Hi Josh. I understand that a link to the commenter's blog can be found and, indeed, it's not a lot of effort to hover above the avatar BUT the big loss is breaking the convention of the direct, one-click link.
In general, people click thru to blogs on impulse and, the more hoops they have to jump thru - including just one extra action - the less likely they are to follow that impulse; many of the people reading this will have experimenting with their own websites and seen the massive differences caused by factors as simple as link placement and order.
Another factor is Google Juice - instead of links arcing back to your blog from all over the Web, from the hundreds of different blogs you might post on every month, you have one single link from one single website, IntenseDebate.com.
The third and final factor is that, under my proposal - that gravatar, ID username + blog name all appear - the commenter uniqueness would be better conveyed, in passing, to the reader, essentially extending ID's "comment universe" idea to human memory.
For instance, in this thread, you appear as "josh" and you've got a slightly distinctive but small avatar. If I were to come across another comment by you, on another blog, the chances are that I would not make the connection and remember your previous comments. If, however, the name of your blog, "Responding To Opportunity", appears right there, alongside your gravatar and ID username, I probably will begin to remember and connect your various comments.
So, overall, yes, ID may increase pageviews on your blog may increase but your commenters are not being properly rewarded and recognized for their contributions, and that is what hits your blog where it hurts.
Yes, it does, and entering my email address allowed my gravatar to appear as usual too.
So, essentially, with Intense Debate, we have system that actually encourages you to NOT participate if you want to gain exposure and drive traffic to your own blog - and I think it is fair to say that most bloggers want that.
The trade-off is pretty straightforward - if you want to rack up those ID reputation points, you must sacrifice the direct link to your blog.
On the basis that there is, at least, a way for commenters to retain a link to their blog, I think I would install Intense Debate ... BUT ... it is an awful pity that they don't encourage universal participation by simply allowing people to be both logged in AND to retain that direct link.
Something along the lines of:
gravatar_name linking to ID profile_blog name linking to blog_ID reputation score
That would cater to everyone's needs, would promote the interconnectedness of the blogosphere (surely something that is in Automattic's interests?) and allow ID to become the system everyone likes to stay logged into, all the time.
I'm disappointed that commenters aren't allowed a more specific link from their comments to their own blogs - it seems to me that generating exposure for their own blogs is part of what motivates people to comment.
![[Avatar]](/images/avatar26.png){kind=avatar}
Last 3 comments by donnacha
In general, people click thru to blogs on impulse and, the more hoops they have to jump thru - including just one extra action - the less likely they are to follow that impulse; many of the people reading this will have experimenting with their own websites and seen the massive differences caused by factors as simple as link placement and order.
Another factor is Google Juice - instead of links arcing back to your blog from all over the Web, from the hundreds of different blogs you might post on every month, you have one single link from one single website, IntenseDebate.com.
The third and final factor is that, under my proposal - that gravatar, ID username + blog name all appear - the commenter uniqueness would be better conveyed, in passing, to the reader, essentially extending ID's "comment universe" idea to human memory.
For instance, in this thread, you appear as "josh" and you've got a slightly distinctive but small avatar. If I were to come across another comment by you, on another blog, the chances are that I would not make the connection and remember your previous comments. If, however, the name of your blog, "Responding To Opportunity", appears right there, alongside your gravatar and ID username, I probably will begin to remember and connect your various comments.
So, overall, yes, ID may increase pageviews on your blog may increase but your commenters are not being properly rewarded and recognized for their contributions, and that is what hits your blog where it hurts.
So, essentially, with Intense Debate, we have system that actually encourages you to NOT participate if you want to gain exposure and drive traffic to your own blog - and I think it is fair to say that most bloggers want that.
The trade-off is pretty straightforward - if you want to rack up those ID reputation points, you must sacrifice the direct link to your blog.
On the basis that there is, at least, a way for commenters to retain a link to their blog, I think I would install Intense Debate ... BUT ... it is an awful pity that they don't encourage universal participation by simply allowing people to be both logged in AND to retain that direct link.
Something along the lines of:
gravatar_name linking to ID profile_blog name linking to blog_ID reputation score
That would cater to everyone's needs, would promote the interconnectedness of the blogosphere (surely something that is in Automattic's interests?) and allow ID to become the system everyone likes to stay logged into, all the time.