I've been known to only edit comments left on my site for two reasons: SPAM (that's a no-brainer) and any comment that disparages another reader who has left a comment on my site. Flaming is one thing, but attacking someone else via my site is another. I feel like an old school marm: "Take it outside, guys."

I've really never understood the need to have comments on a blog, it's just one more thing you have to police and fuss over.

I think of our sites as our own countries, where we are supreme dictators (dick takers?) and what we say is law.

After all, if people want to vent or tell you how they feel about a particular post, there is always the giant email link most people have on their sites if they can be bothered to reem you a new one. No comments on a blog = less annoying people sending you all sorts of stuff/spam/flames.

Just my two cents.

i'm kind of thinking (for me) the best answer is to disable comments in their entirety. I've noticed that my writing has been more focused on getting comments than writing for me. So I've deleted all comments and once I figure out how to get my site back up... I'll be writing again only this time for myself.

Commenters be damned.

oops. Browserr rerouted me to the wrong page.

My actual post in this thread would be:

People can post what they want. I sometimes use them as examples to others of the shallowness and ignorance of others. Comments provide good blog fodder. The comments I would delete would be ads and offers of sex-enhancement pills.

Because i don't need them.

Editied content is a very tricky scenario. The last several decisions surrounding the legal responsibility of blogs for third party comments are intersting. Clear distinctions are made between providing a forum for content to be viewed, or actively formulating opinion or directing flow of content. Intention of the blog owner was decided in part on whether comments were editied.

Theory being that when you edit or alter expressed and intended form of a contributor, whether in matters of taste or opinion, it is placing yourself partially responsible for the content, vs. if you decide to let all stand and speak for itself as simply a forum for views. The hard fact of that if you have ever, even once altered a comment, (spam that is obvious is not considered) you have substantially increased your legal responsibility in terms of what you provide a forum for.

Steve