I did a post not all that long ago that’s turned out to be one of my top ten posts. I conducted a poll on that post in order to find out whether or not Disqus was actually stopping people from commenting on blogs. To date I’ve had 105 people vote. The question asked was Have You Refrained From Commenting Because It Was A Disqus Blog? to which 55 (52%) replied no and 50 (48%) replied yes.
I find that quite staggering. You can almost say that there is a 50/50 chance that people are not commenting on a Disqus blog. So, if you’re starved of comments at the moment and you’re running Disqus, then perhaps you should rethink your choice of commenting system.
Some like DiTesco commented that they voted no, not because he liked Disqus, but because,
there are too many blogs that I like and belong to friends that are Disqus powered and I am taking that extra mile to comment.
Unfortunately not everyone is willing to go that extra mile. There were a lot more comments that you may find interesting, both for and against, but when you consider those results I’m glad that I decided against Disqus and stuck with the one that comes with WordPress.
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Tagged with: comments • DISQUS • WordPress
Filed under: opinion
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Hi Sire,
I’m not surprised; forcing me to do an extra step is a major turnoff. I have over 300 blogs in my RSS feed aggregator. I comment on a lot.
I comment only at a few places that use Disqus. I really like them, they interact with me on their site, and pop by my spot too. I’ll make an exception. The others I simply read without commenting.
I took the survey but voted “no” since I do comment on a few, but they are the exception.
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Yep, if you want those comments you should be making it easier for people to leave them, not harder. I still don;t understand the mentality behind using Disqus, but hey, each to his own.
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Those results are quite staggering considering that for every two, one would not leave a comment. I would not want to have those odds and if I were a Disqus I will seriously rethink my strategy and see if is worth the while to continue and use it. I mean, what’s the “big deal” about Disqus anyway? I’ll still to find that out and as I said, although I do not like it, I would go the extra lime if and when it is a blog whose owner I have interacted somewhere else or in some occasions for reciprocity purposes.
Check out what DiTesco recently posted..What You Need To Know About Blog Commenting
I think the problem with many of them is that they have been told by one of the ‘gurus’ that it’s the way to go or they see it on a ‘A Lister’ blog and figure if they use it then it must be OK.
I suppose if you already get tons of comments you don’t mind missing a few, the only problem is that the ones you miss could be the ones that may really add value to the post.
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Agree that Disqus is bad influence for comment. That’s why I suggest to my fellow blogger to stick with wordpress default comment form instead.
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Way to go Dana.
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I really really dislike using Diqus to leave comments. I never understand why people even bother to use it, what is the advantage? Just let me enter my name, email, website, and optionally twitter and we are good to go!
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Simple has always been best in my book Wayne, but I reckon some people don’t see it that way. Welcome to WassupBlog mate.
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Hi Sire,
Your poll gave me and you some interesting answers. I generally don’t mind Disqus too much, though you’re right that it’s kind of a drag sometimes if you have to register and if that stop 50% to give comments to your blog is not good. :confused_wp:
I think that if a company found out that something they were doing was costing them 50% of possible sales, they would drop it quick smart. Apparently some bloggers don’t see it that way.
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Oh I’m so happy you wrote this blog post Sire. I have always disliked Disqus as it seemed confusing to me and I thought : “If I find it confusing and I’m an internet geek can you imagine those who aren’t that savvy?”
I told this to my friend ( who I won’t name- LOL) but he kept saying “Disqus is great bla bla bla…”
Yeah it has some good features but I think my visitors are number one and I want to make things easier for them. So now I have your post to show him but of course he won’t change his mind because he is a bit hard headed ;-)
All the best,
Eren
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Eren, it can be pretty hard trying to convince a bloke, especially when coming from a pretty woman. Perhaps seeing my post, man to man like, he may have second thoughts about Disqus.
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“Eren, it can be pretty hard trying to convince a bloke, especially when coming from a pretty woman.” Aaaw thanks for the compliment → that’s so sweet :o)
All the best,
Eren
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We both hated it from the beginning, and never had it on our blogs. I knew the poll would be close, but truthfully I thought there would be more people who said they wouldn’t do it. However, I think it’s telling that many of the people who said it wouldn’t stop them added the caveat that they have one or two blogs that they comment on, but not many of them. This is another case where the gurus seem to have gotten it wrong, since they try to convince everyone else to add it for control.
Control; bah!
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I think that’s why I don’t listen to the gurus all that much Mitch. Just because something works for them doesn’t mean it will work for me. Everyone is different and we as individuals have to find our own way.
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True that. Like you, I prefer simplicity for all.
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there’s only one thing that I dislike about disqus comments, and it’s just its loading time. there are many times that it took me more than twice in refreshing the page just to see the comments on a certain post. Knowing that site’s speed is now a new ranking factor.
Regards,
Jason
Only one Jason, and one I didn’t even think about. Cool, another negative to add to the list.
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I was also among the one who voted yes,I really find Disqus quite annoying I mean so many unwanted steps, on and on.It is really hard to comment but yet I too do just walk that extra mile to comment on my friend’s blog only wishing that they did not use disqus
Hey Alex, maybe you should let your friend know that using Disqus may turn people off from leaving comments.
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I like the disqus comment format and functionality and will continue to use it for my own and clients sites.
No worries Andreas, but perhaps you should be giving your clients the option of not using it. They may not appreciate not being told that it has it’s negative points.
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Hi Sire, I don’t think I had a chance to vote on the poll. But I do comment on Disqus blogs. Some people think it’s a more “sophisticated” system with likes and dislikes and so forth, but I think it’s a drag.
As long as the blog has CommentLuv I normally leave a comment anyway.
btw – I miss seeing you over at BloggerLuv – come back!!
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Ileane, Disqus and CommentLuv don’t play together from what I understand. You either have one or the other.
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I will Ileane. Unfortunately things are still hectic in my offline life and it’s all I can do to maintain a post every now and again.
I have been considering using Disqus… but now you have put me right off! I guess the trick is to remove all barriers first. Thanks for the insights.
I don’t know that I was intentionally trying to put people off Leslie. I just wanted them to know certain things about Disqus so they could make a more informed decision.
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I voted in this poll I believe. I personally don’t like Disqus for the obvious reasons above. Also 2 days ago I went to a blog I wanted to comment on.
They where using Discus, I forgot my sign on information so I decided to not leave a comment.
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That’s always been my complaint Larry and I think it only fair that people using that system know what it may be costing them.
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I’m interested no know what the extra steps are that put people off so much when commenting on a Disqus blog. Once you make an account, you’ll be logged in and can comment straight away on any Disqus-enabled blog.
Even if you didn’t have an account, it’s still pretty simple to comment. I use Disqus because i have a Tumblr blog and it’s the only means of a comment system.
The only negatives i have with Disqus is loading time and nofollow links for commenters, i’d like to give a dofollow link to my commenters.
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Two reasons. One, there are so many services that make you sign up first if you happen to visit a lot of blogs that it’s irritating and I’d rather not.
Two, I don’t feel like being tracked from blog to blog in that fashion. Frankly, anything one does to make it difficult, even if it’s not overly difficult, for people to comment on their blogs means they care more about themselves than they do about wanting people to comment on their blogs.
That’s a personal opinion, by the way, since you asked. If you could give me two things that make it a positive experience for me, I might think about it. But it’s a positive experience for me, the commenter, not me personally. Frankly, I don’t see it.
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Actually you’re not always logged in Josiah and that means an extra stem before being allowed to comment.
To me the commenter comes first and I make it as easy as possible because I want them to have a good experience when visiting this blog.
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With a very few exceptions, I do get put off by disqus’ extra steps just to comment.
There’s also this configuration in wp where, no matter how many hundreds of comments you’ve made, you always get the “your comment is awaiting moderation” statement afterwards. But I think I can tolerate that to some degree. I have friends who use this setting.
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Another thing that I’ve learned about it James is that all your comments are held on another server. What happens if something goes wrong with that server? Seems to me that would mean you would lose all your comments.
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A separate server?! It only shows how much comments matter to them, which is… ‘not much’. I’m sure that between these 2 servers, they would prioritize the security and efficiency of the one containing the blog (posts) only.
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Yeah, it’s pretty crazy when you think about it.
I missed the vote. I personally prefer to leave comment on blogs that only require to fill in Name, Mail, and optionally Website.
Yep, like they always say, ‘Keep it simple stupid’ also known as the ‘kiss’ system.
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I don’t see the point of using any other comment system if you’re running wordpress, but on blogspot blogs something else is needed. I suppose Intense Debate would be the better option here, but I’ve seen some bloggers who defend Disqus as well. I had it on my blogspot blogs, but I’ve either moved or abandoned those sites for now. I suppose I’m in the minority in that I really don’t mind going through a few steps (or didn’t when I started). Of course, now I wouldn’t want to go through all the trouble unless I really had something to say (which isn’t too often).
By the way, whatever you’ve done around here is working. Your site loads much faster than when I first started coming by.
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Cool, that’s nice to know Anne. Perhaps some of those ads I removed were slowing things down a little.
Check out what Sire recently posted..How A Woman Made Me Change My Evil Ways
Well, I can see nothing has changed around here! Still great content and good people. ha ha Hi Sire :)
I’ve been working on an old site, TRISI, trying to bring it back from the dead and I had the IntenseDebate plugin installed. It was hiding all previous comments, which it isn’t supposed to do, and after a couple hours playing with it I just took it off. Then yesterday I registered with Disqus and activated the plugin, (talking about coincidence). I didn’t see an option to comment when not logged in so now I’m back to plain old WP.
Brian, long time no see. Hows it all going?
Good to hear you decided to give Disqus the old heave ho. I think your blog will be all the better for it.
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I have commented before on some sites which have Disqus, but afterwards I only read their posts and didn’t leave any comments..until I didn’t visit their sites anymore. Better stick to WordPress’ comment form.
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It seems you’re not the only one that feels that way Felicia. Still it’s up to the individual blogger to decide which system they will use.
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Hi Sire,
I was one of those that said they didn’t like Disqus that much but still commented on blogs that have it.
If you have an account with Disqus then commenting on blogs that use it is no trouble at all.
I’m not sure exactly about all the reasons why I signed up but one of them was that you are able to edit your comments later.
I have never used that feature yet but I’m glad that commenting on blogs with Disqus is no problem for me anymore.
Vance
It is if you had to delete cookies because that means you have to log in again to comment.
There are plugins that will let you edit your comments and you don’t have to log in to use them either :tongue_wink_ee:
I hate disqus. It’s a pain in the ass to use and I do not like the way it tracks my comments. What I comment on one blog, may not be suitable for another blog user to see.
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I never even thought of that aspect Colleen, reckon that’s just another reason for not leaving a comment.
I was actually in a session at Blog Indiana today where the speaker said that she does not like Disqus because she cannot leave or respond to comments from her iPhone and she uses her iPhone frequently to keep up with commenting on her various sites. I’ve used Disqus on only one of my sites and wasn’t really impressed by the number or quality of comments that I was getting.
Just goes to show that I’m not a lone voice in this matter. Thanks so much for sharing that with us Tricia.
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I am also planning to have a blog, but I think I will not open up comments that easily. If no account with me, then you should enter a captcha. Otherwise bots could just enter crap at your site …
Akismet gets most of the spam. If you make it to hard to enter comments people just won’t bother.
Sire~
Another friend of mine (I don’t have time to tell her right now, but I will in the morning… has just created a post making a reference to surveys – I’m going to suggest she link here!!
I just created a link on http://lindagraceonline.com/what-are-reciprocal-links-and-how-to-get-them/ to you! This entire blogging is so much fun!
~Linda
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I don’t like to use Disqus. I think it doesn’t make commenting as simple as it’s supposed to be. I also feel that it makes it easier for Disqus members to post comments, yet normal commenters have to go the extra mile in order to comment. I personally don’t like it yet I usually still comment on those blogs with Disqus.
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Yes, and we have to consider all those people who don’t use Disqus.
Wow thats a real eye opener. I was thinking of using diqus instead of the standard wordpress comment form because it can more easily be transferred from one blog to another. However if it reduces the number of people that is a definite ‘no, no’ to me.
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Why would you want to move it from one blog to another?
Personally I have had so many annoying experiences with the Disqus comments I have left on various blogs I too have given up commenting when that is the only option. You would be stunned the number of times I have put time and thought into a comment only for there to be a “problem” when submitting the comment that means it doesn’t go through. I’m certainly not wasting my time rewriting it, so I leave and don’t come back (or at least don’t try commenting again).
I know some people love it but for me it’s a MASSIVE turnoff.
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I must admit that hasn’t happened to me Richard, but then that’s probably because I don’t comment on them anymore.
I can see how it would turn you off though. Thanks for commenting.
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Anyday anytime the wordpress comment system works just fine for me. Intense Debate, Disqus and the likes of them are just adding another hurdle to commenting on sites and it kinda sucks when you have to log-in to leave a comment.
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Yep, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell people. ;)
I do prefer the normal WordPress Commenting system after trying out DISQUS and not liking it. I’ve read that some people that prefer DISQUS use it mainly to keep track of all their comments easily.
That may be so but i reckon the negatives outweigh any positive.
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For me, commenting needs to be a quick process and Disqus doesn’t really make this simple (for me anyway). When using Firefox on WordPress blogs, it automatically keeps the name/mail/website fields already filled in so contributions are more tempting. If I need to click an extra button to comment, the chances are I won’t (lazy I know!).
You and me both Neil.
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By the way, you might find this interesting. Last week on Twitter I said something about Disqus, and those folks contacted me through there to ask what my issue was with them. I told them, then I sent them the link showing them this link. They thanked me, but I’m not sure if it was sarcasm or not. If anything, it should give them something to think about.
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Now, that is interesting. I wonder what they thought about is and what they will do, if anything, to make it better. Even so, I’m still sticking with WP’s one.
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Personally I don’t think they care. I think they like that the big boys use them and tout them as the bomb and could care less about the rest of us, survey or not.
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You’re probably right. Not to worry, it’s their loss.
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Well, Sire, this is interesting. I only just discovered this post via @AskKim. Had I known about the vote, my sentiments would have been much like DiTesco’s. I feel that the conversation is worth the hoops – heck, WordPress.com and Blogspot.com really put you through some stuff (on one end of the conversation or the other – notifications).
I don’t feel the need to use alternate systems. I experimented with coComment way back in the day. I did not like it. Since then, I have only added threading to my WordPress comments. I don’t even do comment notification, because, well there is already too much email flying around.
One other thing, I use RoboForm, so I don’t mind logging in repeatedly. I just wish I could figure out how to be able to subscribe to WordPress.com comments without being logged in and without having to confirm my intentions.
Cheers,
Mitch
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Hey Mitchell, I didn’t realize Kim had linked to this post, or if I did it’s completely slipped my mind.
I reckon in my younger days I wouldn’t overly mind commenting on those blogs, but I find as I get older I don’t appreciate any going through any more hoops than I have to.
I don’t mind the email notifications. I mean if I subscribed to it then it must have been important enough for me to want an update.
Thanks for dropping in.
Check out what Sire recently posted..Do You Want Increased Income Chango Could Be The Answer
I am not a disqus fan…commenting should be made easy to encourage people to get involved…extra hoops and difficulties in the process just prevent or discourage involvement.
best wishes
Peter
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[...] This WordPress comment system has been used by practically everyone from Mashable, Techcrunch, and Engadget to WordPress and Blogger blogs. It is a pretty easy system to use. The one downside is that you have less control over including other plugins with the site, such as CommentLuv. The other challenge, and I would like to thank Kim Castleberry who pointed this out on the TSA forums, Disqus can cost you valuable comments(see post from Wassup Blog). [...]
Disqus requires access to my Yahoo Address book. Why would I ever share that information, especially as a requisite for posting a comment?
I cannot comprehend why anyone would sign up for this service.
And yet many do. Thanks for your comment Charles.
I’m not really a disqus lover and leaving comments ought to be made easy to motivate people to get included in additional hoops and difficulties along the way merely avoid or discourage in participating. I cannot fully grasp why anyone would actually get engage in this kind of service. You made a great article and I truly appreciate it.
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Many do so because they see others using and recommending them. What they fail to see is that they have already got a big reader base and probably don’t know or don’t care if they lose some in the transition. Many like me do care because we value all our readers and therefore would not want to lose any.