Would You Like a Reply to Your Comment?
22. Mar, 2009 
37 Comments - Leave your comment
One of the things I’ve constantly struggled with is replying to comments.
Sometimes a post is old, and someone decides to leave an off-hand comment. Do I reply, or just leave it be?
Or, someone has made a well-versed comment, but all I can think of is, “Nice comment.”
I’ve created some code (if you’re using WordPress) that takes the guess work out of this. If a reader would like a reply, they can explicitly say so.
The Concept
Right below the comment form is a drop-down box that lets the reader choose if they desire a reply or not.
Once they leave the comment, you are sent a normal comment e-mail with the reader’s preference included.
Here are some screenshots to demonstrate:
On a Blog
In Your E-mail
You can also view live implementations here:
The Code
The code is rather simple, so I’m not going to release it as a plugin.
All you’re required to do is insert the code into your WordPress theme’s functions.php file.
Here is a download link.
When viewing the source, you can customize the IDs (for CSS), as well as text.
If customizing, be sure that the “SELECT” tag ID/Name matches the ID in line 13 of the code.
Conclusion
Giving the reader the option to weigh in on his/her preference is a concept I have yet to see elsewhere.
Please feel free to try it out and/or weigh in here on your thoughts.
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Actually, you should convert this into a plugin
Not everybody knows how to edit their functions.php
I really like this concept and I also think that this is the first implementation of its kind online. The ethical dilemma of whether or not one is obligated to respond to a comment, or if a commentor should expect a response, is greatly affected, and in a good manner too, by this simple form of asking what a commentor wants and getting an answer.
Now comes the next question: which options [yes or no] should be selected by default? Yes, that’s the next big thing to think about now.
[off to think]
@Ajay,
I suppose if there is enough demand for it, I’ll release it. Since there’s so much customization required though, I’m not sure if it’ll be worth it.
@Bes,
Same dilemma as the “subscribe to comments” checkbox option. In my opinion, it should be opt-in.
Way too much styling/customization required to implement this for a plugin. Just my opinion.
While I probably don’t need to implement this, I like your idea to tweak the functions.php file for ideas like this. If you’re savvy enough to need this, you should be able to customize your functions.php file and style your theme as well. Or at least judge whether the amount of styling required is worth the functionality.
John, thanks for the comment.
I like that idea too as it allows less tweaking in the other theme files. As long as we can control the exact location of custom functions, I am very happy to focus on the functions file only [sort of like having header/footer files and the legendary .shtml files compared to the pre-trends].
That’s very considerate, but not really necessary in my opinion. As you say, there are some comments you just can’t answer even if the commenter ticks a box saying they want a response. I’m not sure the majority of people really expect one anyway, unless they’re asking a direct question.
I should add that, ironically enough, I always respond to all my comments. But then I don’t have too many to worry about so it doesn’t take much.
This is wonderful – thanks! I do have a question though – I notice in the screenshot above, as well as on the blogs linked to, this is positioned above the “Submit” (or Leave Comment) button – did you do this by modifying the comments.php template file instead of putting it in your functions.php?
Hey Trisha
That “Submit”/”Leave Comment” text is from the comments.php template file, yes.
Since the “Would you like a reply to your comment” code is in the functions.php file [it can also be in the comments.php file or as a plugin], it takes some of the style inheritance from the comments.php template file.
I love that avatar, btw.
Thanks!
That,s nice thanks for the way.
Hey Lbug, how’s it going? Thanks for commenting. Sorry I forgot to respond to you:
Yes, it is something that can be unnecessary if there are some other measures or ideas in place. At the same time, it can be something to allow more cushion when it comes to replying and the idea of an obligation. For example, if someone commits to responding to all comments, then this method of asking every commentor [whether or not they want a response] can be a transition phase to go from commenting to everything, which may not be fruitful in the eyes of that reply-commentor, to commenting to the commentors that think a response would be nice.
I personally also [try] respond to each and every comment [directly, email, im, etc] and this method can be a good step to move from that to something else.
All of this will be discussed in within the next week in an upcoming article that I am working on.
if it prove to valuable i will respond …….
otherwise i will leave it
And it’s really a good idea!
If You want to hear something – You notify about that!
Thanks for script!
This is a pretty good idea. If someone just drops by and probably won’t be back he won’t care about your answer. If someone asks a constructive question you should actualy answer it.
This should be converted to a plugin, please
Hi,
Interesting and involving comments help to get response from reader.
Nice to read your blog Ronald, yes I agree with you that anybody will like to see a good comment on their blogs and we need to give them a feedback, that feels better…
Ronald/Bes
I’m having a problem with this function – I get the following error message:
“Fatal error: Cannot redeclare show_comment_reply_option_email() (previously declared in /homepages/8/d116188896/htdocs/TravelWritersExchange/wp-content/themes/TWE_Custom_200903/functions.php:33) in /homepages/8/d116188896/htdocs/TravelWritersExchange/wp-content/themes/TWE_Custom_200903/comments.php on line 119″
So should I remove the declaration on line 119 of my comments.php file?
Thanks!
PS Is there a way to have the “this user would prefer a reply to their comment” appear elsewhere in the email? I want to be sure that Post Authors don’t overlook it at the end of the email……thanks!!
Hi Mr.Ronald, It is a great, If some one do the comments on your post get pretty intense, but I think it greatly encourages readership and involvement
Woo Hoo! I was totally asking someone about this very subject earlier this week! Thank you!
Good post….this would be a good idea to reply on comments and thanks for the link…
What tamplate do you use in your blog? Very interesting articles
I would be interested to know what template you are using also??
I don’t think I would like to be able to have a reply to my comments. Maybe just one, but if they all come back to me I think it would be too bothersome.
I think that would not be necessary but the idea of asking your comment can be just fine. In my case I don’t think I need it.
I like that idea a lot. Sometimes people just want to make themselves heard, and don’t need a reply. Some might not even come back to your site after their post.
In the end, I think it would make some readers feel good to be able to know that they saved someone else the time of making a thoughtful reply. We could all use a little more time.
Yes, I would like to have a reply to my comments might should be able to share our idea (talk sense) Do you think it will be a great conversation?
I doubt people come back after making a comment. Unless they are your hardcore readers. So I wouldn’t bother too much about responses.
I like this concept, it is Interesting and involving comments help to get response from reader of your posts. there are some comments you just can’t answer even if the commenter ticks a box saying they want a response. Well i guess it’s depend on the owners how they respond to this.
I think that would not be necessary but the idea of asking your comment can be just fine. In my case I don’t think I need it.
I personally don’t need anyone to respond to my comments. I still think this is a great idea for blogs though. It will help draw people back to your blog if you respond to their comments.
Replying visitors’ comment is the first step in maintaining strong bond with your reader. So this might come handy
I think this is a great concept. Alot of commentors post a comment and never check for a response, and the one’s who do are more often than not the posters who add more value to the webpage. Therefore the blog owner should maximise time spent interacting with returning visitors who expect a response.
Thanks for sharing Tom.
Do you usually prefer someone to reply to your comments on other blogs?