Blogger Blogs And Commenting Permissions

Not all Blogger blog owners know that the ability to comment is a privilege which they control.

Like the ability to publish and read posts, it is also a responsibility which they need to control, carefully.

Any blog owner who wishes to publish a blog, and not be subject to frequent deletion of the blog, as a suspected malware or spam host, needs to understand the responsibilities, and the risks.

There are levels of ability to post comments to a blog, which you select.

Consider possible risks, if you allow comments.

You use the dashboard "Who can comment?" wizard, on the Settings - "Posts and comments" page. Please, protect yourself, if you allow comments.

"Comments" are now a section of the "Settings › Posts, comments and sharing" dashboard page.

• Anyone - includes Anonymous Users.
• Everybody with a Google, or an OpenID, account.
• Everybody with a Google account.
• Blog members only.
• Comments disabled.

Choose this setting with care. If you allow comments by "Anyone", prepare to deal with the spam.

Proper choice of comment authentication discourages spam - and encourages frequent and prompt moderation.

Note these controls are only available for Blogger Comments.

Google+ Comments are open to everybody - and only available in public blogs. There is no setting to restrict commenting to Circle members.

With Blogger Comments, the blog owner controls commenting, moderates, and removes spam. With Google+ Comments, anybody can comment, moderation is by the community, and the person publishing the comment owns and control visibility of the comment.

"Anonymous" includes the "Name / URL" option.

Note that anonymous users can post either anonymously, or using "Name / URL" tags, at their discretion, with "Anyone" selected. "Name / URL" does not provide authentication. "Anyone" means anyone, period.

You may also select CAPTCHA verification for everybody - except members.

Besides "Who can comment?", you may also control comment publishing using CAPTCHA (aka "word verification") screening, and using comment moderation. These settings, like "Who can comment?", are part of the Settings - "Posts and comments" wizard.

Note the these settings are not relevant, if Google+ Commenting is used on the blog.

Choose all settings, as a group, carefully.

Every blog owner, hoping for any visibility in the Blogosphere, needs to choose these settings carefully - or risk being buried by spam.

• Who can comment?
• Comment Moderation.
• Comment Notification Email.
• Show word verification

Comment Moderation, and Comment Notification Email, together, provide 2 settings which can bury your email Inbox, depending upon activity of commenting on your blog. Choose these settings wisely.

If you allow spam comments without control, you may later find yourself asking for help, in Blogger Help Forum: Something Is Broken

Help me! My blog was deleted by Blogger!

Protect your blog, and your blog's future, by allowing comments, responsibly.