Bloggers are a funny bunch of people because despite the fact that you are your own boss, work in an unregulated industry and really have the opportunity to say whatever you like whenever you like we still like rules. Namely webiquette, web- etiquette or netiquette. Call it what you will I’ve seen the sands shift and change in this area so rapidly over the last year not to mention three years so I thought I’d take some time to reflect upon just what makes us get along online. This post is aimed at common courtesies I’m seeing left out, forgotten or just done in a way that annoys everyone from the reader to the blogger.
Link Bombing or selling yourself in comments
The comments section of blogs is a place for conversation with the blogger and other readers. It is not a space to advertise your blog or company so don’t leave a link to whatever it is you do or are selling. Most comment forms allow you to add your website as well as your name (which then becomes a link) and this is how bloggers and other readers can share further what you do. Link bombing or leaving irrelevant links in the comment body however is akin to spam in my opinion and even if you have left your comment with the best intentions, it should be removed by the blogger.*
Don’t complain
Unless you are masterful with humor or pride yourself on sardonic observations on the world around you, nothing is duller to read than someone else’s complaints. People have taken time out of their day to come and read your blog, so you should ask yourself, ‘Am I providing content with value?’ Just because you self publish does not mean you have an automatic soap box, and to put it quite frankly- who cares if you got a parking ticket or the train was late?
Give credit where credit is due
The biggest sin you can commit in the blogosphere is not to credit images and text, particularly if it is from another blogger. Even worse is passing the content off as your own. Bloggers are content creators and so it is critical that if you have used someone else’s content you rightfully credit it with links back to their website, and say so on your blog. In academic circles if you copy it is plagiarism- why would you steal someone else’s ideas online?
Don’t spam the network
It’s a tough and over saturated market out there in the blogosphere, and hard to stand out if you are new. You will quickly develop a reputation as a ‘network spammer’ with other bloggers if you hassle them for links, link bomb as mentioned above or do outrageous things to get attention. If you content is quality you will be noticed.
*this point has been edited for clarification
24 comments
yep, i concur 😉
great tips. I agree with you on all of them. especially link bombing drives me nuts.
Nail fungus should not be confused with psoriasis of the nail and other conditions like onycholysis wherein the nail plate separates from the underlying structure.
I really enjoyed this post Lady M. I agree that link bombing is unacceptable, or the whole “I’ll follow you if you follow me” thing. I get so frustrated with ungenuine comments that are purely there as “advertisements”, and I have seen other blogs where a commenter has copied and pasted the exact same comment that they posted on my blog! It’s just ridiculous and I purposely avoid these peoples’ blogs because of it.
Regarding your second point about complaining, once again I completely agree that only positivity should be used unless the blogger is blatantly trying to comment on an issue or use wit. If I don’t like something, I won’t post about it. Simple. And blogs that get you down when you read them are not enjoyable to read at all.
In this brave new world that blogging has built up I really think there needs to be a standard for webetiquette. With different platforms including tumblr and other image sharing sites blurring the boundaries on ownership we seem to forget the concept of copyright.
Thanks for posting on this topic, I am really suprised some of the points have become decisive issues as I think they are all pretty obvious ‘dont’s’!
x
I like people leaving their url in the comment section. Often I am attracted to the name of their blog when I wouldn’t click on their name. Personally, if someone leaving their “contact details” is the worst thing you find in your comments section, then you are rather lucky.
I agree with not liking “complaining” posts and will add that I don’t like complaining tweets (even though I find myself doing it too often). I have come close to unfollowing you a few times due to snarky tweets about PRs, but the conversation hour usually pulls me back 🙂
I too am relatively new to blogging. Thanks for this post, which I found to be rather thought provoking and helpful.
Being new to the blogging world myself, I really appreciate this post – completely agree with you and you articulate the necessary etiquette brilliantly – thank you! A refreshing read 🙂
Thanks for the tips.
As a newish blogger I had seen other people do this (bombing) and was starting to think that it was something I was suppose to do!
Thanks for putting me straight before I committed an on line faux pas!
Hi Lady Melbourne
This is a great post to get people thinking about networking etiquette.
Maybe you could provide some further information or sites for people to read in regards to Link Bombing and netiquette, which helped you shape your opinion for this post. I’m not sure if this post thoroughly conveys the concept of Link Bombing. It is quite a strategic and complex activity. I don’t think that many individual bloggers leave their url in the comments section in hope to achieve the Link Bombing effect. This may be a different scenario for companies with an online presence but it is much harder to Link Bomb these days than it used to be. Also, you have built up a sizeable following, so maybe you encounter potential link bombing more so than a lot of other individual bloggers.
As a LM follower, I leave a comment if I feel that I’d like to contribute to a post in which you encourage. In regards to self promotion, well, my comment does not load to your comments section if I place my website in the provided field along with my name and email address. As a fellow blogger, I leave my url in the comments section so that if other readers are interested in my comment and want to read or see more about me or are just looking to view a different blog, then they can via my link. I also look for other comments with a url link so that I can easily access and view their website/blog. Not all bloggers are in a position to work with PR companies to assist with attracting new followers or readers and I think a lot of bloggers find this an easy and cost free way to find new bloggers and readers to interact with.
I think that “complaining” is a bit of a grey area and it depends on the tone of the rest of the comment and also the reason as to why the reader is divulging that sort of information about themselves. Someone may mention something not so good has happened to them, but from the comments that I have read, it normally is associated with a question posed by the blogger like “How was everyone’s week/weekend?” I think the blogger needs to be careful in what questions they pose to their readers if they are going to be “annoyed” with the answers that they receive. Readers are just looking to connect to and interact with the blogger for whatever reasons and vice versa.
Yes, bloggers should try the best they can to source the images and written content they place on their blog. If the original source cannot be identified, then I do believe that a link to the website that the image or content was taken from should be provided as courtesy.
Agree spamming is not a good practice. You can normally identify when someone is posting or sending spam and if you can’t initially, you soon will after the first or second encounter.
LM, it would be great for you to do a follow on post about the good webiquette practices and also provide ways in which bloggers can attract new followers and readers without breaking the “webiquette rules.”
Miss Bias
http://www.missbias.blogspot.com
dear lady melbourne, are you single?
I personally don’t believe webiquette ever actually existed. I think it’s kind of exciting that there’s this whole new(ish) domain that needs to shaped so we’re not all running amok like those crazy kids over at 4Chan.
Whilst I do try to credit images where I can, websites like weheartit.com and tumblr make it very difficult to trace the image back to its creator. Gotta love the creative commons, but I know that if one of my images appeared on someone’s blog without credit I’d be a little bit iffy. Some people just don’t know any better though! They really need to be teaching this stuff in journalism classes…
Thanks Lady Melbourne a good reminder that manners are never out of style even in the blogoshpere.
I find the 2nd tip rather interesting .. don’t complain. Interesting considering you are for the most part complaining about the lack of ‘webiquette’ displayed by bloggers other than yourself. Im sorry but this post is feeling a little grand. And i totally disagree with your point. Have you ever considered that people use blogging as a way to share experiences (real .. not just happy) experiences with readers when they have no one else to turn to!
Thanks for sharing your webiquette tips! All these tips seem common sense for most of us but just like real-life etiquette some people just don’t get it unless you spell it out to them.
A lot of bloggers spend the time to share their thoughts, ideas and creativity to the world, so a little appreciation does go a long way.
Anyway, love what you do and the little things you share with us every day!
I couldn’t agree more about your general tone here. {I don’t agree all out with the link comment, because if I read somebody’s interesting comment on another blog, I will use the link to go check them out.}
Nothing irritates me more than those anaemic comments “great blog, let’s follow each other”. Grrr. But I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth. Because nothing is better than a well thought out comment which has a personal anecdote or idea behind it.
After reading your comments and then re-reading what I’d written I think I left out a critical sentence! Have edited for you and thank you kindly for your opinions so far 🙂
I appreciate good manners too. However, if there is a box available for web links in the comments section, as there is in yours, then I do add my link. It’s there for that purpose alone and nothing else, and it is not link bombing. Copy and pasting ones web link is a different to this.
I agree with everything else you said.
I’ve found some great blogs from people including a link with their comment, including Rusty Hoe. I think its a little rude to simply comment check out my blog and attach a link simply for the sake of it and super rude to try to advertise a product in a comment section. But when it comes to attaching a link how else are bloggers supposed to interact and network…
Also, I think the internet is all about saying whatever you feel like and a lot of people aren’t doing it professionally so if someone feels like complaining then they should, if you don’t want to read it then simply don’t go back.
their* /tired fail eek.
I am surely guilty of the odd complaint, but I see it more as therapy. Definitely do not really have a big issue as to whether people visit my blog or not though, and that probably separates me from most people. I mainly enjoy sharing with my real life friends!
People who comment something generic just to get their name up there or paste there link at the end of there comments are ridiculous though, shameless self-promotion and taking advantage of the fact someone else is popular, I think.x
Hi Lady M,
I am a newbie to the blogosphere and I am wondering why filling in the website section of the comment form is “non riguer”.
I have been filling it in because it was there – I had no idea it was called link bombing. Don’t people just click on your name because they want to find out more about you? Am I missing something?
Mmmm… I don’t mind people using the link facility on the comments form, it’s when they actually paste their URL into the comment too that it sort of annoys me. More so when it’s coupled with a fairly generic comment like “wow” or “great blog”.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the other side of the netiquette fence – people who approach you.
Great blog entry and so true.
I disabled comments on my blog for a while as it was predominately spam.Really enjoying your blog.
Great tips Lady M! I have taken my website link out of the comment form even though I was in no way intending to spam.