MEDIUM
How to Quickly and Easily Manage Comments on Your Medium Stories
Keep your comments thread focused, relevant, and clear of outside debris
It can be exciting to open your Medium profile page and see that little green circle in the upper right corner.
Regardless of the number it shows, the significance lies in knowing there are a few people out there who are seeing your work. And they might be clapping, highlighting, or — the holy grail of acknowledgement — leaving a comment.
We all have the ability to support our fellow writers and their efforts on the platform in several ways, including those mentioned above.
But recently, I’ve had a few instances where a commenter seems to be using this privilege to showcase their own work. And while some writers may not mind opening up their comment threads as a stage for others to market their articles, I have a different slant on this nature of activity.
For the record, I’m very appreciative of reader comments — good, bad, indifferent, even challenging.
Because it tells me someone took the time to read one of my stories and express their thoughts in words. But those who add a link to one of their own pieces into their comment get a little under my skin.
Because the last thing I want is for a reader’s experience to be tainted by the unwelcome introduction of a possibly irrelevant tidbit dangling like a carrot in someone’s remark.
To me, using another writer’s platform and audience to advertise your own work seems a little skeevy.
It’s the equivalent of a sideshow barker, waving his arms and shouting at the top of his lungs to redirect attention to their booth.
To be clear, I’m all for caring and sharing another writer’s story by including a reference to an article or profile link in one of my pieces. But the decision to do so is mine alone, and not at the whimsy of a person who’s looking to gain more traction.
If you’re like me and prefer to keep your comments thread focused, relevant, and clear of outside debris, here are a couple suggestions on how to remove an offender’s comment, and eliminate the possibility others may consider doing the same thing.
There are a few choices Medium offers for managing comments and responses from readers.
Here’s the simplest one, if you just want to take a particular story comment off the radar.
Open the story and click on the comment “balloon.”
This is located on the left side of the page, about halfway down and next to the claps icon.
This opens a comment thread on the right side of your screen.
Locate the one you want to remove, and click on the three dots next to the text on the right side.
You’ll see three options:
1. Report this response 2. Hide this response 3. Block this author
When you click “Hide this response,” that comment will disappear from the thread.
As far as I know, while this process removes the comment from your story, it doesn’t take it off the profile of the person who wrote it, especially if they chose to publish their response on their timeline.
Here’s another tool to use in accomplishing this easy task.
Open the story and click on the comment bubble to open the full thread. At the very top, click the three dots on the right and you’ll see two choices:
1. Manage responses 2. Close Discussion
Click “Manage responses,” which will open a new page with all the comments and replies for that article.
If you see one you want to remove, or a reader/writer you want to block, go to that specific comment and look for the down arrow in the bottom right corner of their post.
Click the down arrow and you’ll see a menu giving you the following selections:
1. Undo applause for this post 2. Hide response on your story page 3. Block this user 4. Report story
Click the appropriate option to complete the process.
So that’s the current process to manage, remove, or block unwanted comments.
And for all those other folks who took the time to read your article and post a few words? My advice is to acknowledge and reply as soon as possible.
This simple, easy act will show your gratitude and appreciation for your readers — and perhaps convince them to keep coming back for more.
© 2021 Jill Reid. All Rights Reserved.
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Jill Reid is the founder of Pathway to Personal Growth and author of Real Life and Discover Your Personal Truth. Her books and articles explore life, happiness, relationships, health, and personal success strategies.
