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Don't Read the Comments… But Please Leave One

I know the rule is 'don’t read the comments,' but I’m proud of building my own system. Here’s why I added it anyway and how I’m making it work for me.

September 30, 2025

CommentsWeb DevelopmentDeveloper DiarySelf HostingImposter Syndrome

Don't Read the Comments… But Please Leave One

💬 Don't Read the Comments… But Please Leave One

We’ve all heard the advice: “Don’t read the comments.”
And honestly, it’s solid advice. People love to volunteer opinions that you didn’t ask for and don’t always want to read.

But here’s the thing: I know my sites aren’t exactly going viral. Analytics don’t lie — the numbers aren’t huge. So why would I add a comments section? Isn’t that just another way to fail publicly?

🎉 Why I Built It Anyway

Because I’m proud of what I built.
Because I do want to hear from people I care about.
Because seeing someone click a link is exciting, but seeing them leave a comment? That’s like making my day twice.

🛡️ Keeping It Manageable

Here’s how I set it up:

Admin Moderated: No wild-west comment threads.
Verification Required: Commenters confirm they stand by what they typed before it goes live.
Alerts Sent: Both admin (me) and commenter get notified.

Hopefully, this cuts down on the nonsense.

🔒 Respecting Privacy

I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to create another account just to support me. I also don’t want to hoard unnecessary data — I already know what I need to know about the people in my life.

I’m self-hosting, trying not to kill my bandwidth, and keeping PI/PII concerns in mind. The last thing I want is to accidentally break international laws just by asking family abroad to sign in.

So this is my experiment: finding creative ways to hear from people without scraping their digital footprint.

🌱 Building Confidence, One Comment at a Time

The truth is, nobody may ever see the work I’m doing. But each small project is giving me a backbone of confidence, little by little, helping me fight off imposter syndrome every morning.

Would an employer help with that feeling? Absolutely.
But for now? I’ll settle for a comment or two, if you feel so inspired.

Thanks for reading. And as always: be good to yourself and others. I’ll try to do the same.

📎 Attribution Notes

This post was built from:

80% Proper’s Rambling Thoughts – the honesty, details, and raw narrative

20% ChatGPT’s Refinement – structure, flow, and markdown polish

AI Transparency

Model: GPT4

Prompt Used:

I added a comments section! I know I now, "don't read the comments" is the best advice you can get from somebody in the public sphere yea? Don't ask questions you don't want answers to and people seem to volunteer answers one doesn't always want to read in the anonymous comments yea? Again, I know that the sites I am making are not being consumed, I added the analytics and can see the numbers. Adding a comments section is just another way to fail publicly yea? Well, I'm proud of the system I put in place and implemented. I want to hear from those I care about. I want to show off my work and give people the chance to make my day twice, once because they clicked on whatever link that brought them here and a second time if they decide to leave a comment. What I didn't want was a place for me to lose the conversation so comments are admin moderated. Alerts are sent to both the admin and the user who submits a comment. The user has to verify, stand on business, ten toes down that what they typed will in fact be on my site given my approval. Hopefully this will save me from bs submissions? I have to ability to clean things up and I don't want people to feel like they have to sign up for something else just to support me. It seems like my projects need authorization so I can start moving data but with no control I can lose the plot quick. I am selfhosting and trying no to kill my bandwidth. I am aware of PI/PII issues and don't want to break any international laws when I ask family abroad to sign up/sign in. So I am at a point where I can come up with more creative ways to hear from users without making them feel like I am just scraping their data. Trust me, I know what I need to know about those of you in my life, no need for an enhanced digital footprint. All that is to say, I am proud of the work I am doing, creating problems and solutions in the same step and nobody will ever really know or see it but its building the backbone of confidence that makes it easer to fight off the imposter syndrome I have to overcome every morning. You know what would really help me not feel like an imposter? An employer? So for now, I'll settle for a few comments if you feel so inspired. Thanks for reading and as always be good to yourself and others, I'll do the same!