Best Features On A Blog From Users Viewpoint

[micmol]

Looking completely from a user point of view when it comes to blogs.

What features do you regard are

a/ Must have features

&

b/ What differentiates a good blog from a not so good blog

[RetroNetro]

Here are a few:

Content I want to read
Ability to subscribe via RSS
Not having to register to comment
Ability to subscribe to additional comments made after mine

[chris_fuel]

It's kinda hard to say the "best features" so to speak. However, some recommendations:

1) The most obvious, being able to post comments. However I wouldn't stop there, comment management is a big thing. Depending on the blog, I also might want to see what others have to say about it, or heck, even post a comment myself. If I have to wade through lots of spam comments, then I usually get turned off and go someplace else

2) Formatting. Blogging about things can often be more interesting by the usage of proper formatting. Things like image placement, font styles, and yes, give me code highlighting :P

3) Have some kind of feed so I can add it to vista sidebar, firefox, or shove it on me google homepage

4) Category listings of some sort, though I must say that those topic cluster thingies I see a lot.. never was into those. All that varying text makes it distracting when I'm reading the blog. However, I still might like to look and see what else this person talks about, especially with technology blogs

But most importantly, have good content!

[Shyflower]

I agree with Johnny except for his last one. I don't care if I can subscribe to comments or not. I also like a search box at the top of the blog so if I want to check on a keyword I can do it quickly.

Another very important element is how the content is formatted. Do the headings stand out without blowing me out of my chair? Is the type size easily readable? Can I skim down the page without being blocked by ads or confused with overly zealous formatting such as too much color used within the content. (recently first saw this on a blog I reviewed)

[ses5909]

Johnny Gulag hit them all for me especially #4. I like to be able to easily follow up on blogs I've commented on because I am very forgetful and need all the help I can get!

[Poiesis01]

Most definetly

Not having to register to comment

If I must register, I don't bother commenting or bookmarking, seems a waste of time

[jimbo_dk]

Most definetly If I must register, I don't bother commenting or bookmarking, seems a waste of time

Same here.

I also like the ability to subscribe for the comments to one post. When blogs subscribe me to every single comment in every post it pisses me off.

[chris_fuel]

Not having to register to comment

The only way to truly get rid of this across the board is to collectively throw blog comment spammers into the ocean, causing a massive tidal wave that destroys the world right as web 3.0 beta is going to be released.

But yeah, if you're not going to do this, at least have a .. I can never remember the acronym "A Visual Anti Spammer Tool (AVAST! [arrrrr!])" so that will have to do.

[RetroNetro]

I am very forgetful and need all the help I can get!

Yes, me too, I never remember to go back to posts I commented in. I try to remember when they make a new post but I usually forget.

[micmol]

Most definetly If I must register, I don't bother commenting or bookmarking, seems a waste of time

So how do you suggest the owner avoids spam?

[ryanhellyer]

So how do you suggest the owner avoids spam?

Sift through all the posts and remove the duds, that's what I do. Although Akismet usually catches everything for me anyway so there's not a huge amount to sift through. Usually about 3-4 per day makes it's way past.

I'm assuming that with a captcha or similar system you should be able to weed out the last few fairly easily and a custom built captcha type system would be virtually fool proof.

And don't forget that spam bots can register too!

Ryan,

[cedricvc]

the factors i consider in choosing the best blog are:

Content - always fresh and updated
Pageload time - 5 to 8 seconds is tolerable
RSS - subscription is an ease
Comments - must be user-friendly but not enough to do spam
last but not the least good Page Rank must be 3 above will do

[fonzerelli_79]

Here are a few:

Content I want to read
Ability to subscribe via RSS
Not having to register to comment
Ability to subscribe to additional comments made after mine

I would agree with all of the above

I'm also a fan of the myblog avatar plugin which displays the pic of the commentator next to their comment

[mcaronan]

Yep.. I agree with you guys, but you still need visual aids. Some visitors have lack of patience and will visit your site in just a mere seconds.

[jimbo_dk]

I'm also a fan of the myblog avatar plugin which displays the pic of the commentator next to their comment

I prefer Gravatars. I can't sign into MyBlogLog ever since they switched to Yahoo authentication.

[RetroNetro]

I prefer Gravatars. I can't sign into MyBlogLog ever since they switched to Yahoo authentication.

I too prefer Gravatars, not that I dislike MBL's, I just have never implemented them into a design. I need to give Grav's aniother try now that Automattic has taken them over, maybe no more slow load issues.

[Rikki]

Looking completely from a user point of view when it comes to blogs.

What features do you regard are

a/ Must have features

&

b/ What differentiates a good blog from a not so good blog

Interesting topics
Descriptive, not misleading
Regular updates

...

I really couldnt give a flying expletive about comments or any of that because 99% of the time they are throwaway remarks that wont be seen as soon as the blog entry disappears off the front page. Compared to a forum where there is a communication between people I see blogs are what they are - web logs - where one entity is broadcasting to readers.

[AudiS2]

- fluent design
- good language skills
- non-intrusive ads or no ads at all
- being mediocre in views

[r937]

a/ must have:

- content
- identity

b/ difference between good and not so good:

- content

regarding identity: nothing annoys quite so much as a blog by an anonymous person

no email address, no name, no About page? i don't trust you, and i won't be back

[fonzerelli_79]

I prefer Gravatars. I can't sign into MyBlogLog ever since they switched to Yahoo authentication.

yeah i remember it being a pain too!

I used gravatars originally with my blog but I recall their server being down quite frequently at the time