Comment section questions that show how safe and useful the discussion feels
Ask readers why they comment, what keeps them quiet and how well the section is moderated. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What comment section survey questions tell you
Comment section survey questions ask readers why they comment, whether they feel safe, how good the discussion is and what keeps them from joining in. Comment counts show how many readers post. These answers also reach the readers who read the comments and never write one.
Ask inside the page below the comment thread, and in a short popup on article pages for readers who never scroll that far. Pick four to six questions: start with how often the reader reads comments, add safety and moderation, and keep the forum and photo questions for readers who already take part.
Each written answer gets a theme and a sentiment, and each response an urgency, so a report of abuse reaches your moderators before a wish for threaded replies does. On every plan, a workflow can post those answers to the moderators' channel in Slack or Microsoft Teams.
- Questions
- 14
- Best asked
- Below the comment thread, on article pages
- Industry
- Media
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 14 comments and community questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
Who takes part and why
Start here to split readers who post from those who only read, then filter every other answer by that split.
- 09Dropdown
How often do you read comments?
How often the reader looks at comments at all. Select Never in Results to filter to readers who skip them, and read what keeps them away.
- 01Multiple choice
Why do you comment?
The reason a reader comments, with an option for those who only read. Results shows a donut with each share; select To disagree to see how those readers rate the discussion.
- 06Text
What keeps you from joining a discussion?
An open question for readers who read but don't post. Each answer gets a theme and a sentiment, so a fear of abuse and a lack of time show up as separate themes.
Safety and moderation
Ask these together, since a low safety answer and a low moderation score point at the same team.
- 02Yes / No
Do you feel safe commenting here?
A yes or no on safety. Results shows the share who said yes; select No to read what those readers wrote about holding back, and pass it to your moderators.
- 05Stars
How well moderated does it feel?
A five star rating for moderation. Results shows the average and the share who gave four or more; compare it with the safety question, since both point at the same team.
- 07Yes / No
Have you reported a comment?
Whether the reader has ever reported a comment. A yes paired with a low moderation score suggests reports are not being handled fast enough.
- 08This or that
How should comments be run?
Two choices on how comments run: open or members only, real names or pseudonyms. Results shows a split bar per pair, worth checking before you change the rules.
The quality of the discussion
Use these before and after a change to the rules, so you can see whether the discussion got better.
- 03Big scale
How good is the quality of discussion?
Discussion quality from one to ten. Results shows the average and a column per step; ask it again after a change to the rules to see whether it moved.
- 12Emoji
How does the comment section feel?
The comment section's mood on a row of faces. Results shows the share for each face; many unhappy faces next to a high safety score point to tone more than abuse.
- 04Multiple choice
What would improve comments?
Readers pick every fix they would like, from better moderation to threads. Results shows a bar per option, and the share who picked Nothing is the share already content.
Building a community
For readers who already take part: whether they feel connected and how they would like to contribute beyond a comment.
- 11Big scale
How connected do you feel to other readers?
How connected readers feel to each other, from one to ten. Results shows the average and a column per step, a measure of community that comment counts don't give.
- 10Yes / No
Would you join a members' forum?
A yes or no on a members' forum. The share who said yes gives a first read on demand before you build one or add it to a membership.
- 13File upload
Share a photo you would like us to feature
A photo from the reader for you to feature. Results shows a gallery of the files, with picture location data removed on upload. File upload is on every plan, 1 per survey on Free.
- 14Consent
May we publish your comment in the print edition?
Asks permission before a comment appears in print. Keep the answer with the comment, so the print desk can check who agreed before the page goes to press.
Tips for asking about comments and community
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Ask readers who don't comment
Show the survey on article pages as well as below the comments, so you also hear from readers who stay away.
- 02
Place it under the comments
Embed the survey inside the page after the comment thread, or trigger it when a reader clicks the comment button (from Starter, or on 1 survey on Free).
- 03
Pass safety answers to moderators
Give every answer about abuse an owner in the inbox, and post them to the moderators' channel with a workflow.
- 04
Ask again after a rule change
Run the same quality and safety questions before and after you change the rules, and compare the two periods in Results.
Add these questions to a survey
From the library to the first answers.
- 1
Open the library
In the Usertick survey editor, choose From library, filter by industry and topic, and add several questions at once.
- 2
Or paste your own list
Paste questions reads up to 10 questions from any text on Free, 100 on Starter and 200 on Pro and above, keeps your wording and picks an answer type for each.
- 3
Choose where it runs
Show the survey on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.
- 4
Read the answers
Results counts every score and choice, and Usertick reads each written answer and files it by topic, on every plan.
Templates and more questions about comments and community
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
Inside the page below the comment thread, and in a short popup on article pages for readers who never scroll that far. Target both to article pages only.
Yes, on a website, link or QR code survey, where no user ID, traits or visitor ID is stored. Surveys sent through Usertick email are not anonymous.
Yes. Add the consent question next to the comment or in a follow-up survey, and the answer stays with the response in the inbox.
Four to six. Start with how often the reader reads comments, add safety and quality, and end with what keeps them from joining.
Yes. The question library comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.
Yes. Once a question is in your survey, reword it, change its options or its answer type, and add logic to skip it for some answers.
Yes. The library is translated into Usertick's built-in languages, and in any other language it shows in English for you to translate.
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