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That Guy is The Top Commentator in His Own Blog, Duh!

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Top Commentators Widget

Nowadays, Most of the blogs are converting from No-follow to Do-follow and yes, most of them have a “Top Commentators” widget in them. It recently came to pass that on my own blog, the top commentators widget was showing my name on the top – My admin somehow later managed to remove my name from the widget.

As we all know, every blogger is highly recommended to respond to his commentators effectively to build their credibility as well as to help out his reader.

But in this case…

Tweaking of "Top Commentators" Widget in Dofollow Blogs
Tweaking of "Top Commentators" Widget in Dofollow Blogs

Suppose your “Top commentators” widget shows the top 10 commentators in your blog and you, the admin/editor, is turning out to be the first name in the list for obvious reasons. It can have two miserable consequences:

  1. A critic might probably be uttering this at you – “That Guy is the top commentator in his own blog. Duh!”
  2. Ok, you have 10 people showing up in the list. The 11th top commentator would take the 10th place if you weren’t in the list’s top. Why don’t we treat our readers like kings?

This was just a small tip to all my blogging counterparts out there, have your say in the comments. 🙂

Some other related resources and articles:

About

Music freak, Facebook addict, Cricket crazy, Tenth-Grader, Part time blogger. In short, A typical teenager who falls in love with everything except studies ;)

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{ 50 Responses }

  1. Christian Esperar says:
    I'm also surprised when I other blog shown the owner names on the top commentators. I just said to myself that it is pretty obvious that they are the first.
  2. Jasmin says:
    I dont have the top commentators widget on my blog. Upon reading this post of yours, I am planning have it place on my blog. Thanks for reminding me about it.
  3. Osho says:
    I Also Add Top Commentator Gadget In My Blog :) But I Remove my name From List :)
  4. Susan says:
    This is such a great idea! Egypt and Tunisia really needs it nowadays. This will help them improve and modernize their economies and generate more oppurtunies in their population. Also, this will help resolve the economical issue of poverty and hunger caused by the continous war between the military and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Ben Ali in Tunisia.
  5. Selina says:
    Murugappan, So you are suggesting that the blog owner is not just an egomaniac? Glad you thought about this one and brought it to light. I think I will just stay away from a plugin like that. Selina
  6. Jeevan Jacob John says:
    Hey Murugappan, :) Hahaha ! I have never actually thought about this. I have seen a lot of blogs (including mine) having the main author as the top commenter. Very well, I agree with all of your points ! Thank you for sharing your ideas !
  7. Lennart Heleander says:
    Hi Hesham, After the public of this article and all the comments has you don’t write anything more articles or give any comments on the guest bloggers articles. Famousbloggers is YOU plus some very good guest blogger. Don’t take all the negative comments to much; it’s a part of the game. So kick yourself in the ass and starting writing articles and give comments.
  8. Tinh says:
    As usual, blog owner should be always on the top as he has to respond to readers on behalf of authors or he is the one who write the most articles :-)
  9. Murlu says:
    I've noticed that before and didn't know if there was a work around; really cool that one was figured out because if you figure you're always responding to comments, you're always going to be in top position which kind of sucks for that person that's stuck down on #11.
  10. Sabrina says:
    I think that it great to see the admin as a top commenter. I especially appreciate when they personally reply to all of the comments that their readers have left. For newbie bloggers like myself it is definitely something to look up to.
  11. bryan says:
    Murugappan, Personally, I would prefer to keep the top commentators as my readers. I mean I reply to almost all my reader's comments. That's my preference anyway. I would personally free up one spot for one extra commentator :)
  12. Morgan says:
    I think it's great that the admin is their best commenter. I see you're point, but at the same time it shows that the admin replies to every single comment. But freeing up the slot for another commenter is definitely better. :)
    • Lisa says:
      It's kinda funny, but yeah I agree, active admins make blogs 100x better. Readers love interaction and it's always a good idea to write a speedy reply.
  13. Vijayraj Reddy says:
    i also removed my link from the widget...
  14. Gustavo says:
    I was finally able to remove my name from the top commentators list. I came to find out that the plugin I'm using it has a section where you can enter names to be left out. I just entered my name and problem solved.
  15. Mani Viswanathan says:
    I guess, the admin can include himself in case he is linking to another site/blog. As Hesham links to him personal blog; I see no problem with that. But muru u rightly pointed out readers are the king & an admin should never link to the same blog & be on the top of the list.
  16. Mavis Nong says:
    I had the same thing just after installing the plugin, then removed myself from the list right away to free up a slot for one more commenter. Thanks for sharing the tip. Mavis
  17. Lennart Heleander says:
    Hi Murugappan It does matter for me if Hesman are on the Top Commentator list, the positive is that he shows his passion for the blog and commentates; the negative is that he always takes the top position. I want the Top Commentors list should be the Top 20, instead of only the Top 10.
  18. Ileane says:
    I have a widget that's a little different from the one here on Famous Bloggers. The one I use is called Top Commenters Gravatar and I can exclude any blogger that I wish based on the email address. The first person I excluded from the widget was myself and I often exclude some commenters when they don't have a gravatar...especially after I have urged them to get one, since it is in their best interest in the long run. If they continue to comment without a gravatar that tells me they are not reading - they're only commenting and eventually they will get trashed. On my blog I don't even fill in the CommentLuv for myself and sometimes I wonder if that's a wise decision. But I have a very low bounce rate, which means people always surf around for awhile on my blog anyway so why would I need to give myself extra links? The other problem I'm having right now is that I need to get another guest post published over here so that I can show up on the Latest Contributors widget. :)
    • Hesham says:
      Mmm.. I trash a lot of comments everyday, mostly because they add links to non relevant sites or topics, so I just delete them! Some of them contact me after a day or two, and ask me why their comments are not showing (or link removed)? I usually reply to them : why I should link to a blog about MP3 downloads or selling boats ? I have a personal blog, and it's actually the one linked in my profile here at FB, I don't know but I consider FB as a multi-author blog and community, so it makes more sense if I link to my other site in my profile, especially my personal blog that I am going to add a portfolio and social profiles to it soon! Haha, the latest contributor widget will display your profile image and give you a link for probably more than 6 weeks :) Thank you for your input Ileane
  19. Michael Aulia says:
    Haha yeah. It's just a matter of removing yourself from the widget though. Since good bloggers always reply to their readers' comments, it's easy to be the "Top commentator" of your own blog :)
  20. TJ McDowell says:
    I catch the point you're making. Why give yourself a pat on the back for doing something most bloggers consider a good practice anyway, right? On the other side of the coin though, do you think there may be an issue if people don't find a blog owner's name at the top of the list? Maybe they would get the wrong idea that the blog owner doesn't respond to comments. I don't know.
  21. Dennis Edell says:
    Especially bad if you run contests using the widget.
  22. Daniel Sharkov says:
    You certainly made a good point here Murugappan. The top commentators widget's purpose is to reward commentators in some way, so having your name there (when you are the author) is not logical at all. As you said it takes a place, which could otherwise be given to another commentator. I have to say that lately most of the blogs that had the issue before, have done their homework and the problem isn't present.
  23. Nasrul Hanis says:
    Gosh. You are absolutely right! And I found some readers made complaint to the admin because the one that always showed as the top commentator is the admin himself! Although some admin see this as a small matter, I believe that there are readers taking this as a serious one. So the admin has to act instantly or it will affect the readership.
  24. Harsh Agrawal says:
    Good point brought you by my friend. Though most of time admin forget to exclude themselves and others while configuring Top commentator plugin .. Finally hesham is out of the list ;)
  25. Pritam Nagrale says:
    Its really a nice post. I like the idea not to show yourself as the top commentator. I think Hesham also removed himself from the top commentators list.
  26. Isabel Rodrigues - Pro Blogger Journey says:
    Short and interesting post. But honestly it does not matter to me. I would say if the top commentator is the owner himself it only shows how active and communicative he is with his fellow commentators.
    • Tuan says:
      Of course, the owner has to care about his own blog. The top commentator is born to reward commentators, not to show how active the owner is. So, I prefer getting rid of owner's name in the widget.
  27. Henway says:
    I personally dun think it's a big deal, to be honest. It just shows the owner of the blog is taking initiative to respond to his readers, which is commendable. So what if it takes 1 slot from another reader? big deal... that reader doesn't even know who he/she is, and probably worries more about cancer, getting laid, or making big bucks than whether he appears #10 in a top 10 list :)
    • Murugappan says:
      But it, I feel, it actually is. Most of the blogs even show the comments count next to the commentator. Let's say you are the tenth top commentator - Henway (25). I am the 11th top commentator - Murugappan (24). I could have got the tenth place if Hesham wasn't listed as the first. Anyway, thanks for dropping by. :-)
  28. Patricia says:
    I don't have top commenters for the same reason as Tia. don't want it to become a competition and I already moderate first time commenters. I see some of those that I delete showing up on other blogs so they obviously have been approved! Depends what you want on your blog. I don't want people just coming for link juice although happy to give it to them if they interact and add to the conversation. It's a personal choice and one thing I have noticed that on the blogs where it is renewed each month, there seem to be both regular commenters and newbies being published. Cos unless you comment regularly on that blog you won't be one of their top commenters anyway. The ones that have top commenters from the day the plugin has been activated, then newbies aren't going to feature anyway. Patricia Perth Australia
    • Murugappan says:
      Well, you made a point! We actually don't need people who are visiting our blogs just for the link juice but still there are some people like that, and this is an unavoidable phenomena. We can satisfy them with links, and links only. For that reason, this tip might be handy. Thanks for dropping by your comment.
  29. Maria Pavel says:
    Hi Murugappan, I like this article, great content! Also, the idea of you being the top 1 commenter would show other people that you are very active within your blog and answer quickly and a lot. This would be a big advantage, I'd say. But on the other hand, the fact that it shows you on your own list doesn't really help you with anything, you take the 'slot' that another user would have been occupied, and that's not very good, like you said: 'why not treat our readers like kings?'. I totally agree with you. Thanks a lot for sharing this great article! Keep up the good work! Best regards, Maria
  30. Dave Grimes II says:
    I don't know just how bad it is to be listed as the top commentator. To me it would show visitors of you blog that you do get back to people. To me it's a big "pro" and not much of a "con." Excellent post!
  31. Alex says:
    The fact is that if you appear on your top commenters list it doesn't bring you any benefit, it just takes one place from someone else that shared his thoughts with the community. I have to ask, was this a email you got from Murugappan or he just submitted this guest post ? :). oh by the way, You will always be one of the top guys even though you won't appear in it, Hesham :).
    • Hesham says:
      Hey Alex, I found this post when I wakeup today in the pending for review section, it's written by Murugappan, I found it interesting so I decided to publish it as something light and nice to discuss about during the weekend. If it was by email, I would submit it using my personal account! Thank you so much for your opinion, I really appreciate it, and I am going to follow the interesting discussion here, so let's see what others say about it, then we will probably agree on :)
  32. Val says:
    I think "Most of the blogs are converting from No-follow to Do-follow" is a stretch. That's far from true. At least with the popular blogs, do-follow is a minority. And many smaller blogs should know better, too. Aside from attracting spammers and leaking PageRank (these you can manage or live with), do-follow comments introduce a risk to get penalized by Google because of their "bad neighborhood" policy. It may only take a few do-follow links to a spammy site that engages in automated link exchange or some other link scheme, and your site can get penalized as a part of a link spam ring. So, do-follow comments require very careful moderation, which is not practical for many part-time bloggers. I applaud your sharing here, and it obviously pays back in traffic and reader engagement, but this is not for everyone.
    • Tia Peterson says:
      I agree with Val. I no longer have Top Commentator or keywordluv. My blog is still do-follow, but I think that because it lacks top commentator, the influx of horrible comments has finally ceased. I don't get nearly as many comments as I used to, but wow, the traffic has increased and people that I actually want to read the blog are reading it now. I think Top Commentator has worn its welcome.
  33. Tom says:
    I kinda like the idea that you were number one Hesham, because it instantly told people that you are active on your blog and people are going to hear from you if they comment.
    • Hesham says:
      That was the main point Tom, you have got it right buddy! I will wait till the discussion ends, then decide to remove myself for ever, or bring me back in :) You always catch the right point, you are the man!
  34. Ryan Biddulph says:
    I did the same thing until someone brought it to my attention. Thanks for sharing the reminder. RB
  35. Marla Hughes says:
    Harsh tweeted your site and I had to come over. Great advice and it made me smile. :-)
    • Hesham says:
      Hi Marla, thanks a lot for the visit! And thanks to Harsh for bringing a smile to you today, I hope this reach him :)
  36. Steve says:
    I noticed it was doing it on my blog and got rid of my comments. So I certainly fall into the "duh" category. I would rather free up the slot for one more commenter. Of course these days the "top commenter" plug in seems to be falling out of vogue. I see a lot of blogs getting rid of it entirely.
    • Hesham says:
      Hey Steve, I've fixed that issue, I will no longer show among the top guys :) In our case here, I can not remove a plugin like this awesome one as we are a multi-authors blog, and after all we are looking to give back as much as we can! Great weekend
      • Tia Peterson says:
        I think it's fine for you, Hesham, since you are a "bloggers" blog. However, your Latest Contributors widget is sufficient. I got rid of Top Commentator and have never looked back. I'm not of the mindset that commenting should be rewarded. If people want to comment, fine. But commenting and traffic at least on my blog have nothing to do with each other. My blog continues to increase traffic and I don't have special goodies for commenters. If they have something to say, they will say it; otherwise, it's fine with me. Plus, you are attracting bloggers. It's different for blogs whose readers are not bloggers and may not even have a blog to share in the URL.
  37. Don Power says:
    1.So how did your admin tweek this plugin to remobve your name? 2. What are you using to get the Twitter ID fields in your comments above? 3. Are you using the Reply Me plugin for the 'Want to be be Emailed ' field below?
    • Hesham says:
      Hey Don, Allow me to answer these questions with respect to Murugappan: 1- You can exclude any commenter from the widget settings, there is an option to add excluded names. 2- We are using the TwitterLink comments plugin by Andy Bailey. 3- Here, we are using the Subscribe To Comments plugin by Mark Jaquith. I hope this will help!
    • Murugappan says:
      Hesham's right, Exactly right.