For those reading this blog, please be aware that I do moderate the comments, and I do check out the links that purport to be useful. Obvious spam is deleted, as are comments that are offensive in nature, or merely of little real use to the reader.
Yes, I do sometimes approve comments that are not directly useful, and/or are complimentary, sometimes effusively so, because I realize that the authors are simply looking for more hits on their own sites, and if their comments are inoffensive I am willing to help – up to a point. I have also had some ridiculously complimentary – or detailed rebuttals to – comments on sites I own for which I’ve never actually published a post. Since I can only assume that the person never actually looked at my site, or at best is not a native speaker of English, I delete those at once, which is a rather annoying waste of my time.
Take the link for a “Free Article Directory” recently posted; I originally approved the comment, on the basis that it purported to offer a useful service, but I have since “unapproved” it when it proved to be otherwise. While purporting to be a place to submit press releases and articles, it in fact appears to be a largely unmoderated site, which accepts any and all articles regardless of merit. In the random articles I chose, there were frequent errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation, as well as sloppy use of slang, which no legitimate writing site would tolerate, much less publish.
In addition, there were many popular categories, such as “Grief,” which contained no articles at all, or perhaps only one or two, leading me to conclude that the site is fairly new and not being run in a professional manner. I mean really; if you are a legitimate writing site, it is not that difficult to get good quality content submitted, or at the very least to republish quality articles from authors already published elsewhere, using correct English, all for the simple courtesy of giving them credit for their work, and including their own professional links on the website. If you actually pay writers, they may beat a path to your door.
Sites such as the one above are set up in the hope that newbie would-be writers will submit their articles, and then tell their friends and family members, which will bring more hits to the site, allowing them to make a few pennies via advertising revenue, all the while benefiting the writer not at all. Legitimate article directories, on the other hand, require an approval process for all articles and/or press releases; while those with basic errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar, as well as those with repeated superlatives or unrealistic claims, are generally not accepted.
I have also had a flurry of similar comments come in from clearly related sites, usually in atrocious English, where only certain words are changed but the basic template remains the same. Many of these are probably the result of some of the dubious “article writing” software out there, apparently made available by those who cannot write themselves, once again in the hope that newbies will be too green to realize that articles manhandled in this fashion rarely make sense. In addition, believe me when I tell you that taking an article written by someone else, and changing a few words here and there, IN NO WAY makes the article yours; to publish such an article as your own is plagiarism, and can be successfully prosecuted. Jena Ball, a wonderful writer and teacher from whom I took a couple of online courses in Nature Writing, has found articles she wrote which were clearly treated in this manner and passed off as the work of another, as have many other professional writers. Trust me, if you try this, you are setting yourself up for a lawsuit you cannot win. At best you will be made to cease and desist; at worst it could cost you more money than you’ll make back in a long, long time.
If you want to write, for the web or otherwise, do yourself the ultimate favor and really learn your craft. Learn to use proper English, learn when it is and is not permissible to use slang, learn the basic rules of proper punctuation and grammar, and your chances of having your articles accepted by legitimate sites will skyrocket. I highly recommend the book “The Elements of Style,” by Strunk and White; although the book was originally published in 1918, it is concise and to the point, and therefore indispensable to any serious writer.
Best of luck to all!
