COMMENTS FROM HELL LED TO DISCLAIMER
On September 3rd I shared my experiences with a commenter from hell in this post http://bloggersblurt.wordpress.com/2006/09/03/comments-from-hell/. As well I shared my response to two other situations where wordpress.com bloggers had also received comments of the same ilk.
In that post I revealed that I was preapring to develop a comments policy and invited reader input. Specifically, I invited my readers to answer these three questions:
I’m interested to know what you policy on comments is. Please share with me.
Do you moderate your comments?
Do you allow anonymous comments?
What do you do about comments from hell?
What do you think about posting a Comments Policy?
I received comments from 6 readers on my blog and 8 others responded by email. I then dusted off my code of conduct policy for another of my blogs, made some adjustments and came up with a Disclaimer which you will find posted on both of my blogs here and at http://timethief.wordpress.com.
I want to thank everyone who took the time and made the effort to dialogue with me on this matter. I appreciate your partcipation in the process 
Please read the Disclaimer Page and note the Credits.
Tags: blogging comments, blogging tips and help, connecting with bloggers, disclaimer
TT, I’ll answer your questions: (I realize that they were asked in an earlier post but, for what they are worth, here are my answers anyway):
Do you moderate your comments?
Yes. All of them. I realize that this might be unrealistic for people who get a lot of traffic.
Do you allow anonymous comments?
No. The commenters have to leave their email address, though it is not made public when the comment is displayed.
What do you do about comments from hell?
Haven’t received any, actually. Are they common, or did I just get lucky? I have received a couple of irrelevant comments which I deleted, but have never received any flaming or abusive stuff.
What do you think about posting a Comments Policy?
I think it is a good idea, if only to show that one cares about the discussion taking place, and about maintaining decorum therein. I have a very short commenting policy on my blog, essentially dealing with 2 points: First about abusive posts, second about readers giving away contact details in their posts.
I would like to add though, that I am not too enthusiastic about a long comments policy. Brevity and readability are essential, especially when one is writing a policy. I certainly don’t want people to feel like they are reading some “fine print” on tax documents. Thus, “abusive comments will be deleted” seems to me good enough, rather than outlining what is abusive and why it hampers discourse and what can be done to get one’s point across without being abusive.
Edit:
@polaris
I appreciate for your succinct answers to my questions and your observations as well. You’re quite correct, in matters of policy brevity and clarity are key, therefore, I intend to edit my disclaimer. What surprises me is that no one, other than yourself, mentioned the length of it, let alone, doing so with such grace and tact.
P.S. I was cyber stalked by hateful, trash talking porno lovers and accordingly, have taken evasive action. TT