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Comments Subscription Options For A Blog

We see occasional questions from blog owners, and readers, about options for reading comments, and comment updates, from a given blog.

The most obvious way to read comments - or replies to comments - is to read the individual posts. If a blog that interests you uses Google+ hosted comments, reading either on the post, or in the Google+ stream, may be your choice.

For Blogger hosted comments. both owners and readers have a few more possibilities.

As a publisher (administrator / author / owner) of a public blog, you can subscribe to comment moderation or notification streams, by email. Note the delivery irregularities, associated with both comment moderation and notification email.

Private blog subscription options are extremely limited.

Private blogs will be relatively limited in options.

Blogger hosted comments produce newsfeeds, Google+ hosted comments do not.

Any publisher or reader can subscribe to various comment related newsfeeds, published by a blog using Blogger hosted comments. Blogs using Google+ hosted comments, again, do not publish comment newsfeeds.

With Blogger hosted comments, you may choose from several newsfeed streams - the per blog posts feed, the per blog comments feed, and the individual posts comments feeds. As a blog publisher, you may offer various subscription accessories on your blog - and as an experienced blog reader, you can select any feed, from any blog, and display it in your newsfeed reader.

The Blogger dashboard Reading List is one newsfeed reader, of many.

Blogger supplies the dashboard based Reading List - but there are alternatives to Reading List. And, there are different community building accessories - both email and newsfeed based.

FeedBurner redirected feeds offer many possibilities for comments newsfeeds.

Using a feed reference redirected to FeedBurner, you can have any feeds delivered by email - or you may view a FeedBurner reformatted newsfeed, using your chosen feed reader. FeedBurner provides a wide array of formatting and distribution options - which you, as a blog publisher, may select.

Even with FeedBurner redirection offered by a blog publisher, you may avoid feed redirection, on an individual subscription - if you choose. Alternately, you may use FeedBurner redirection - even if not offered.

The Blogger native "Notify me", a per comment selection, is popular.

Besides newsfeed subscriptions, blog readers, having published a comment, can subscribe to the comment email stream - using the "Notify me" option (for the embedded form), or the "Email follow-up comments" (for the full page and popup-window forms). Email stream delivery is similarly subject to some inconsistencies.

Know the possibilities, and create your own selections.

Complementing the various posts subscription options, there are various options which you, as a blog publisher, may offer, for comments subscription. As a novice blog reader, you may accept the options offered by the blog publisher - and as an experienced blog reader, you may create your own.

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