Making the most of blog comments: Part 12 - Using comments to defuse complaints

I've been writing a lengthy series of posts looking at several aspects of running comments on a blog site. This week I've been looking at participation and moderation. Today I want to look at how having a comment facility on your site can help defuse difficult situations.

Using comments to handle complaints

In the five years I've been running this blog, I've only really had 3 serious complaints about the content on the site.

(Which is a slightly better record than one of my previous sites - 'Wood Street Weirdo' - which actually got pulled by my hosts after a couple of months because of complaints from one of the local Walthamstow shops pilloried on the site)

One complaint about currybetdotnet was from a journalist. They found their name mentioned in one of my early articles, I had pointed out what I perceived to be the hypocrisy a newspaper was taking on a particular editorial line. About a year after it was published, I got an angry email from the journalist in question. Sadly, I lost it in one of my many data crashes since then, because the exact words would make a fantastic example now of how not to engage with your audience.

The gist of the letter was that I had no right to suggest there was something wrong with their piece, and that I should not be using my website as a platform to criticise 'professional' writers. The distinction between them and me as an amateur was made quite clear by the tone of the email. It went on to say that if I was going to criticise published journalists, I should at least make it easy for them to contact me. They wanted the article removed from the site.

I always take complaints seriously, so I re-read my piece, and then re-read the article I was criticising on the website of the newspaper in question. Satisfied that I was quite happy to stand by my original words, I wrote back.

This is where having the comments facility is important. I stated that I was happy to stand by my article, but that if the journalist wished to refute the criticisms I had made in the article, they were welcome to leave a comment. I said that I would guarantee to publish it unedited and in full, and would write another piece to draw attention to the rebuttal.

I never got a reply.

(I believe I resisted the temptation to also point out that my email address was at the foot of every single thing I published on the site, which was more than could be said for most newspapers at the time!)

A second complaint occurred whilst I was travelling through Europe in early 2006. Essentially a family member from a small business that was mentioned in passing the year before on one of my ghost walks complained that the review was unfair and was harming their business. The complainant suggested I had no 'right' to write what I had done.

Having re-read the article, I replied that I was quite satisfied that what I had written was a fair and accurate account of our visit to the business that day, but that I would be happy for them to leave a comment refuting the story.

Again, I stressed that I would be happy to publish their counter-argument unedited, and that I would prominently draw attention to it on the site.

Again, I never heard back.

In both case, what could have rapidly escalated into an argumentative exchange of emails was defused by the prompt promise of allowing a 'right to reply' to the content that they believed was causing a problem.

Comments aren't always able to help here though.

The final incident occurred after I wrote some articles about the TRNC flag at Arsenal controversy. I got an email that simply said that with regard to Cyprus, I didn't know what I was talking about. This is very possibly true, although I'd argue that the fact that I have frequently visited there and currently live in Greece does give me at least some credibility on the topic.

I replied to say that the person was welcome to leave a comment on the article. They emailed back to say they didn't want to leave a comment, they just wanted to make sure I knew I was an idiot. I thanked them for their time and thought no more of it. Then about two months after that, out of the blue I suddenly I got an email from them with just the one line:

"Stupid c&*t. Hiding behind his computer."

Amusingly they came up as a potential friend on Facebook when I uploaded my Gmail contact details to make connections. I'm often tempted to just poke them for the fun of it ;-)

The point of these anecdotes is that providing a space for users to leave comments can be a valuable step along the way to peacefully resolving a dispute over a blog post. When first contacted, you are able to stress that the person making the complaint is able to put their side of the story on the very same page, and that you will happily publish it.

And finally...

Tomorrow, in the last part of this series, I'll be looking at how some of the comments left on currybetdotnet have added to the site over the last 5 years.