Comments. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.

in #minnowsupport7 years ago (edited)

How to write High Quality Comments.


Writing quality comments is the best way to increase user engagement with your blog. When I say "write quality comments", I mean in the posts that you read, and as replies in the comments section of your posts.

I've got to admit. I'm not the best at writing comments. For some, this comes natural. However, for most here, it is a habit that we develop. I know that I need to write better comments. However, I am learning, and getting my comment game Proper. Right along side you!

Writing articles is part of my process for developing good habits. This is a way to seal this information in my mind, and to help others along the way.

Also, I am a new volunteer with the Minnow Support Project. Part of my job as Greeter is to help other minnows learn the ropes of steemit. I wish I had a post like this to guide me when I first got here!

I could not fine a good article about quality commenting that was suitable for sharing. So, here we are :)

The Worst Comments on the block-chain.

(Image Source: steemithelp.net/etiquette/)


  1. "Follow for Follow" "Follow me and support my post" "I upvoted you, now you upvote me".

This type of begging comment is despised by everyone on steemit. So if you want experienced users to appreciate you, don't do it.

  1. Spam comments that have completely nothing to do with the article.

When someone drops a link in my comments section that is un-related to what I wrote in the post, it is a major sign of disrespect. Typically these are bots. Do you want people to think you are a robot?

  1. Bland comments.

Ask yourself: "Would this comment make sense on any other random article?" If so, then the comment is too bland.

Again, do you want people to think you are a robot?

  1. Unrelated links dropped into comments are spam. See steemithelp.net/etiquette/ for more on this topic.

Anything along these lines is likely to get you flagged or muted.

Too many flags, and your account will become invisible, and you will be powerless here. If you get muted, then the user will never see your posts ever again!

Better than the worst (but, not great at all):


"Thank you." "Beautiful Post" "Nice Job" are nice sentiments. However, a simple "thank you" looks too much like a robot typed it. A generic thank you isn't, necessarily bad, however, it's definitely not good.

You can improve thank you comments by: adding a relevant link to an article on steemit and by saying something about the post that you liked. This way, the writer knows that you actually read their post, and aren't just hoping for an upvote.

Another way to improve the thank you comment is to add "Upvoted and Followed" (assuming you actually did those things). This lets the author know that even though you did not take the time to leave a thoughtful comment, you liked the article enough to follow and are interested in seeing more.

Better than ok, these are some good comments

(image source: steemdollar.com)


Even short comments can mention something you liked about the article, image, or video. For example:

"Hello, I really enjoy the shading on that Image" or, "I totally agree with what you said about not spamming peoples comments", or "This is awesome! I will be sure to share with all of my friends on the P.A.L. Discord Channel"

The message you convey with a comment like this, is that you actually looked at the article, with your human eyes. We verify this, by mentioning something in the post in the way a human would.

(wikipedia)

Perfecto


For this, I will start off with a perfect example of a wonderfully heartfelt comment from @heart-to-heart

@rycharde is the best! He's got a great project going on over there, I am thrilled to be part of MAP 11, it's been so fun getting to know everyone! We've got some great authors that is for sure! Thanks @inquiringtimes for being a little angel and referring me <3 I strongly encourage any authors out there to get on board, it can't hurt to meet some more friends and support this awesome project! XO - from: Minnows Accelerator Project

Soooooooo.... this is just a great example of a perfect comment. If you check out @heart-to-heart's profile and wonder why she is such a success, well, it's not just simply because she is beautiful.... no... it is because she creates HIGH QUALITY posts, and AMAZING comments.

Here is a quote from a recent post of hers:

My comments are from the heart (every comment I get on my posts, I always make a serious effort to come back to and write a real response, no copied and pasted junk, a response to a comment even if it's just a few words I am responding to.) I have been criticized for this as well, people telling me not to waste so much time since many of those comments go unanswered anyway.

I comment authentically. I don't comment to comment. What is the expectation from that behavior anyway? I comment if I enjoy/like or feel drawn to what I have read or genuinely want to support it.
@heart-to-heart via: A Real Steemit Success Story & Guide

Now, here is a helpful tip from @cerebralace :

Of course, you can start off by thanking the author for a great post. But don’t just stop there – tell the author exactly why it was such a great post by detailing exactly what you appreciated the most in the article. Point out your favorite parts of the article and go a step further by explaining why those particular parts specifically impacted you. I always love reading comments like these because it gives me a better indication of whether or not my article was actually useful and helpful for my readers.
@cerebralace via: How To Write a High Quality Comment


Another good place to find examples, and practice, is the comments section in #deepthink posts. These are very thoughtful articles posted by a community of writers who also compose very thoughtful comments.

Here is an example of an excellent comment from a #deepthink post by @conditionedmind - Are You Living For Temporary Relief From Your Mind?

@rieki writes:

Beautiful thoughts! I found you in the MAP discord and decided to come check you out! I have some ideas I'd like to share about your post.

"The cessation of any form of habit/addiction is going to cause uneasiness and fear to arise. Don’t fuel these feelings either with your attention. You have to allow whatever arises to arise freely while abstaining from focusing or putting your attention on it."

"You can't 'do' a 'Don't"

I believe that all addictions stem from unmet needs attempting to be met by something that acts as a replacement. This is true from a biochemical addiction standpoint as it is in our physical actions. So, to say "don't do drugs" is literally the most ineffective strategy to prevent utilizing harmful substances, as it brings attention and awareness to what you "don't" want opposed to what it is that you're seeking (clarity of mind, drug-free, etc). So, it's a much more effective strategy (I believe) to instead focus on the positive outcome you're seeking. If you're wanting happiness, don't focus on not having bad thoughts, focus on having happy thoughts etc...

Also, just for fun, I believe the notion of 'giving up the ego' or 'killing the ego' stems from the ego, as another form of separating the whole being that we are and causing us to reject aspects of ourselves. Trying to 'kill the ego' is, in my opinion, an egotistical endeavour ;) - @conditionedmind

Notice how, the author of the post, quotes another comment, inside of their comment?

AMAZING!!!!!!!!! This example actually is somewhere around 1000% above and beyond, yet quite typical over there at #deepthink

Come join us on Discord!

Ok, so.... We all now get idea of writing a great comment.

This is: that we will specifically mention something in the post that we like, or maybe something specific about the author that we like. It will, hopefully, be longer than a sentence.

So, please, let me know... did I forget something? Am I leaving out some good comment tips that I forgot? Perhaps you know of a good article that already mentions what I just said? I searched, and I asked friends what their favorite post about writing good comments are, this is what I got.

That's a good post writing tip right there... if you need more sources for your articles (trust me, YOU DO), ask some friends, do a google search "steemit how to write a perfect comment" or something like that.

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References and Further Reading

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I think the funniest comments I've seen are those that have been crafted to appear genuine, but are cycled through randomly and therefore bear no relationship with the content of the article.

I have also seen the same comments upvoted (!), so being randomly genuine (and genuinely random) has its crumbs of success.

Yes, and I also like ham sandwiches. This one particularly because it was grilled first! please send me the recipie

I absolutely agree with your point. I think commenting is the most underrated activity on steemit. When I started my journey on steemit, it was the comments that helped me in getting the right exposure and making valuable connections.

I think I might use this article when I comment on #introducemyself posts and direct them to the FAQ and etiquette guide. I'd say the things you talk about in this post are the reasons I've found success so far on Steemit, and I think more people could benefit from reading this.

The message you convey with a comment like this, is that you actually looked at the article, with your human eyes. We verify this, by mentioning something in the post in the way a human would.

This is the biggest thing I look for when I decide which comments to respond to, as well as which ones I upvote. I want to know someone took the time to read my article.

Which brings up the discussion of upvoting comments. Many times, people neglect upvoting them in favor of upvoting the main post. I think that taking the time to upvote these high quality comments would help promote all of the things you talk about in this post.

Glad I spotted this over in #theunmentionables. I really enjoyed this post. Thanks for sharing, and keep up the good work.

That's a great idea for whenever we get a comment that is pretty bland, to post a link of this article and maybe people will learn to give a bit more!

I'm going to bookmark the post to do this.

yes, no problem with me. I always smile when I get a notification that someone has left this post in the comments section of a new user.

That's cool! Great how the little things can make us smile and keep us moving forwards! :)

Yes, I will include a link for them. As I just discovered the service I didn't remember to add it. Thanks for stopping by, and thank you #theunmentionables (mentoring service)

hahah now the pressure is on to make a relevant and witty reply ;) so i will start out by saying that @inquiringtimes has given me his time, advice and encouragement unstintingly. i am sure he does this with others as well.

sometimes it's difficult to respond to an article if you dont have much experience with the subject. on the other hand, i know from experience after spending hours pouring energy into your work, most people want some kind of reaction. what did you think, what did you feel? giving feedback is part of the circle. artists who take the time to read, react and critique their peers fulfill this unspoken obligation, and reap the reward of gratitude, respect and friendship. but it takes time, thought and engagement. do it anyway.

I always try to find something personal to say in a comment...whether on facebook, a blog or on here. If I read my comment and think, "who cares?" then I delete it and go on my way. If it doesn't add something to the conversation or convey something to the author that I think it worth $.02, then it isn't worth anyone's time to write or read it. Thanks for the post!

Very good article. I am notorious for just dropping the usual, "Good article"! I am going to make myself open up and really engage the authors and give them a heartfelt opinion. Than you so much for your support. It's been a very good first day on Steemit!

Haha OH MY GOODNESS! I'm laughing out loud right now at how ridiculous it is that I am featured in a how to write good comments post. This post is amazing @inquiringtimes and you are a community champion trying to help our platform succeed but the fact that we need to train people how to speak from their hearts, ugh... the humanity... my head hurts.

Why do we have to tell people not to spam others on here is beyond me but I do agree with all of your points and love you all the more for it.

You know, people ask me about my "success", how I do what I do but honestly, there is no method, I don't do anything I don't want, and everything I do comes from my heart. I'd never write anything because I feel I have to. Even being featured in this post does not make it obligatory for me to respond to HOWEVER since I want to, that's where the difference comes from.

You my friend are what we need more of, people spreading love and creative help to those around here needing a hand. I'm trying to sprinkle myself over that area as well!

Thank you so much for the loving shout-out, I really appreciate it! I don't plan on changing but I will continue doing my best to inspire <3

That is the thing about true genius. True genius never thinks itself special. "what? no I am just doing what anyone in my position would do." Mean-while the rest of the world looks on in wonder.

Excellent post. My upvote and resteem. I need read it time after time :)

It feels really hard to comment on this post, I definitely feel the pressure... But I agree with you! If people comment they should actually thinking about giving some input to the article or the author.
But sometimes I feel that a "wow" or "amazing" works well, it's more of a feeling and might not easily be described in words.

Especially amongst friends, who know you are a real person ;)

I prefer upvotes to "wow" 🙌

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