Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Replies to Comments

Many Blogger bloggers, as opposed to Wordpress etc bloggers,  frequently reply to comments on their own posts. It wasn’t always so because the reply feature did not exist for a very long time. It’s a cool addition, but it is still awkward because for most people it means you have to make the effort to go back to the persons’ previous post, scroll down, and maybe or maybe not see a reply. And if you do, do you then reply to the reply? As I wrote, it’s awkward. 

My template has not supported the feature until recently, and it is still iffy. A week or two ago, I noticed that it appeared on my phone but not on my tablet or computer. I don’t blog from my phone but did go to it just a few times when a reply seemed to be in order. In fact, I have usually endeavoured to reply to a specific question in the past, even if I had to write @Someone to direct my comments, but I never did a lot of this sort of replying. 

Yesterday, the reply option also showed up on my tablet. It still wasn’t available on the computer, or at least not in my Chrome browser. I had the idea of trying it on Microsoft’s Edge browser, and it worked. But then it didn’t. Go figure. I just checked again this morning, but it is still absent on the computer, but I don't know about the other device yet.

I wrote that to write this: that I may try to Reply more frequently if the option remains available to me although I continue to find in awkward and poorly implemented. People on other platforms can respond directly via email, but it is not so with Blogger (or not easily so), and that is a pity. But I shall make some sort of an effort, and we'll see how it goes.

By way of interest, please tell me what you see when you go to my comment section. Do you see the reply feature enabled? If you commented yesterday, would you take a minute to go back to see if you can see my reply to you? Oh . . . and just in general and not referring to my blog, do you return to someone's post from the previous day to see if the poster replied to your comment?

47 comments:

  1. I never go back and read old posts again. I did look to see what you did with yesterday's post, but it seems like a lot of work to me and I'm not sure whether it's worth it.

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    1. I haven’t been in the habit either. It’s a very poor implantation IMO.

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  2. No reply status for your comments yesterday...they were all just the same format and indentation as a comment. I not only go back if I've asked a question of a blogger, as you probably know, I reply to comments (with a reply button) as they come in during the day...at least some of the time. I've had a reply button under comments for years!

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    1. Ah ha, this time I saw two choices...REPLY and DELETE after I posted my comment. Interesting!

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    2. Yes, I know you come back from time to time.

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  3. Reply is enabled on my fire tablet. I always go back to check if a blogger has responded to my comment. It's called courtesy!

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    1. Surely you agree that this system is awkward and inefficient.

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    2. Not for me. I can't see the problem really.

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  4. The whole comment and reply feature issues are so random. I have never had an issue other than having the anonymous issue. But lately all has been good.

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    1. I get the anonymous issue too, especially on my tablet. I keep on having to login, and even then it doesn’t always work.

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  5. I sometimes see the reply (on yours and on mine). This was the reason for me that I have (sporadically) amassed some comments I received and replied in a post. I tend to not go back to reread many posts of others unless I am trying to see some other’s comments. I do faithfully look and read all comments I receive on my blog, but only occasionally reply to the comment IN the comment because of the sporadic availability to do so in Blogger.

    PipeTobacco

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    1. Sometimes this ability to reply IN a comment shows for me and sometimes it does not.

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    2. And you get a whole separate post with that method.

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  6. I have a reply option when I click into your comments. I like it as a way to continue conversations!

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    1. I think some people do have it. Oddly enough, I don’t, even on my own blog.

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  7. I sometimes look back to see if my question was answered on a blog. Sometimes I respond to questions on the commenter's blog in case they don't look back. Some bloggers do that for me too.

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    1. I know you do and I do sometimes. My memory can be tricky, though.

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  8. Yes, your reply to my comment showed up, AC. I use my phone almost exclusively to blog, but when I use my laptop the reply feature shows up there too. I have an Android phone, Dell laptop.

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    1. It is so random and unpredictable.

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  9. I respond to comments and return to other people's posts to see if my comment has been acknowledged.
    All I can see here is 'Publish' and 'Notify me'.

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    1. And yet, some people see all of the options, all two anyway. :)

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  10. When I am looking at your blog post, all your comments appear but stuck at the end all together and not indented. But as soon as I open up the comment box, they appear indented and attached to the comment you were responding too.

    As for comments in general, I always go back and reread the comments of the blog owner to my comment... if they are known to respond with a comment. For example, you rarely comment so I never go back and check comments on your blog unless you happen to mention it to me in a comment on my blog. I would say about 50% of the blogs I read and comment reply every time and I always read their returned comment. Of the 50% that don't, I usually never return to the post unless it was a particularly direct question that was asking for an answer and the blogger is known to sometimes reply to comments. I have a few of those types too.

    So in short, the owner of the blog I read sort of conditions me with time on whether or not I should expect replies to comments I leave. Like Pavlov's bell.

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    1. Those of us who have been at it for a very long time -- me, 21 years -- did not have the reply option and not for a long time afterward. So, it was not a habit. I had always thought that reading the other's blog was sufficient. As you can see, mine blog is still iffy about replies.

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  11. I should add that my normal operations are to read the newest post and comment if appropriate. Then, if reading a blog of someone who returns comments, I will click on "older post" and just scroll down until I can see their response to my comment and read it. So I generally don't read any responses until they have posted their next post.

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  12. I have a reply feature on yesterday's post on my computer using Chrome. I use the notify me on comments, which go to Gmail. I do not go to blogs looking for comments. If it is relevant I will post a reply to a reply. I have always responded to replies on my blog, it's just how I am. It's about 50/50 as to how others do it.

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    1. Does Notify not send you everyone's comments via email? I don't really want to see all comments by all people.

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  13. It IS awkward! I have issues (off&on) commenting on WordPress blogs, I have no idea why. If I leave a question in the comments, I do go back to see if there is a reply. But I can't say I'm consistent about checking. I'm afraid to click "Notify Me", in the past I would get EVERY comment emailed to me. If I could be notified for just a reply to my comment that would be much easier. :)

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    1. I used WP for my blog at one point, but at that time when things were different, it seemed easier for Blogger folk to get to me on Blogger, so I came back. It seems much easier to follow different platforms now.

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  14. The reply feature on your comment page shows for me. I rarely use it because I don't go back to check for answers. I do check on a couple of blogs that I know reply though.

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  15. I suppose consistency is the key. I am not sure that I can do that.

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  16. Now I see reply button in the comment section. What I get troubled with is the inability to publish any comments. It is like playing a Russian Roulette

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    1. Never know what we’re going to get in Comments.

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  17. I don't go back to others' old posts. I do sometimes reply to comments on my blog.

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  18. I'm using Chrome and I see the reply feature in your comments. I occasionally return to comments in my posts, but Blogger never seems to work consistently with comments. I often find legit comments in my spam, etc. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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  19. Yes, I see the reply option here. Truthfully, the day is too short to go back to previous posts unless there is a specific topic that got going. Thanks for posting and commenting! Aloha

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    1. Some posters are very consistent in replying, but many aren’t. But it does take enough time just to comment in the first place.

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  20. I see the REPLY on the comments that people have left, but I don't see where they might reply to your reply, if you know what I mean. Some people have lively back and forth in their comments. I didn't realize it was a newer feature, but I left blogger and went to wordpress in 2006, so it's been awhile...

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  21. I think WP bloggers can reply to comments too and have them come through on email. Typepad doesn't allow that. :( Plus, some of what I respond to commenters is private and geared only toward them. It is much more interactive though to have conversations in the blog comments.

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  22. I rarely go back to previously read posts to see if there's a reply to my comment, unless I've asked a question -- and even then, I might just not get around to it until it's too late to remember which post I commented on. I will often check back if the blogger habitually replies to all comments.

    To reply to comments on my blog, I include the comment and reply in a later entry, as you know, so the commenter is less likely to miss it if they're a regular reader and they dont have to revisit old entries to see if there's a reply. I don't reply to all, particularly when all I have to add is a nod and a thanks for stopping by.

    The presence of comments is so encouraging and supportive, and I love knowing who's reading and how they respond, but I most often just use the Approve and Like buttons in response and hope the message that I've "heard" comes across.

    I've forgotten your question now!

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  23. The Reply feature has been on my WordPress blog forever. My replies also show up in the email of the people I am replying to, so there is no need for them to come to my blog to see my reply. In fact, WordPress also sends email to people when I "Like" their comment. It's all automatic, and I don't need to do anything extra.

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  24. I'm not so great. I try to comment regularly, but I rarely come back to check any blog for replies to that comment, unless it is something that I'm especially curious to know more about. Most of the time, I'm just leaving an encouraging word, a compliment, or an observation. It rarely warrants a reply, tbh.

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  25. I never go back to anything I've commented on, to see if there is a reply. I do reply to all comments left on my own blog. Yes I have a reply option in this comment field! xoxo

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  26. I seldom go back to read replies.
    I can see the reply option now.

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  27. Yes, I just rechecked a recent post on my blog and there is a Reply option, but unsure if that is new on Safari, only browser I use on all devices. If a question is asked, I have usually included an answer in either the post by way of an update OR left a comment on the other blogger’s site. This way, I have addressed it since I don’t think many bloggers return to a post to check for a reply. It just seems too time consuming that way.

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  28. I read replies and always comment back. It works on my laptop and cellphone on blogger. I also go and read comments and any replies on other blogs including this one.

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  29. Making a comment on Wordpress blogs is tricky. And no... I'm afraid I usually don't go back to see if someone has replied to my comment. I also pretty much only reply to someone's comment on my blog if they don't have a blog. Life is tricky right now as we care for my mom with her failing memory. It's requiring a LOT more of our time, I'm afraid. I can barely get my blog posts done.

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