature. I know this will annoy some folks, but for me, it's simply a question of time affordability.

Is a blog without comments still a blog? Perhaps not, according to some purists. But my time is my own, after all, and I've got more important ways to spend it than endlessly cleaning the garbage left behind by the shonky merchants trying to flog crap to my readers.

If you're a real person with something to say, your comments are still welcome elsewhere, or contact me through the normal means.

Due to the large volume of spam, comments are disabled. If you have anything relevant to say, you can leave a , or contact me directly.

About the author

Ivan's mugshotI'm Ivan Lutrov and I'm the owner of Lutrov Interactive. I have 25 years of experience producing interactive work and I create cost effective business websites that are simple, engaging and easy to use. I practice what I preach and I say what I really think, even if it's sometimes not what you want to hear. Subscribe to the Lutrov Interactive feed via RSS and follow me on Twitter.