Comments can make or break your blog’s community. You want engagement, but you don’t want spam, trolls, or a flood of notifications every time someone responds.
Here’s what we’re doing: WordPress has a Settings > Discussion page where you control everything about comments—who can comment, whether you need to approve them first, what notifications you receive, and how comments display on your posts. It takes maybe 5 minutes to configure, but it dramatically affects how you manage your blog’s community.
The default settings are… okay. But they’re not optimized for most bloggers. We’ll walk through each option so you can decide what makes sense for your blog.
Before You Start
- Access to your WordPress dashboard
- An idea of how hands-on you want to be with comment moderation (we’ll help you decide)
- About 5-10 minutes to read through options and make choices
That’s it. This is purely configuration—no technical skills required.
Finding Discussion Settings
Navigate to Discussion Settings
Log into your WordPress dashboard. In the left sidebar, hover over Settings and click Discussion.
You’ll see the Discussion Settings page with sections for default article settings, other comment settings, email notifications, and more.
Yeah, there’s a lot here. Don’t panic. Most of it’s checkboxes with explanations, and we’ll break down what each one actually does.
Default Article Settings (Top Section)
This first section controls what happens by default on new posts. You’ve got three checkboxes here.
Allow Comments
“Attempt to notify any blogs linked to from the article”
This is called pingbacks. When you link to another WordPress blog, this setting tries to send them a notification that you mentioned them. Most people leave this checked—it’s a nice courtesy and sometimes leads to reciprocal links or connections.
You can uncheck it if you don’t want to ping other sites. Honestly, I leave it on. It rarely causes problems and occasionally starts useful conversations.
“Allow link notifications from other blogs (pingbacks and trackbacks) on new articles”
The reverse of the above. When someone else links to YOUR blog, they can send you a notification. You’ll see it as a comment that says “[Site Name] linked to this post.”
I’d recommend keeping this checked. It’s cool to know who’s sharing your content. You can always delete individual pingbacks if they’re spammy.
“Allow people to submit comments on new posts”
This is the big one. If you uncheck this box, comments are completely disabled on new posts by default.
Most bloggers leave this checked because comments build community and engagement. But some people prefer a one-way blog without reader interaction. Your call.
Other Comment Settings
This section gets into the details of HOW comments work on your blog.
Registration and Login
“Comment author must fill out name and email”
Check this. Seriously. It doesn’t require people to create accounts, but it does force them to provide a name and email address before commenting. Cuts down on drive-by spam and makes your comment section feel more accountable.
If you uncheck it, you’ll get a ton of anonymous garbage comments. Not worth it.
“Users must be registered and logged in to comment”
This requires people to have a WordPress account and be logged in to your blog before they can comment.
Most people uncheck this. It’s too much friction. You’ll get way fewer comments because casual readers won’t bother creating an account just to leave a quick response.
Automatic Comment Closing
“Automatically close comments on articles older than [X] days”
This lets you disable comments on old posts after a certain number of days. Enter a number like 30, 60, or 90.
Why would you do this? Old posts attract spam. A post from 3 years ago doesn’t usually get real comments—it gets spam bots trying to drop links. Closing comments after 60-90 days keeps your moderation queue manageable.
I’d recommend checking this box and setting it to 90 days. You can adjust it based on how much spam you’re dealing with. Some bloggers go as low as 30 days; others leave it unchecked entirely if they’ve got good spam protection.
Comment Threading
“Enable threaded (nested) comments [X] levels deep”
This allows people to reply directly to other comments, creating conversation threads instead of one long list.
Check this box. Set it to 3 or 5 levels. Threaded comments make discussions easier to follow and encourage back-and-forth conversation.
If you uncheck it, all comments appear in chronological order regardless of what they’re responding to. Gets messy fast.
Comment Pagination
“Break comments into pages with [X] top level comments per page and the [last/first] page displayed by default”
If you expect dozens or hundreds of comments on your posts, this splits them across multiple pages so the post doesn’t become endlessly long.
Most bloggers leave this unchecked unless they’ve got a super active comment section. If you’re just starting out, don’t worry about it.
If you DO check it, set it to 50 comments per page and display the last page by default (so people see the most recent comments first).
Comment Order
“Comments should be displayed with the [older/newer] comments at the top of each page”
This controls whether your oldest comments appear first (chronological) or your newest comments appear first (reverse chronological).
Most blogs display older comments first. It feels more natural—you’re reading the conversation in the order it happened.
But some blogs (especially news sites or high-traffic blogs) prefer newer comments first so readers see the latest discussion immediately.
I’d go with “older” unless you’ve got a specific reason to reverse it.
Email Notifications
This section controls what email alerts YOU receive as the blog owner.
“Email me whenever anyone posts a comment”
Check this if you want an email every single time someone comments. Useful when you’re starting out and comments are rare.
Uncheck it if you’ve got an active blog and you’d be drowning in emails. You can still check your dashboard for new comments manually.
I’d leave it checked at first. You can always turn it off later if it gets annoying.
“Email me whenever a comment is held for moderation”
Definitely check this. You want to know when a comment’s waiting for your approval so you can review it promptly.
If you uncheck it, comments just sit in your moderation queue until you randomly check your dashboard. Not great for community building.
Before a Comment Appears
This section determines whether comments post immediately or wait for your approval.
You’ve got two checkboxes here:
“Comment must be manually approved”
If checked, ALL comments sit in a moderation queue until you approve them. Nothing goes live automatically.
Pros: You control exactly what appears on your blog. No spam, no inappropriate content, no surprises.
Cons: It slows down conversation. People comment and then… nothing. They have to wait for you to approve it before it appears. Can kill spontaneous discussion.
I’d recommend UNCHECKING this at first and using the next option instead.
“Comment author must have a previously approved comment”
This is the smart middle ground. First-time commenters wait for approval, but once you’ve approved someone once, their future comments post immediately.
Comment Moderation
This section lets you set rules for what triggers moderation.
“Hold a comment in the queue if it contains [X] or more links”
Enter a number here. I’d recommend 2.
Most spam comments include multiple links. Real human comments rarely have more than one or two. So if a comment has 2+ links, WordPress holds it for your review instead of posting it automatically.
This catches probably 80% of spam right here.
“When a comment contains any of these words in its content, name, URL, email, or IP, it will be held in the moderation queue”
There’s a big text box here. You can add words, phrases, URLs, or email addresses—one per line. If a comment contains any of these, it goes to moderation.
Common additions:
- Viagra, cialis, poker (classic spam keywords)
- Sketchy URLs you’ve seen in spam comments
- Email addresses from repeat spammers
You don’t need to fill this out on day one. As you moderate comments and notice patterns, add terms here to catch future spam automatically.
Comment Blocklist
“When a comment contains any of these words in its content, name, URL, email, or IP, it will be marked as spam”
Similar to the moderation list above, but harsher. These comments go straight to spam—they don’t even appear in your moderation queue.
Avatars
This section controls the little profile pictures that appear next to comments.
“Avatar Display: Show Avatars”
Check this. Avatars make your comment section feel more human and engaging. Without them, it’s just text on a white background.
“Maximum Rating”
Choose what rating of avatar you allow. Options: G, PG, R, X.
Most blogs choose G or PG. Unless you’re running an adult-oriented blog, there’s no reason to allow R or X-rated avatars.
“Default Avatar”
If someone comments without an avatar (most people), WordPress shows a default image. You’ve got options:
- Mystery Person (generic silhouette)
- Blank
- Gravatar Logo
- Identicon (geometric pattern)
- Wavatar (cartoon face)
- MonsterID (little monster)
- Retro (8-bit video game character)
Pick whichever looks good with your theme. Mystery Person or Retro are popular choices. Doesn’t matter too much—it’s just a placeholder.
Our Recommended Settings for Most Blogs
If you’re overwhelmed and just want a solid starting point, here’s what we’d configure:
Default article settings:
- Attempt to notify blogs you link to
- Allow link notifications from other blogs
- Allow people to comment on new posts
Other comment settings:
- Comment author must fill out name and email
- Automatically close comments on articles older than 90 days
- Enable threaded comments 5 levels deep
- Comments should display with older comments at the top
Email notifications:
- Email me when anyone posts a comment (at least at first)
- Email me when a comment is held for moderation
Before a comment appears:
- Comment author must have a previously approved comment
Comment moderation:
- Hold if it contains 2 or more links
Avatars:
- Show Avatars
- Maximum Rating: G or PG
- Default Avatar: Mystery Person or Retro
These settings balance spam protection with community engagement. You’ll approve first-time commenters but let regular readers post immediately. You’ll catch most spam automatically while staying notified of new activity.
After You Save
Once you’ve configured everything, scroll to the bottom and click Save Changes.
Your new settings apply immediately. They affect NEW comments going forward, not existing comments.
So if you enabled comment closing after 90 days, WordPress won’t retroactively close comments on old posts. It just means posts published TODAY will have comments automatically closed 90 days from now.
Common Questions
Yep. Uncheck “Allow people to submit comments on new posts” in the first section. That disables comments by default on all new posts. You can still enable them manually on specific posts if you want.
Or just don’t worry about it. If you never approve comments, they’ll just sit invisible in your moderation queue. No one sees them.
Moderation queue = comments waiting for your review. They might be legit; you decide.
Spam = comments WordPress is pretty sure are garbage. They’re hidden unless you specifically go looking in Comments > Spam.
When you add a keyword to the moderation list, you’re saying “let me review this.” When you add it to the blocklist, you’re saying “this is definitely spam, don’t even show it to me.”
WordPress has built-in spam detection (Akismet), and most Badass Network blogs have it enabled automatically. Your discussion settings work alongside Akismet—you’re adding your own rules on top of the automated spam filtering.
If you’re getting a ton of spam even with good discussion settings, yeah, additional spam plugins might help. But start with these settings first.
Not by default in WordPress. Once they submit a comment, only you (the admin) can edit or delete it.
There are plugins that allow comment editing, but Badass Network doesn’t include that feature. If someone comments with a typo, they’d need to leave another comment or ask you to edit it for them.
Check that “Comment author must have a previously approved comment” is checked. If it is and this is still happening, they might be using a different email address or name. WordPress matches based on email, so if they comment from a different email, it treats them as a new commenter.
Go to Comments in your left sidebar. You’ll see all comments sorted by status: Pending (awaiting approval), Approved, Spam, and Trash.
Click on a pending comment, read it, then click Approve, Spam, or Trash. You can also reply directly from this screen if you want to respond to the commenter.
What You’ve Set Up
You’ve configured your discussion settings to control how comments work on your blog. You’ve decided who can comment, when comments need approval, what notifications you receive, and how comments display to readers.
These settings create the foundation for your blog’s community. You’ve balanced spam protection with reader engagement, which is exactly what you need to build meaningful conversations without drowning in moderation work.
Next step? Start publishing content and see how your comment section develops. You can always come back to Settings > Discussion and adjust things based on real-world experience with your audience.
Related Resources
- Moderating Blog Comments — Day-to-day comment management and responding to readers
- Creating Your First Blog Post — Start publishing content that your new comment settings will apply to
- Managing Comment Spam — Advanced spam prevention strategies
- Building Community Around Your Blog — Use comments and engagement to grow your audience
Need Help?
Discussion settings confusing you? We’re here.
- Contact Badass Network Support with questions about specific settings
- Include what you’re trying to accomplish with your comment section
- Let us know if you’re dealing with spam or other comment issues
- Share your blog URL if you need us to check your configuration
We’ll help you dial in the right settings for your blog’s needs.