Minor Comment Moderation Woes [tentatively resolved]

The site is going through some growing pains that I am attempting to troubleshoot. My current issue is with comment moderation.

Only first-time comments should be held for moderation. However, all comments are currently being sent for moderation. Clearly, this feature is not acting as expected. I am looking into solutions, including considering something other than Akismet (should that be the root cause) or Jetpack for comments — undesirable choices either way. While overly aggressive at times, Akismet works reasonably well. Similarly, Jetpack for comments has to positive feature that you can use the app for comment notifications if you have a WordPress.com account. Otherwise, readers will have to subscribe to “all comments” via RSS feeds or stop by for responses.

I compared settings on the backend between sceadugenga and ravenweald. The only difference is a ticked box for asking for cookie permissions when you comment. If folks haven’t been giving permission, that might explain why it is not storing the necessary information on-site to avoid future moderation. I’ve removed that requirement, so we’ll see if the issue goes away.

And, maybe it is time to rely less on app notifications for comment responses and likes. I have personally shut down all push notifications for myself on most apps and services I use. Now I give preference to visiting sites directly or via app information when I am in the mood.

On a side note, I have started migrating away from Jetpack/WordPress Reader for all things WordPress. I want to see sites as designed, not through a sandboxed filter. Instead, I have been using an RSS feed reader the past week to watch sites I follow. The effect that may have is that eventually people might not have a record of my being a “follower” when I am, in fact, a follower.

But that, friends, is a subject for another post.

michael raven

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4 responses to “Minor Comment Moderation Woes [tentatively resolved]”

  1. shredbobted Avatar
    shredbobted

    I’m still trying to figure out how I like reading on WordPress. Jetpack is convenient for the reasons you mentioned. Everything shows up there and it’s easy to reply—but it’s really better to go to the individual sites. Most of us put a lot of work into our home sites. I do have one persnickity little gripe though, and it’s because I’m always looking for longer pieces, which are usually posted bit by bit as daily posts. Then they go off into history, and on longer pieces, they can end up way way way down in the reader, which requires a lot of scrolling every time I want to get back to where I was. So, for the authors out there, please think about your readers, and on your sites, please make a table of contents that will take readers easily to different places in your story. It’s not hard to do and it makes it a lot easier to navigate.

    Reply
    1. michael raven Avatar
      michael raven

      Yeah, I’m experimenting with using inoreader (rss feed reader) as my blog reader versus Jetpack, which is essentially a walled garden rss feed reader. It has it’s convenience features, but then I am not seeing the sites as intended. It adds to the disconnect increasingly prevalent in our digital world.

      Inoreader has the same issues in terms of a disconnect and missing formatting (rss feeds do not transmit formatting), but it helps me to monitor who has updated their site and then I can load the site without the hoops that Jetpack unnecessarily forces on you to do so. So far, I’ve been enjoying visiting sites directly instead of via a render more since I moved over, which is required if I want to comment or “like” something.

      As I think more and more, I am inclined to buck the system a bit, although it messes with engagement. Then again, it also limits low-quality engagement — like people spamming likes to get you to follow them. If someone is interested in the content, and it is good or decent content, they will come back or sign up for notifications via RSS or email. Then it is incumbent upon me to create content that people want to read and everyone gets more ham and less spam.

      Reply
  2. shredbobted Avatar
    shredbobted

    That’s not a comment for you, Michael, by the way. Just that you have a lot of readers and I’m hoping to get the word out.🤓

    Reply
    1. michael raven Avatar
      michael raven

      I agree with you and didn’t take it as a personal criticism. I think long-form writers (serial fiction, blovels, etc.) need to serious look at how they can disrupt the scene and come up with better ways of displaying that kind of content. There are plugins for that purpose but, with a little bit of creativity, research and experimentation, there are some tricks you can use without plugins to make the reader’s experience better.

      As far as my reader base goes, I expect it to plummet as the spammier followers elect not to follow this site. I’ll be building from scratch, I think.

      Reply

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