Are One-Word Comments Really That Bad? TL;DR No


So many people rant and rave about comments that aren’t “valuable.” Are one-word comments really that bad?

TL;DR: No. It’s called small talk.

All comments on your blog and social media posts are valuable including one-word comments. Comments are reactions to posts.

Are one-word comments useless?

One-word comments are not useless. They are input from your community. I’ve come across the attitude (which, frankly, seems a bit entitled) that one-word comments are not useful more often than not. I’d argue that any comment is feedback.

“No single word comment is helpful. It doesn’t contribute to the conversation, or add value to the post. Writing ‘Nice’ may seem to him to be friendly and forthcoming, and certainly it isn’t a horrible word, but it doesn’t stimulate me into wanting to reply to him.” Allice Elliot 

I completely disagree with this post from the Commenting Club. Generally, I appreciate them as I also do social media for Postmatic – the best commenting plugin for WordPress.

I love all comments (save spam) because it tells me they read the article. It reminds me of who they are and who is reading. When 90% of our audience just consumes, you have no idea who is affected.

Of course, a longer comment allows for the conversation to continue, but a moderator can also extract more information.

“Thanks for the comment, Daniel. I’m glad you read the article. What part of it strikes you most after thinking about it a while?”

Remember that introverts need time to process. They may be commenting to be polite. I’d rather have a comment than none at all.

Comment Entitlement

Do you really believe your content deserves prose in response? Should people just stop reading your blog because their feedback isn’t good enough for you?

Seriously. If your article answered the question they had, then there is no reason to contribute to the conversation. If you want a conversation, ask a question.

I’m so done on this subject.

By the way, I tried to leave a lengthy comment on that post and, ironically, it was marked as spam.

“I completely disagree. I love all comments (save spam) because it tells me they read the article. It reminds me of who they are and who is reading. When 90% of our audience just consumes, you have no idea who is affected. Of course, a longer comment allows for the conversation to continue, but a moderator can also extract more information. “Thanks for the comment, Daniel. I’m glad you read the article. What part of it strikes you most after thinking about it a while?” Remember that introverts need time to process. They may be commenting to be polite. I’d rather have a comment than none at all. “