Subscribe To Comments debate

Matthew, here is why I leave the subscription unchecked:

if someones wants to get email updates but forgets to check the box when posting the comment he can only blame himself, and he will not be mad at your blog for not leaving the box checked

the opposite is not true however, someone that is not interested in receiving email updates might not realize that the box is checked, and if they get like dozens of emails from your blog without knowing why they are coming he will be quite upset about it, and possibly he will think of your blog as a spam source.

Well…it is a matter of opinion mostly I suppose.

Do you think people are often upset by something like this? It seems they wouldn’t be, and if they wanted to opt-out, they would scan the email for an opt-out link…and then…voila! No more emails.

Percentage-wise I am still leaning strong on the side of “checked”.

Thanks Daniel.

Matt..

I agree with Daniel. There is a lot of times when I have overlooked a checkbox like that and have gotten mad at the site. Even though it was my fault for not reading everything in front of me, my first feeling was that the site did something sneaky to send me that email.. I guess it’s human nature to blame someone else first..

I do appreciate it when they have a link to unsubscribe.

hmmm…interesting.

Let’s see how this plays out, I’m really excited to see the rest of the replies from my readers.

Thanks K

either way, I wish that every install of wordpress has this functionality. too many people are either unaware of it or are too lazy to implement it.

i ALWAYS want to be notified of new comments, and a good chunk of the blogs I visit have no mechanism for it.

now if only everyone had threaded comments as well…

Hey.. thanks for the link anyways! I am putting it in my site.. also great to see your updated wordpress plugins post as well!

Jer, thanks for your input. I don’t believe I have threaded comments…I’ll look into that.

K, I didn’t write the updated wordpress plugins post yet…but I’m getting to that tomorrow probably.

Thanks again guys.

I leave it unchecked on my blog because people will report your IP address as a spammer if you leave it checked. I already had this run in a few years ago (not a blog though). Once you get on a major blacklist, watch your traffic drop to near zero.

Has anyone had trouble getting their blog blacklisted from using this plugin?

Thanks RT

I agree with RT, I’ve heard that’s a very real danger too.

I choose to leave it unchecked on my blog, and I get annoyed when I start getting emails from other blogs where I forgot to uncheck it. My fault, but still annoying - sure, you can come and delete the subscription, but it’s just another job to do.

Nobody likes credit cards and bank charges where you have to opt OUT to avoid them-I think the same applies here, people should choose to opt IN if they so wish.

Good points Chris:

My only issue with that is when people forget to check the box, and may not be heard from again.

The check box on by default definitely increases discussion and user feedback. I think people who aren’t bloggers themselves may seldom remember to check the box. To me this is problematic because the community feel is lessened by the fact of their possible non-return to the discussion.

Let me say this, I have never received a negative comment concerning the pre-checked subscription box. Since someone would have to go out of their way to do that, I wrote this post to try & get a feel for my readers opinions. In the end, I believe that if someone is truly upset regarding this, they should contact the blog author to let them know and provide their feedback.

How do you all feel about these points?

Thanks again Chris.

I think the combination of requiring an email address and a default ‘checked’ subscription status might be a little bad.

One or the other means that someone has to take action to subscribe. Taking no action should never opt you into things, in my opinion. Just because _I_ always want to subscribe doesn’t mean joe schmoe will too.

I say turn off the email requirement and enable the subscribe by default, or continue to require email but turn off subscribe, requiring the user to check it himself.

It’s a tough one Matthew no question.

I stand by my points AND agree with all of yours (up on the fence I go!).

The reason why I chose to have it unchecked on my blog is the spam factor mentioned by RT. If some numpty who didn’t even see the check box reports my domain as spam it could lead to all sorts of problems.

I guess you’ve just got to weigh up risk versus benefit. I do use it, and like the feature, I just prefer to opt in to things rather than opt out.

From the standpoint of a reader, not everyone wants to subscribe to the comments that he is contributing. Imagine if the blog is a frequently commented one, and that there is the threaded comments option, I guess your mailbox would be filled up in no time, and you would be confused on how to follow up with the conversation.

Okay…with the feedback, I’m beginning to be swayed…

For the record, threaded comments (assuming that the subscribe plugin is aware of the threading) makes it easier to keep track.

I usually just want to see replies to my comments rather than every comment that comes after me.

On my blog you can subscribe to any level of the conversation, starting at any point. That’s the way I wish every blog was.

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BlogPaul & Garry…

I’m assuming you’ll be reading this soon.

I leave this turned on for all the reasons mentioned above. There are a number of people who disagree, but I’m going with the, “you can’t make everybody happy” theme & am going to try to please the majority. Hence the default checked box will remain…and unchecking & unsubscribing is a cinch.

What do you think?

Matthew,

I have no problems with becuase for me, it is more a pain in the butt to go back and write a duplicate comment saying, “Oops, I forgot to subscribe… so here is this added comment so that I could” V/S going to my management screen and un-checking a box.

I support your decision.

Now, having that said:

If majority of your readers don’t like it… Turn it off and do it quickly.

You have to make readers happy and have to give them the experience that they want. And if you are lucky to have the opportunity where your readers paint this picture for you… man, it doesn’t get easier than that.

I have mine checked by default… but haven’t had any complaints. If I got a complaint I would un check it.

If then I got more complaints about it being un checked… I would write a post about it, or create a poll and let my readers decide.

Always let your readers feel that they are in control. I don’t like having a boss, therefore I am self employed. On that note, if I was a regular reader/ contributor on a site and didn’t like something about it and voice my opinion about it… but nothing got done about it… I would find another place to call home.

I support you keeping the button turned on… but I recommend that you turn it off.

Then, if people complain about it being turned off… launch a poll or post and let your readers decide. That way no matter what happens, you are not the bad guy.

Okay…maybe it’s time to revisit this in earnest then.

Paul, thanks for brining it up.

I’ll review this post tonight after work & will decide according to how I feel my readers would prefer. I’ll update you tomorrow.

Paul…I hope you’re not missing out on this discussion because you unsubscribed!

That would really cement my point entirely…I still believe that it takes away from a community feel and follow-up comments & discussions.

Whether I leave it checked, or change it to be unchecked…my preference is definitely to be left on.

Matthew,

You have to understand my standpoint and Paul’s.

I am a Blooming Blogging idiot… 90% of my blogging efforts are spent commenting on other sites… 10% of my blogging efforts are invested writing on my own.

For me, I depend on being subscribed. However, I pay a huge price for this in my INBOX. I literally get 100’s of emails per day. At times I get 25 emails per hour. It is very hard keeping up with all the subscribed comments.

But… this is what I do… and that is why my site is popular. I contribute on other sites hard and heavy. If you do a search for my name, it is everywhere! Why, because I love writing and love knowing that I have something to say or have an opinion on just about everything.

But, the more I think about it… keeping the button turned on can be perceived as kind of “Spammy”.

JohnChow.com | Subscribe Button is Un Checked.

ProBlogger.net | Doesn’t even have one.

eMomsatHome.com | Un checked.

So the more I think about it… most of the sites that I visit or who have a pro-blogger status, do not check their buttons.

I was thinking about this while I was outside taking a break…

By leaving the button checked you are basically making a decision for someone else… it’s kind of bold. People are independant and make decisions on their own…

So, I still support what you do, but I recommend unchecking, and for that matter, I have un-checked mine too.

I want people to choose to subscribe. I don’t want people to be subscribed.

I’m going to leave it checked this time

I’m flip-flopping on this badly, I can really see both sides of this.

Perhaps we need to club together, send the plugin author a donation and say “Can we have an option where the commenter can choose to be automatically subscribed to every post they comment on?”

It may solve the issue, but I have no idea about the technicalities.

It sure would be nice to get Paul’s comments on this too…but he’s probably not going to revisit it & has no idea that we’re finishing a conversation that he brought up…that’s what bothers me (I’m going to email him to try & get him in on this conversation).

I totally understand his & your point-of-view..and I agree with it on many levels. Initially I almost made the decision to turn it off by default, because of the very reasons that you stated…but I think I just never got back around to it.

Again, if I believe my readers want if off…I should turn it off…plain & simple

I’m in Chris…

this debate tears me up regarding what I want to do…and I believe your comment makes sense. I’ll pitch in.

I emailed Paul, hopefully he’ll show & impart his paulish wisdoms!

HAHA…I guess I cemented your point then.

Seriously, I honestly think the diff is that 90/10 you had above…mine is just the opposite 10/90…in fact I could not believe you had 25 comment on this topic and skimmed and MAYBE read 3-4 of them and came here to comment…but thats just me…maybe I am not normal…well we KNOW the truth there but you know what I mean!!!