Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Blogging Frustrations

I know I'm not the only blogger who is frustrated when a person asks a question in their comment but has their profile set to "no reply" - or even "private". Quite a few bloggers have mentioned this lately in their posts, and I'm going to add my two cents worth.

I really do want to answer questions people ask me. However, I don't want to answer them in future posts. After all, this blog is my quilting journal with other parts of my life thrown in now and then - and responding to people's questions isn't what I want to talk about when I write in my journal. Besides, many people may not be interested in the answer to a particular question. I'd much rather answer questions in a personal email - it's better for me and it's better for the person asking the question.

I'm not at all sure why people are afraid of making their email address available in their profile. Mine has been available for over two years and I've never noticed any increase in junk mail because of it. If you are worried about, that then set up a separate email just for your profile. I want to answer your questions, but the only way I will do that is if I have an email address for you. If you aren't sure how to set your profile so your email address is available then send me an email and ask, and I'll help you work through it.

14 comments:

Sue said...

I would appreciate it if you could tell me how to change the 'no reply'. I've been trying to figure it out and can't.
Thank you!
Sue
cheshire@btc-bci.com

Three Birds Inspired said...

Well stated...it is a little thing but it makes me crazy. I wonder sometimes of folks don't know they have "no reply" posts, especially when they ask you something really specific!

Clare said...

That's the beauty of Wordpress. You have to leave your email address.

Teresa said...

Hmmm....hope that wasn't me that did that. And if it was, I do apologize. I am kinda new to blogging and I just did not understand what that meant when it asked about making your email available or using your email for followup comments.

Thimbleanna said...

Hi Patti -- could it be that the people who show up with no e-mail don't have a blogspot blog? I know when I switched my blog from blogspot to wordpress(which I did partly for the frustration you're describing) people complained that my comments showed up with no e-mail. I had to go create a fake blog (that contains nothing) just so that I could assign my e-mail address to it for others to see. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the problem you describe might not be because people are afraid to leave their e-mail. I suspect there could be a range of reasons for the problem. ;-)

Elaine Adair said...

Well said. What REALLY perturbs me is when a question is asked, and I spend 10 minutes carefully responding, send it off, only to find it is a 'no reply'! Arghhh. But I DO think there is probably a sensible reason that I'm not aware of.

One thing I DON'T like is that all our blog responses are posted on the Internet, as far as I can see. Most of it is just drivel to the big world, and of no importance to anyone except the intended audience. Perhaps THIS is the reason they have a 'no reply' or it could be just now knowing the difference. (I didn't when I started.)

Libby said...

Perfectly stated. It's always good to have a gentle reminder. I know when I first began, I did not realize that I was set to 'no-reply'. I love to answer questions, but I just have learned to let the 'no-reply' folks go.

Lily Mulholland said...

My biggest blogging frustration is falling so far behind on blogs!

You have been busy! Not long to go now till Joseph is in your arms Grandma!

And congrats on your retirement too!!

Kieny The Dutchlady said...

I keep telling myself to check the return address first before I start answering a comment. Many times I forget to check it and it's very frustrating to discover that I typed a long answer to a no-reply! It's such a waste of time. Having said that it happened to me too when I started blogging. I also didn't know I was on no-reply at the time.

atet said...

I know the problem you're talking about -- it is frustrating sometimes. For some folks who are set to no-reply I actually do have their email addresses and can send a response -- but, it can be hard to keep track of :0). LOVE your crumb quilts and that dolly version? Perfect for someone's little friend!

Michele said...

Maybe the perceived problem is that different people handle posts and replies in different ways and think everybody uses the same way?

I have NO IDEA if I'm set to "no reply" - I don't even know what that means.

When someone posts a comment on my blog, unless they're posting anonymously, I get an e-mail (with their e-mail address), so I can respond. Doesn't everybody?

Mary Johnson said...

I posted a similar request just within the last week - I hope that people will add their email address to their profiles. I feel bad about not responding but I'm like you and don't answer questions in future posts for the most part.

Love the crumb quilts!

dutchcomfort said...

Sometimes bloggers don’t even know they have a no-reply comment e-mail address and lots don’t know how to change the settings.
It takes so much extra time to find their blogs and answer through comments. So thanks for another attempt!

Darling Jill Quilts said...

Thanks for this! I think that I just got 2 of the commentors on my blog to change their profiles within the last 2 days. It is very fristrating when you can't answer them!