I was going to do a break down of the new 9rules, but since it's only been less than 24 hours after it's changed so much that even it's older members, myself included, are still poking some of the newer features with a proverbial stick. So I'll leave those thoughts to a later date and instead talk about comments and the way we handle them.

Interestingly enough we tend for overlook the fact that the comments we receive do reflect the state of our blogs. In ways, whether we choose to reply to them or not shows how much we care for our readers thoughts. At the same time, how much we monitor the same comments sheds like on our natures, whether we can take things with a pinch of salt, or we love to be in control.

Because blogs tend to rely on the interaction with people as part of its success, how we pull off our comments if any helps with bringing readers back, even if it's in spite of your main content. The whole focus of your blog is who you are. If you don't show yourself as approachable in the first place, people might not be tempted to come back. It's a tricky thing to achieve, but depending on what type of blog you're on and why you blog, it's always best to be yourself, not your online façade or someone you think is cool. Just someone who is you. It's easier to keep that face up over the years rather than a lie you have to live on a daily basis.

Of course, there are people like myself who would exercise our right to monitor and if possible edit the comments that come through our blogs. Not everything that comes through is pretty. Forget spam, there are instances where you can be indicted for comments on your own blog, comments that aren't even yours. In cases like this, simply ignoring the comment isn't enough. The choices are whether or not you want to delete the comment or not. If I were you, I'd sooner get rid of it and save yourself sleepless nights. Better a troll that doesn't return, than a blog that gets into legal troubles.

That aside, I do have a comment policy. One that states that I reserve the right to not just delete your posts, but edit it if there are any spelling or grammatical errors. Some people think that this removes the readers from the context of the post, often skewering the point and diminishing the right for freedom of speech. So far though, I have yet to receive a single complaint from the comments I have edited. Some are regular readers. Short of installing a way for readers to edit their own comments, that's the best I can do for now.

It's not that it's a bad thing. It's just something that needs to be done to give our blogs a little measure of peace. Then again, what about you? What do you think about editing a comment? Do you have problems deleting a comment when it becomes too troublesome? Do you even care about the state of comments on your blog? Or are you like this little guy here?

Your thoughts will be well appreciated.