You can now disable comments on any of your blogs by taking off the tick against 'Show Comments' on that blog (i.e. click on the tick and it will disappear) - when there is no tick in the box then comments will not be displayed for that particular blog.

If comments have been posted on a blog prior to comments being
disabled then those comments will be hidden. Previous comments are not deleted so if comments are re-enabled (i.e. there is a tick against 'Show Comments' ) then these old comments will reappear.

so good.

I think something must have gone awry with this cos I can't see any comments on anyones work now - even my own and I definitely haven't switched anything off. Is it just me? Nor can I place any comments on any poems cos it cuts off right at the bottom of the poem and there is nowhere to comment.

I can associate with lots of reasons for poets not wanting other readers to view some comments. Just one being that occasionally the 'other' comments can influence another persons judgement or idea of what the poem is actually saying.
The various comments can help the poet decide for themselves whether or not their work needs adjustment or indeed has portrayed several aspects of life or the nature of the theme within their work.

My question would be, can admin still see the comments which are hidden?
There's a very good reason for my question!
Where a poet might be duly or unduly upset by someones comment depending on how that comment is worded, or with lack of tact and diplomacy on behalf of the person presenting the comment, a writer might not feel they can approach anyone on the site to voice their hurt or feelings.
In this scenario (one that has occurred on many occasions) does wol have any kind of support system? If the other people cannot see where someone might need a little encouragement or where they feel the commenter has perhaps been a bit too harsh or blunt, there is no-one to ease or agree with the critique and the pressure lies with the only people who can see those comments.

On the plus side, i can see some very good reasons for a writer not wanting specific people to see the comments their work receives. eg where there are personal grudges held.
Personally, if i decide to come back to wol on a regular basis, i don't care who sees the comments on my work. What is the point of a comment section if no-one can read the comments?
If wol wants to be like facebook, then it has a long way to go. I suppose the next suggestion might be that people can hide their profiles too.
Anyone who feels the need to hide anything on here must have something to hide. In my humble opinion. :-)
Surely this website is big enough for anyone to avoid the people/opinions/work/comments where they might feel less worthy of others or not qualified or where they feel their 'voice' isn't appreciated or wanted? or to join in discussions and arguments ?

All it takes is a little self discipline and thought before action before deciding to get involved or not. If it's going to upset yourself or anyone else then don't do it, at least not consciously.
We all make mistakes.

Ok, that's me off my high horse.

ps. this for me, has been a short visit after a few weeks break from wol. I might be back after the New Year or just before Christmas. Either way i wish everyone here a prosperous and happy one.

Janet.x

I welcome ALL and every comment, I have no fear of the truth, nor a wish to hide from the 'blanks' so obviously left in my thinking. Come hither come all.

Isobel, you need to be logged in and viewing the blog to see the Comments box.

Janet, the user has total control over whether comments is available on a particular blog or not. The idea isn't to hide comments when they have been made but prevent comments being made if you don't want to have them for some reason or other.

No Paul - you need to be logged in to make a comment but you can view comments without being logged in. On that particular day I couldn't. I've no idea why it wouldn't show them but must presume that it was a blip on my computer since no-one else has had the same problem.
Can't imagine why peeps wouldn't want to receive comments on their poetry - if you don't want feedback, you might as well just flush it down the toilet. Most people don't bother commenting if they feel negatively...
Thanks for coming back to me Paul. x

Hi Janet, Isobel

Its a good thing, surely. It gives the poster a choice. I know that both of you (and I for that matter) would not wish to disable comments on their poems (After all, thats one good reason why we are here) but others might. Now none of us will waste time commenting when it is not welcome/encouraged. Great! Win x

One reason a poet might not wanting comments is when s/he has had a lot of comments on early drafts of a poem and then produces a final version for people to see but without wanting further comment

Hey, i'm getting very good at misinterpreting what i read aren't i?

Much of what i said in my previous post still stands though but perhaps more as a reason for the administrators having to put in place such an option.
With hindsight, it is a good idea for the reason Paul states. I personally feel that once a poet has received the feedback and adjusted the poem to suit their purposes, there doesn't appear to be any reason for blogging it again, unless it's an old one which perhaps some of the newer bloggers haven't seen before.

I agree with Isobel though. The term ''blog'' suggests that a comment will be welcomed, and dare i say, expected?
There's a difference between comment and critique.
Seems a shame for those who don't want critique to miss out on comments about how the poem has affected the reader, and favourable comments as to the form, rhyme and rhythm etc...

Ah well, all in all, it's good to have a choice. Perhaps more attention could be drawn to poets showcase to post their own and read work of other members which might encourage some of them to up-date their profiles on a more regular basis with new poems. I've noticed that critique in most cases doesn't appear to be the norm on profiles whereas comments are, especially among friends.

I know the blog section has had a lot of discussions for and against. It actually produced a very low rating in the survey which was carried out which shows that it isn't popular at all with many users so it's also good that admin are at least trying to improve things for the ones who do use it regularly.

Thanks for putting me right Paul and thanks for your input too Winston. Hey- ho! Way to go! :-)

Janet.x