I have noticed that the number of comments has started to decline lately and I think I have finally figured out how! On The Boards At Samanthon.com one of my loyal readers, Jez from Site Logic mentioned:
I find commenting on his blog difficult due to the number of posts, I lose track of what I have said and, if I subscribe to comments I get pelted with mails due to the number of other commentors posting which is not good either. . .
I had never thought of that! I set the default behavior for the subscribe to comments checkbox to checked, thinking that it would increase comments because every commentator would be able to follow along with the discussion - I never realized that you would be overloaded by the shear number of comments!
So, it seems like the boards are paying off! If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to let me know! I have set up a Suggestion Box on the forums. Thanks Guys! 
Agreed, when I see the gmail thread in the double digits I usually don’t take the time to read the comments.
I’ve noticed I don’t either….
yeah but at least you can get the comment subscription to work.. i’ve have zero luck with it.
That’s weird, it’s so easy to run!
Subscriptions are a good idea, what would be better than taking off the check box would be to find a way of limiting the number of mails sent…. summarising them in some way… code changes require tho….
hmm, I had it set to ticked too…maybe something to look into.
It’s actually a great idea because sometimes, idiots like me won’t check to see if the box is ticked or not and we end up with multitudes of comments in our inbox that we probably won’t read. Kudos to your efforts.
I like the idea, it helps me keep track of conversations across the hundreds of sites the I visit - but I can see how it can get overwhelming!
Hey, Saman. I’ve got a Japanese gameshow video on my blog…just for you.
that was really nice of Jez to mention the issue with comments emails. I’m sure others were encountering that as well, but Jez was the person who took the time to mention it. Cool.
Yeh the e-mails were getting a little excessive. Thanks for fixing that!
the auto check setting wasn’t too bad. With gmail it’s only 1 “conversation” per blog post anyway, so that kept it quite organized. And it’s much easier to remember which posts you’ve commented on. Also if you’re waiting for a reply, it’s easy to forget to check the box and never see the reply.
That’s better… now I can save a few seconds I usually spend on unchecking the box.
nice one!
I actually like it checked because I tend to forget to check it. For some reason, it’s easier for me to remember to uncheck the box.
I thought so too, it reminds me of what’s going on!
The first time I commented on the blog I left it clicked… learnt my lesson quickly and made sure to always unclick it! Thanks for changing that.
If people really want to read the response then they can click it.
Alrighty then…hit them boards. I think it is a good deal. Longer conversations, and more focused tracking.
hey saman man where ya been?
Another blog to the bone yard?
It’s getting dangerously close to two weeks of inactivity…which is usually a pre-cursor to a giant drop off in post frequency.
Yeah its a bit strange that it all ground to a halt so suddently…. and for so long…. everything ok Saman??
On holiday maybe
Everything is ok, we are so slammed at work that I can barely keep my head above water
Write something, anything to post will keep you in the saddle. Hate to see you go because of a J.O.B.
i’m sure we all feel the same
Great idea. I should do this on some of my blogs.
Yes sometimes there is too many replyes and all of them in mail is realy frustrating.