Reader Question: Commentators or Commentors?
By Matt Jones on Sep 26, 2007 in Creative Blogging
I had an email from a reader of Blogging Fingers asking what the difference is between commentators and commentors.
Do you know the answer?
Jeff Hendrickson used to think it was commentors, but recently converted to commentators.
webgrrrl uses both:
Change the standard title (Top Commentators) to any snazzy title, like Bloggers of the Month or Commentors Who Owe Me a Million Bucks.
Steve Wordpressguy sounds like he knows the answer:
Commentators is a real word, but I’m pretty sure that it’s misused by this plugin - surely I’m commenting, not commentating, as I type this.
J David Macor thinks FireFox knows the score:
According to Firefox’s red squiggly line, commentors is definitely not a word.
Andy Beard uses “commentors”, but calls the plugin by it’s name, which is “Top Commentators”.
Perhaps we need some help from Daily Writing Tips.
Is the plugin named wrongly? Or are the words interchangeable?
Technorati Tags: commentators, commentors
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Well surely commentators are people who discus certain topics, such as political commentators being interviewed on the news etc
Whereas commentors seems more appropriated for people commenting on a blog, or are they commentating…?
Actually I used “Commenters” in my post on why I loathe them, mainly because the original plugin, written in 2004 was called Top Recent Commenters.
http://www.coffee2code.com/archives/2004/07/08/plugin-toprecent-commenters/
For me, a commentator is someone who has some level of expertise typically giving commentary on sporting or political events.
Just because commentator is in a dictionary does not mean that that is the correct word to use in the particular context of blogging.
Six Apart back in 2005 added a feature to MT “Trusted Commenters”
Commented exists as a word
Commentated also exists as a word and certainly suggests a more professional form of commentary
The Free dictionary, when you use “commentors” comes up with “did you mean commenters”
Im leaving a comment not a commentate
however it gets tricky when its plural
Matthew that is true, but you wouldn’t say commentators on a sports game make a commentate either.
Andy, I believe you have solved the riddle. If it is not commentators, it would be commenters, not commentors.
To me, “commentators” sounds dumb. But the way that I want to say it (commentor) is just not a word… Damn you Oxford and the english language!
Commentators: One who writes or delivers a commentary or commentaries.
That’s from dictionary.com - I figured people who leave comments are called commentors, but after going over to dictionary.com I was wrong. Commentors is not a word.
I’m sure the word “commentor” will be added to future editions of the dictionary.
In 2026 it will probably be spelled
Commentr
Nice dialog btw.
PS. Your blockquotes are hard to read. On a brighter screen the light gray is really light.