Blog Comments Pet Peeve
I’ve noticed something recently, and it’s started to really bug me: more and more people are removing the date/time from comments on their entries. It doesn’t sound like a major offence, and up until the past few weeks it didn’t even cross my mind as a “blogging faux pas”, but I can see now why others have nagged me in the past about having date/time on my comments.
I guess the biggest reason that it has become an issue is because I’ve not been around. People reply to comments I’ve left and I don’t know when, or whether it’s worth me replying — will people remember to check back for my $0.02? Am I going to reply to something no longer relevant? Am I talking to myself, ultimately?
I can’t think of a logical reason why you’d remove the date or time from comments, so do us all a favour and keep it in … at the very least the date or a mark of sorts to signify that it’s not been 10 years since anyone else left their feedback. Please? :)
Rachael said:
On 13 Mar at 2:21 pm
*checks own comments page* Ah, I don’t have the date / time. I don’t think it really matters, because all my comments are recent to the entry. Once I post a new entry, people rarely, if ever, comment on the older ones. In fact, *you* are the only commenter of mine that goes back and comments on old posts. ;)
Melissa said:
On 13 Mar at 2:22 pm
Why have people nagged about the date/time on comments? Maybe I’m just slow today but I don’t get it. I think it’s perfectly acceptable and will always have those details on mine. I think it’s helpful on other blogs as well, like “support” blogs for WordPress plugins, for example. It’s one way I estimate whether a plugin is worth downloading. If the support replies date months back, then I might reconsider. I’m curious to know why some people are against it though.
Jem said:
On 13 Mar at 2:24 pm
@Melissa: I have been nagged in the past because I had excluded the time from comments – not because I *have* that info (just clarifying because I wasn’t sure if you misunderstood..)
Tracy said:
On 13 Mar at 3:04 pm
It doesn’t really bother me, as a comment-leaver, if there’s no date/time listed. Unless I’m referring to another comment – then I’d like to see when it was made. It does bother me as a site-owner though. If I go to my site and haven’t been there in a few days and read the comments, I’d like to know when they were made (when reading them on my site). Does this make sense?
Rhys said:
On 13 Mar at 3:06 pm
Yes Jem (sulks). On the brightside, my new blog has the date :), and separate trackbacks which are nofollow!
Merike said:
On 13 Mar at 3:26 pm
Some people use only weekday on their blog posts. I think it is even worse as the post is the main content.
Brenda said:
On 13 Mar at 4:31 pm
The first thing I did when I read this was to run to my site and check my own blog comments. Phewww. The date and time information are there. :P
Raina said:
On 13 Mar at 5:02 pm
I have the date and time displayed in the comments on my site, but I didn’t really consider that it might be a nuisance not displaying them. :)
Matt said:
On 13 Mar at 5:27 pm
Hah, I’m guilty, I’m guilty! The honest answer is I have had them there before but accidentally deleted the code when editing my comments template. It’s been bothering me too. *will fix when not revising*
Aimee said:
On 13 Mar at 5:44 pm
Good point! I never would’ve thought to remove it, I think, but I agree – I can’t see why someone would anyway.
TWD said:
On 13 Mar at 7:21 pm
I didn’t know people existed that had no date/time. XD I suppose that goes to show my narrow online experience! I always like to see when the last comment was; I feel weird posting a week later, and I definitely want to avoid it on debates/drama stuff because those can progress and finish rather quickly.
Hev said:
On 13 Mar at 8:41 pm
You can remove that. I wouldn’t even have the first clue how to remove that from your comments. How rude of them.
Melissa said:
On 13 Mar at 8:45 pm
Oh! Yeah I guess I was slow today. :P
Vera said:
On 13 Mar at 9:33 pm
I don’t mind the time missing, but I like to know when the date is… especially if it’s a controversial blog entry. No need to stir some old stuff up =P That said, I never noticed this trend (I don’t follow said trend anyway ;-) )
Julie said:
On 13 Mar at 10:09 pm
Please to be giving me the date. It’s not a blog, but I always hated how the forum on yoursite.nu don’t have any date. I assume you mean relevant? I want to know the date!
Shannon said:
On 14 Mar at 12:38 am
Silly Jem. You know as well as I do that blogs have been popular for a few years only. And they usually have a lifespan of a few days. If a weblog has been up for ten years, it’s in the unpopular zone and of course has the date/time. If it doesn’t have the date/time, then it’s new and you needn’t worry. It’s trendy. Never mind the blogs that have existed forever. They are a lie.
Crystal said:
On 14 Mar at 2:02 am
The template I’m using right now didn’t come with dates in the comments. I had to add it myself and it looks quite ugly. Hmmm… the format on your comments just gave me an idea!
Chrissy said:
On 14 Mar at 4:30 am
I’m with you, there! It comes in handy when you get a hit from your own comment you made weeks, months, or years ago and you read it, so you’re not like “WHEN THE HELL DID I SAY THAT?!” That recently happened to me. I thought, for a second, someone was stealing my identity. Turns out, I am just forgetful. THINK OF THE FORGETFUL, PEOPLE! Please!
Kachii said:
On 14 Mar at 4:42 am
And this is why I want to go into HCI and all that junk (at least, if I can’t make my way into natural language and linguistics). Subtle things that nobody really notices consciously when it’s there, but miss when it’s gone. That’s my specialty.
Noellium said:
On 14 Mar at 5:00 am
I don’t visit the forum on Yoursite, but I dislike how there’s no date/time for the reviews. Maybe I just have a weird obsessive thing with knowing when something was reviewed. :/ (And dates/times for blog comments would be nice too. :3)
Christine said:
On 14 Mar at 6:28 pm
i love date and times. i don’t see why anyone would exclude them, and i see every reason to have them. ./nods