Real Estate Blog - Before You Disable Comments, Consider This...

Home : Blogs : Margaret Woda, Maryland Real Estate : Maryland Real Estate

Before You Disable Comments, Consider This...

Many others have written about disabling comments, including Brad Andersohn's recent Disabled Comments or The Disabled Post. Members' contributed immeasurably to the value of his post, as they usually do, with their comments. Rich Jacobson also wrote on this topic in "Disabled Comments" - Talking to a Brick Wall, and comments were important to that conversation, as well.

Talking to a Brick Wall, to use Rich's phrase, describes very accurately how I felt today when I reached out to reciprocate a member's comment on one of my posts, and realized he had disabled comments on his post about his listing in Fairview, TX. Since I can't comment on the post about a home that interests me, my comment has expanded from "Can you send me more info about this community?" to some thoughts on why anyone should re-consider before they disable comments.

No Comments

Several ActiveRain members around the country will attest to the fact that I am actively looking for the "right" retirement destination, since I have asked for information about areas, communities or homes on several occasions. This specific property is in my price range, in an "active adult" community, has golf course views (high on our "wants" list), is located in the DFW area where my daughter lives... and I can't comment?

What is he thinking?!?!?!?!? Why post his listing to ActiveRain in the first place, only to slam a door in the face of anyone who might be interested? I guess he prefers that I contact my daughter's REALTOR for more information about his listing and this community... or perhaps I should contact DFW area ActiveRain members
Gary Woltal or Karen Anne Stone, who I've gotten to
know through exchanging comments on ActiveRain...

May I suggest you consider these factors before disabling comments:

1. The culture of ActiveRain is communication. Comments enhance the message - with comments from people of differing backgrounds and experiences, the content of a blog post is both enriched and expanded, usually in a good way. Even disagreement enriches the conversation and adds perspective to the content of our posts.

2. New friendships are the most unexpected and greatest reward of ActiveRain. Reciprocal comments are the first step to developing relationships on ActiveRain. I've gotten to know like-minded people from Alaska to Florida and everywhere in between. I could write a whole post on this, and many of us could. No, I wasn't looking for friendships on ActiveRain, but it's the main reason I stay even though FocusOnCrofton.com is my primary blog.

3. ActiveRain is a GREAT source of referrals. I've made successful referrals to ActiveRain agents, and received them, as well. How did we know who to choose for these referrals? By getting to know each other through comments and posts. My business would have been a lot leaner during the past year without this valuable source of income.

4. ActiveRain is a GREAT source of leads. It's true that most consumers don't comment, but sometimes they do. And those who came from ActiveRain or Localism often say to me they enjoyed the banter in the comments to my posts and felt, from the conversational tone, they would like working with me. How could they have reached this conclusion if comments were disabled?

And, as I mentioned earlier, I AM a potential buyer for the right home in the right community anywhere in the country my husband and I decide to go. It's likely to be somewhere I find on ActiveRain.

5. You get points for comments received. I know, I know... who's counting points? I even wrote a post about that. Points for received comments are, however, the easiest way to get them! In fact, they will help you creep up in the point totals for your area so you're more "findable" by consumers and referring agents.

In Ted Mackel's Three Mistakes Newbies to ActiveRain should avoid, he addresses disabling comments very effectively in just one sentence:

#1 Disabling comments. Part of blogging and social networking is engaging people to interact with you. If you don't let people interact, then don't expect to get much out of this process.

To everyone who comments on my posts, I just have one thing to say - THANK YOU!

Posted by Margaret Woda, Maryland Real Estate on 09/26/2008 08:30 AM

Comments (77)

Commenting in the ActiveRain Channel

disable comments

Post is included in group: Dedicated Bloggers
Post is included in group: Real Estate Rookie
Post is included in group: The Art Of Marketing You
Post is included in group: Real Estate Tomato Bloggers

77 Comments on Before You Disable Comments, Consider This...

SEP

2008

I don't get it either, but your explanation hopefully will help some folks, stop doing it.

Margaret, I understand that the very purpose of blogging is to establish a dialog with other professionals and customers. Imagine if a customer tried to put in a comment and could not.

Margaret, great explanation of why to not disable points!

Margaret: I wonder if the poster even knows he has the box marked, so that he doesn't get comments? I say that because I "accidentally" had my Re-Blog box NOT checked. Maybe it is an oversight....just guessing. If it is done on purpose, then I don't GET IT.

Margaret - Valid points. I think I've used that feature twice. Once was just to annoy folks and the other was because I posted about a niche product that was simply designed to garner google juice in case people were looking for that product in my area. Besides that, I'm not big on the feature because I like the open dialog and banter. Many times, the comment thread turns out better than the actual post.

Margaret - you are welcome. I believe we all have reasons for our actions. Sometimes it may simply be an oversight, a mistake, or we simply do not know any better. As you know many Active Rain members are on a learning curve. I have no idea why a person would disable comments - you make excellent points in your post. Thank you!!

I haven't used that feature because I enjoy the comments. I am new at this but I like them thus far! I read other comments that people write also. I use them as a learning tool. Friendship and networking is what this is all about. I think the comments are a great way of establishing both.

Stacey~

Margaret - I am with you on this one all the way. I don't really see too many reasons to disable comments. If someone is really out of line with a comment, one can delete it if they wish. I had to do this once which someone spammed my post and used some vulgar language, or when someone slandered another person and I didn't want any liability because it was connected to one of my posts. The benefits of allowing comments are as you have outlined them, and I would not have gotten to know you if it had not been for Active Rain and communications and support of each other.

After such excellent recent posts on this topic, I'm surprised to see this featured in the short time I left my computer to take a shower and get dressed for the day. Thank you for the compliment!

Believe it or not, I AM open to learning why other people may feel differently... why they DO choose to disable comments on all their posts. Please feel free to share your perspective in the comments and I promise not to argue the point!

Margaret...well done. I recently had the same experience. Obviously, there is a control issue....why be here! Nice that you got a feature....you always support your point so well. Thanks for your work!

Margaret, you definitely get an 'AttaGirl' for this post! It's a well-laid-out series of really important points for anyone who's trying to use AR for its main intended purpose of networking. Networking is the heart of my business and, I suspect, of most agents who are actually doing business. I don't understand either, what the point would be of disabling the comments. Go figure!

On another, note, if you're looking for a place to retire, our town of Prescott, Arizona is still very highly rated nationwide as one of the most desirable places in the country to retire to. Don't think desert here. We're in the mountains of central Arizona at anywhere from 4800 to 6000 feet above sea level. We have four distinct seasons with none of them being extreme. There are pines and lakes and high prairies with million-dollar views all over the place. And, some of the nicest people in the world call Prescott and her sister-cities, Prescott Valley, and Chino Valley home. I think you'd do well to give us a look-see!

Makes no sense to me!!! I'd call a Realtor who cares, obviously he doesn't need the money :d

Hmmm, should I be the devil's advocate? ...Oh, alright if you insist ;-).

I have comments disabled on the listings on my MainLinePaToday.com Blog. My reasoning is that I do not want comments or banter about my sellers property on the blog. Nor do I want to run the risk of any other agency or ethics issues. Personally and professionally I prefer communications about my Sellers propety to be private and confidential.

My name and phone number are everywhere for anyone who wants to contact me. It's not difficult for me to imagine some potential negatives on listing comments, i.e. the green and purple shag carpet, someone wants to make an offer and that discourages another offer from being made, etc.

That's my story and I'm stickin to it :-)

I used to leave the comments available on listings posted but I got tired of all the stupid comments! Why make a remark about the wall paper? It's not necessary. If someone wants to contact you go to the right under your blog pic and click on the contact me by email. There see - that was easy enough wasn't it? I wouldn't consider that inconvenience.

I saw one member who did that after many several controversial remarks.

It was very frustrating that I wasn't able to comment.

Kinda of like a one sided argument.

I guess everybody exercises their right to comment or not comment and that is the beauty of AR a free community with a place for everyone

I agree that part of the beauty of AR is the open dialog. If someone does not want comments ,why are they hare to begin with. They may as well put an ad in the paper and hope the phone rings. At least on AR we get answers right away and know if others are enjoying our blogs. Happy Friday......

Lori Isaacson

Missy, 'Guess I'm puzzled about the "why" people don't want comments as much as I want to point out good reasons not to do that.

Charlie, That's exactly what happened with me today. As a result, I emailed my daughter's agent who responded immediately with information about that property and other "over 55" communities within an hour or so of DFW. The ActiveRain member motivated my renewed conversation with another agent instead of attracting my business with his post.

Pippa - Thank you!

Kat - I would have to assume he knows that's checked, since it's done on all his posts, but that's a good point.

Jason, I agree there is a time and place to use it. I did so when I published the Military Directories because I wanted consumers to contact the agent listed for the appropriate military installation.

I agree when it comes to blogs, but for listing blogs I think it is better to disable. The reason is that that is not for conversation, it is for distribution and advertising, what if people leave negative comments, how would his seller feel that he is advertising negative comments attached to the listing. If it's an ad I wouldn't allow comments. It just makes sense, but otherwise I wouldn't disable on blogs.

Kathleen - That's so true, and hopefully some of them will read Ted Mackell's excellent post.

Stacey - Since you mentioned you're "new at this", let me point out that we can delete anyone's comments on our posts if they are inappropriate or off track.

Joan - You're right. I believe you were one of the first people who ever reached out and commented on any of my posts.

Jeanean - Yes, it is, and I agree with the theory that we should be able to control comments "on" or "off" - I just find it hard to imagine the logic of disabling comments on all posts.

Dave - Yes, we ARE looking for a place to retire, and AZ is one place we haven't looked. Let's exchange some emails on the topic.

Sara - Hey, I'm a good example. This agent took the time to create a lovely online brochure for his listing, posted it on ActiveRain, and then put up that proverbial brick wall. Now, here I am a few hours later communicating wth another agent about his listing and others in the community that he alerted me to. His loss and Jennifer's gain.

Judy, thank you for having the courage to disagree and thank you for sharing the "why's" of your decision. I guess it would take just one negative comment like you mentioned to make someone wary of unrestricted comments.

On my outside blog, all comments have to be approved by me before they appear (and I disapprove as many as I approve, since they're often spam), and comments can be deleted on ActiveRain. That works for me as a way to address the things you mentioned. I'd love to learn more about why you think there's an ethics issue with comments on your posts - sounds like the topic for a future post.

Lyn, thank you for that explanation. As an agent, I see your point. While I approached this member's post as an agent, a property attracted my eye and I transformed into a consumer. As a consumer, that brick wall turned me off and I contacted another agent in the area - not him. It's a risk he takes by using that option, as you do.

Brenda, I've seen that, too, and had the same reaction. I'm sure they had good reason.

James, that's true.

Lori, it's not something I would do because I want to generate interest in and buyers for my listings, but some agents have given their reasons for disabling comments.

Ross, I guess I'm just lucky that I've never experienced critical comments on my listings. I'd have to weigh the disadvantages of disabling comments, since interested consumers can be turned off as I was today.

Margaret, Great post. This is a Social Network and if you are here to participate in this network why not receive comments?!!!

Margaret - sometimes we don't realize how far reaching our actions can be - the old ripple effect - congratulations on the gold star

Hi Margaret - Like you, it is certainly one of my pet peeves! I have run in to it more frequently lately for some reason.

Amen to that! I can't imagine disabling comments. Not only do I admittedly love reading them, but they also give me great ideas and insight!

Margaret

Good points. I did;however, come across a blog by another lender here in San Diego that might have hit on a point in favor of disabling.

In his case, he was complaining of other loan officers trying to snag leads off his weekly rate update and similiar other blogs that he posts. Possibly in limited cases, disabling might be a good idea.

Your comments did highlight some good reasons not to as well.

Best Regards,

Wayne

I ran into another one this a.m. It was an interesting post and I wanted to comment. Then I saw the dreaded, Disabled For Comments.

I just sat here and *&%#%&*(0.

Lenn

Hi Margaret, Great Post fantastic points, I agree with you totally. The benefits are many vs the cons are few and the the issue if you do not like what someone posted or you feel it is inappropriate you do have the Delete Comment option.

Margaret - You come over to my blog and leave a comment anytime and I gladly reciprocate.

I read some great comments here especially why they would choose to disable the comments for their own reasons and I would respect that. I agree 100% about disabling commenting on outside blogs or approving comments before being posted to the public.

Here on AR a social real estate network - it is all about networking and interaction. The more networking and interaction we share amongst us, the more special your blog and readership will be.

Petra - I completely support the existence and use of ActiveRain's "disable comments" option, but I just wonder if all users of the feature realize how expensive that choice could be to them. i.e., missing out on the relationships, the referrals, the leads, the points... On another note, I see you're in Lakeland, where my oldest son went to college.

Endre - Yes, 'love that delete button. I do use it cautiously though, since I'm sure someone could claim some kind of discrimination against them personally - a claim no one in real estate wants to be accused of.

Lenn - I hear yah!

Wayne - Thanks for that info. I wonder, though, if there's really a way for for competing loan officers/agents to "snag" leads from the comments, especially if they are non-member consumers.

Kristen - You and I are on the same track with this.

Bill - I think the increased numbers is just because we have more members now. 'Probably the same percentage, but 2% of 30,000 members is less than 2% of 100,000+.

Judy - 'Not sure I "get" the ripple effect in this context.

Mana - I didn't recognize the "social network" aspect when I joined ActiveRain, but it is very realize.

I don't quite get the purpose of posting something only to block it off from consumer and AR comments. I suppose there's a valid reason, I just haven't come across it yet. Your points are all valid. Great post as usual Margaret.

Margaret, what a great post!! I, myself, have never disabled comments. I learn from comments both the good, the bad and the ugly. And, referrals are the backbone of our industry - who wouldn't want referrals or RWA Buyers!!!

I have appreciated the comments I read about my listings. I learned about another site where I can put my listing free!

I have never disabled comments on any of my posts. I want comments though I have deleted a comment or two if they are really stupid

Margaret - I agree 100%. We are here to engage. I have met so many people through their comments, people who are on my list of agents to refer to, fun people, smart people, people who need help, etc.

(You are on my list of people who always make sense of things. :) WWMD?

I believe that the comments section is an excellent way to encourage discourse as well as add to the level and competency of the discussion. Yes, the odd trouble maker may appear now and then but it's not enough to stop the conversation. And again, it's an excellent way to connect with clients!

Margaret, I agree completely. I have heard the argument for disabling comments and still don't get it. The positives for allowing comments surely must far out weigh getting a negative comment every now and then. But to each his own.

I think as people have put it there are reasons sometimes. But only sometimes. Even if its a listing I have had people comment saying they thought it was a nice house. Who wouldnt want comments like that? Wouldnt it be great to show that to your owners?

I have only run into it a couple of times, and I thought it was appropriate for those particular posts. That's the thing about blogging. Not everyone is going to do it the way you think they should.

All excellent points. We also have seen posts that we were left wondering why the person did not want comments.

I have not run into a lot of posts with the comments disabled on ActiveRain. I read the post touting it yesterday.

I like conversations so for me and my blog we will allow comments...

I agree with Ross Quintana. I don't want to see negative comments on one of my listings.

Margaret - Maybe including this post in the AR newbies would be a good idea. As a newbie it is very important to know the basics about AR. Did your son go to Florida Southern College?

Jesse - Did you recognize the reference to you as "like-minded people in Alaska"?

June - I'm puzzled, too.

Allen - Sacrificing all the good comments to avoid the risk of any negative ones seems a little extreme to me - but the feature exists for a reason.

Russ - I've deleted a few, as well.

Virginia - Thanks, Virginia

Russell - Disabling comments seems a little like throwing out the baby with the bath water.

Bryant - Thanks for commenting; I'm with you on this! How's TLW?

Shane - My sellers LOOK for comments and they're bummed when they don't get any.

Melina - That's true, and I appreciate the input of people who do disable comments. It's hard to jump into a discussion when you're in the minority.

Bob & Carolin - In some cases, I guess we'll never know. I think that's the case with the agent who inspired this post, since we haven't heard from him yet.

Maureen - The odds of our getting to know each other are much greater when we exchange comments. Don't you agree?

Angelia - Who does? Did you ever have any? As I mentioned before, disabling comments because someone might say something negative prevents anyone from saying something nice AND discourages potential buyers from contacting you.

Petra - Yes, he did go to Florida Southern. '88, I think Apparently I'm not a good judge of what's appropriate in the Newbies Group, so I left it several months ago. Feel free to re-blog it for posting there, if you like.

Margaret - Correct me if I'm wrong, the re-blog feature is just for outside blogs. Let me suggest you join the Newbie Group for posting again because I think Newbies could benefit from it.

I have not used the disable comments function yet. I have not seen a situation where I feel the need to use it.

Petra - No thanks, I have too many groups already!

Randy - I did use it when I published the Military Directories because I wanted readers to contact the agents who had met strict criteria to be included, and not have Johnny-come-lately agents seeking those military referrals through the comments. That's the only time I've used it.

Margaret, I have never disabled the comments on any of my blogs. I can understand the comments above about folks writing negative comments in regard to listings. I guess if that happened the person who the blog belongs to could essentially remove the comments.

Maybe he was suffering from fat-finger-syndrome. That is the only thing that makes sense. BTW,you could always move to NC. :) GBU

Petra - the reblog is for your AR blog, and/or your outside AR blog - you can't reblog to Localism, but you can reblog this and put your reblog in whatever group you want.

I accidently had reblog disabled, and couldn't even see the arrow on other posts that I knew were rebloggable. Fixed it and was able to reblog a lovely staging post, which I put in groups.

Love it, love it, love it! Hey do I get Bonus Points??? ROFL!! Thanks for the mention Margaret, have a great weekend. :-)

Audrey - That's what I would do, but obviously some people feel comments are a bigger problem.

Latonia - That's one of the places we're considering. Send me some info...

Virginia - You're right. Patricia Kennedy re-blogged one of my original posts, and I'll be reblogging one of Jesse's next week. Thanks for weighing in on that.

Brad - You're welcome. I just read your post recently, and then I hit that brick wall today... Bonus Points... depends, do you know anyone on the "inside" at AR?

Go figure! Arsenio Hall used to have a show (not sure if you remember). He had a segment of his show called, "Things that make you go 'huh'" This would have been on his show. GBU, my friend!

HI MARAGARET!

AHA!! Well, you know that Williamsburg is a wonderful location to retire!!! I forgot to mention Governor's Land. You should come visit. I'd love to show you around!!!

Best,

Elizabeth - Yes, I do remember!

Yvette - Yes, that first community I asked you about may be more than we want to spend. Williamsburg does interest Larry and me because it's not too far from family in the D.C. area.

Margaret.... yet another great post.. I agree.. Comments are a part of active rain and should be allowed in my opinion.

Margaret

Snagging leads was purportedly his main reason for disabling the comments. Your point is well taken, unless I believe that maybe he left a comment on the blog trying to intice the consumer.

Unfortunately, he deleted his post as he indicated that he would do on this subject, otherwise I would have put a link to it for you to see.

Best Regards

Margaret, ever since I discovered about "comments" this past summer, I am hooked. Good points given in your blog. I agree it's strange to disable the "comments" on a listing. Have you contacted the member? I also used comments to help me improve on my blogging. Don't know your price range - the Central Coast is beautiful and offers several great golf courses too.

Well, I guess I'm just chiming in with everyone else here, Margaret, but from a consumer's perspective I would have done exactly what you did - go somewhere else for the information. To me that "comments disabled by the author" means you don't want to communicate with me at all. Well, OK, there are lots of other folks who can provide the same information without throwing up that wall in between us before we even get to know one another!

SEP

2008

Roland - I agree, but apparently ActiveRain saw a need to offer this option and it seems a number of people are taking advantage of it. I just wonder if they know the wide-ranging effect beyond the narrow window of not getting comments. I guess that's like asking if I know too much dessert is bad for me - of course, I do... but I may choose to eat it anyway.

Wayne - I would have like to read that. I'm always eager to learn and some people feel differently on this subject than I do. I'd love to understand the reasoning behind sacrificing relationships, referrals, leads and points.

Sherry - They're a very good measure of what the ActiveRain membership likes to read. I did write a featured post a few days ago on the topic of ActiveRain statistics, and it's very surprising how many clicks and views there are on hyper local posts that get almost no comments - more, in fact, than most AR-targeted posts.

Lisa - Within an hour of hitting that brick wall, I had emailed Susan's agent and received a reply. Now my dialogue with Susan's agent is intact, whereas Nick had a lost opportunity to snag me.

I did... it made me smile when an agent was doing her level best to make me cranky. haha

Points? What are those? I never try to count points...LOL Speaking of which you make some very good ones here Margaret!

Yeah... I only disabled ONCE. That was because of the last contest for the positive group...didn't need comments when it was to announce all the entries and if people could go and support them...other than that..you list valid reasons. Besides...it's how we 'talk' to each other :) :)

I don't get it Margaret. Why would you post something and yet disable the comments. I just don't get it. Active Rain as we all know is a great place to gain business and build relationships. You definitely can't do that if you disable your posts. Great post.

Everyone has said it before me...Disable comments on a LISTING????...WHY BOTHER POSTING!

Margaret, great points. Like others, I just don't understand why anyone would disable comments. AR is all about interaction and no matter what the topic, if I have taken the time to read the post I usually have something I'd like to share with the author.

love the aritcle. and great points, however, I would like to hear from someone who can explain to me , "why would you disable comments' ever ??

Jesse - :)

Jeremy - Why thank you!

Sally - That makes a lot of sense.

Lanre - Just curious... did you see my blog post "In Defense of Washington"? I thought you might weigh in on that.

Diane - I think we're so programmed to comment, it kinda feels like rejection of readers when comments are disabled. I agree with Lenn's comment, if comments are disabled there should be notice at the top so we won't bother wasting our time to read the post.

James - A few people have offered their reasoning in the comments - I think they could be summed up by saying they're afraid of negative comments.

Hi Margaret,
Disabling comments makes no sense to me, it's like closing the door in a visitor's face.

Cynthia - Isn't that the truth! Why invite people to read what you have to say in the first place? I agree with Lenn - warn us at the top of the post so we don't waste time reading posts with disabled comments!

SEP

2008

Disabling comments is like having a bad friend. They just want to talk and never listen. NEXT! Terrific post Margaret. Sure wish you were considering Naples as a place to retire live. Greetings from Paradise.

I would never understand why one would disable the comments? That makes no sense what-so-ever!

SEP

2008

There are two things I do not do

Disable comments
Read comments from others before I add my comment

I want comments and I want my comments to rflect my opinion, not what the crowd thinks, Karen

OCT

2008

Margaret: I'm not sure what the reasoning is for disabling points either but I do like to give the blogger the benefit of the doubt. I have only run into this a couple of times in my year plus on AR and so I emailed the blogger directly from their profile page. In one case, the blogger didn't even know they had comments disabled and in the other case, the blogger changed her mind and decided to enable comments again. Apparently, she was extremely busy and felt she could not get back to any comments in a timely manner. I hope newbies know that if they get comments that are blatantly nasty or undesireable, that the comment can be deleted rather than disable comments altogether.

OCT

2008

I couldn't imagine disabling comments....why would people want to do that?

This blog does not allow anonymous comments