This blog was created as an experiment to see just how well this type of a website would do in Google from a search engine optimization (SEO) perspective.
Initially the results were mixed. It was showing up in the SERPs, but just not as well as it could have been. But, after a few months of posting along with a little encouragement from some of my other websites, it is starting to show up as #1 in the SERP that was being targeted. I was targeting the #10 slot, but who could not be happy with being #1?
This blog experiment turned out better than expected. Running a free blog that receives a moderate amount of comments weekly, passively produces great results. Not always trying to force results has been shown to be effective in the long run. It is certainly more enjoyable to run a blog that operates like a blog is supposed to be run. It just takes a few months for the results to turn up in Google.
While some other blogs have posts with absolutely no text on them other than a link and still receive comments, this blog is targeted at offering a moderate amount of text.
Some topics are hot, while others just as inexplicably are not. The interests of the public are fickled.
In the Real World …
In Western civilization the concept of private property exists. Businesses exist for the benefit of the business. Blogs exist for the benefit of the blog. Both graffiti and defecating in public are considered to be crimes. Properties neglected are soon overrun by nature to the point where they are totally worthless. Troublemakers and dysfunctional individuals are arrested for disturbing the peace and thrown in jail for the greater benefit of society.
In New York City a visit to Grant’s Tomb is an absolutely dismal experience because of all the graffiti and neglect. While a visit to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. is an absolutely delightful experience precisely because it is maintained in pristine condition.
In the real world, to be of value this blog has to be maintained. Comments that benefit this blog will stay. Comments that don’t will go. It is as simple as that.
Spirit of this Blog
I am a moderator on another website that has some pretty good moderation guidelines which I have adapted for this blog.
The idea is to keep this blog interesting, clean, and a fun place to comment while offering an unique perspective on stories that are available in a thousand other places.
All comments left on this blog are posted immediately, but are subject to after-the-fact moderation.
This is not a democracy or some great social experiment. It is a Kingdom being run by a King who makes all his decisions as he sees fit. This blog will moderate comments based upon their intent. Someone who says, “I hate this blog, and that site X is better” while free to have their own opinion, John H. Gohde is likewise free to have his. His opinion says: If a particular commenter likes it so much better someplace else, then they should get off here and comment someplace else.
Rules for Posting Comments
Comments where the comment author is not linking to another blog or website are not very valuable in the eyes of Google. This means that the vast majority of comments on this blog are not particularly boosting the ranking of posts in Google.
The following types of comments are subject to being edited where possible, or will eventually be deleted 100%.
- Do Not Bite the Hand that Feeds You – That means any comment that disrespects either this blog or the operator of this blog in the least.
- “If you do not like the … show, then do not watch it.” – Same rule applies here.
The public doesn’t make the laws governing this Kingdom. Posts, posted cover only one topic at a time. John will generally post on what ever is easiest for him to knock out a post on. So easy targets will obviously be covered more than stuff that requires more research. A lot of research means a big post. And, big posts are never posted on this particular blog. Don’t like the comments made by the King of this blog, then do not comment here.
Perhaps, YOU might be the person who happens to be lost?
- Personal conversations between commenters – That type of boring garbage might fly on other blogs, but not here. Just like on an Usenet Newsgroup, unless you are trying to contact the King of this blog, use private email for private communications.
- Keep all comments rated PG – Keep all your comments clean and fit for Sunday School discussion.
Rome was not built in a day. Offending comments do not signal the end of the world. They initially even have some value in Google. But, rest assured, sooner or later, all offending comments will be moderated.
Rules for Posting Your Own Posts
Anyone desiring to post, posts on this blog must first register as an user. You will have to keep your posts both interesting and popular. The rules here are: Do not offend the King of this Kingdom.
1 comment
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September 22, 2010 at 7:19 pm
John H. Gohde
All comments posted on this Blog are subject to moderation.
All the comments on this blog are moderated after the fact per the long established rules in Observations, shown above.
I don’t really like to talk about my specific decisions in public. Moderating comments takes up way too much time. Explaining why your particular comments were moderated, takes up even more time. And, if that ain’t clear enough, people who end up wasting my time are soon history on this Blog. People who cannot read, take a hint, are just plain stupid, obnoxious, and / or troublemakers quickly find themselves banned.
I don’t want a Blog where people ONLY attack each other. A good comment should say something positive, or something other than you suck!
While some people might feel that their deleted comments were NOT as bad as those still remaining, I have to make decisions and draw the line someplace. I feel that I have ONLY deleted the worst of the worst of the personal attack comments. For a while, people started to go over the line with attacking Levi Page, a person who had likewise outed SB’s lies on the Nashville Crime Examner. Ergo, because of that a number of comments were eventually deleted.
Overall, I feel that I have relaxed enforcement of my comment rules in order to allow people to vent. Life in the big city says that comments critical of SB and supporters of his ilk are more likely to survive, than those critical of either me or friends of this Blog. The same goes for those who think that MC did it versus Ron, Crystal, etc. I have let it be known for a long time that I subscribe to the Misty did it theory, even though any one of these crazy people could have done it. Thus, you can support the Ron did it theory on this Blog, … but only up to a certain point.
You might have supported me and this Blog in a previous comment, but cross the line one time and wham’o your comment will sooner or later be deleted. It is nothing personal. I just rather see positive comments, rather than out right negativity all the time even if you are attacking SB.
Finally, identifying people who need to have their comments moderated, enables most comments to be posted immediately unlike comments on AH’s blog who is a journalist that I generally support. Those with their comments moderated still have their comments posted. You simply have to wait for me to moderate them. This technique catches, of course, ALL comments from our beloved Simon Barrett, even though I have to date eventually posted everyone of his comments. It just lets me know that this dude wont be able to crash my Blog should he ever decide to do such a thing.
Finally, write a comment with a hyperlink in it or one of the magic words, such as expose, in it and that particular comment of yours is automatically held in a moderation. This process catches a lot of spam and down right nasty comments.
Finally, I have absolutely no idea why WordPress holds some comments for moderation.