Should I Delete That comment?
It is a Friday evening and you catching up on a week's worth of emails. Mostly the inbox is filled with junk mail, and one or two bills. So are you going to print out and display this junk mail lovingly on your fridge? Probably not. Fast forward to the next week and it is now Wednesday night, and this time you are checking your email after a long day at work. It has been awhile since you checked your inbox, and now it is filled with those lottery scam emails. Are you going to blog about these gems and forward these to your friends? Somehow I doubt it!
However, when it comes to certain comments people get on their hubs and/or personal blogs, I noticed many people are willing to leave some pretty mean verbiage. Some people say: "Well it would be censorship to delete certain comments", but do you feel that way about junk mail or spam? Not usually. As a rule of thumb if someone comes to your hub and simply trashes it saying "What a horrible article..." it is okay to delete these comments.
Recently I noticed someone wrote a very informative response to a comment of this sort, but I would not waste my time on people who leave garbage comments. We see many items of trash littered near the bin at the local park, but do you enjoy seeing trash on the ground? Just because someone leaves you a trash comment on your hub or blog does not mean you have to leave it there. It is easy to delete. Many times these people do not have Hubpages accounts anyway, and even if someone did take the time to sign up for an account, there is no reason to worry about people who leave unhelpful and disparaging comments. If you think a critical comment has value and contributes to the conversation, then keeping it can be beneficial. However, comments that talk about "how this suck" and others in that vein need to make a trip to the garbage bin.
Delete Those Comments Forever
If you get comments such as "This is offal, horrible, etc" then go to the moderation tab and hit the delete forever button. It is that simple, and will save you a headache of trouble. Are you writing a controversial hub where that might be targeted with a large number of hateful comments? Simply leave off the comment capsule, which will do a world of good. I got a few emails from positive people when I did that, but I also got a couple of comments from one or two people demanding I add the widget.
Yes I feel I have wasted enough time on the forums discussing issues with people who simply do not want to discuss things. If it were up to me I would definitely moderate out certain comments, but forums are pretty fair about giving everyone a say. Unfortunately some people take over the landscape and make the environment a hostile ground to even post on, so would you want to do this to your hub? Personally I just say either delete the trash comments on the majority of hubs, or take the comment capsule off the more controversial topics.
There is no reason to explain or even rationalize with those just looking for an argument. Many discussions are good and productive, but these usually do not begin with the words "Your hub sucks because...". This is my take on deleting comments, but everyone on Hubpages has a different policy of course. If you receive comments that seem a little snarky as if you are being lectured by someone who feels "they know better," do not feel intimidated by deleting these comments.
As of recently I have had people imply to me I do not know what I am talking about, and I am not within reasoning enough to defend my positions. Sorry, but I am not their petulant little child to scold, and whereas they may not like the way I respond to them, on the same token I most likely have the same reaction to their comments. Not everyone is going to like you or what you have to say, and sometimes certain people clash like water and vinegar.
Why should I have to defend that I have read quite a bit and I think all the time? Anyone using a computer to make those accusations really is sort of weak in my estimation. Some of the same people telling me I do not think or read books from a large number of sources are usually only advocating that one worldview is acceptable. Their worldview is not necessarily more comprehensive, and often they just believe anyone going against their grain is closed minded. I do not go around measuring peoples' worth, and anyone using a computer to do that to you is the weak one.
Discussions are about the exchange of ideas and opinions, but some would like to make you feel your opinion is not open enough for them. Others will even giggle and make snippy little comments about how you are not open minded enough. However, often we have spent years getting to the place where we know our minds, and I believe this intimidates some people. A few would love to come along with their comments and imply otherwise, but do you really have the time for them? Often they will imply that your mind is not open simply because you do not see things "their way," so on the more controversial topics it might be better to drop the comment capsule.
So when you see that new comment on your hub the choice is yours, and do not feel the pressure to keep a comment just because it is there. If I had junk mail in my inbox I would delete it, and so what if the spammer is not heard. Very few sentient people would reply to spam, so replying to certain comments is almost the same thing. Pick and choose your battles.
