Learning How to Leave a Comment on a Blog Office of Environmental Information – Office of Information Analysis and Access – Information Access Division June 2008 Audio Caption: Welcome to the training about leaving a comment on the National Dialogue blog sponsored by the Office of Environmental Information at EPA. If you experience any problems with these instructions, please send an to

Comment Policy Review the Comment Policy Audio Caption: Before commenting on this blog, you may want to review the comment policy available on the main page.

Audio Caption: To access the National Dialogue blog, in your Web browser type

Leaving a Comment on a Specific Topic Select this Link Clicking on This Link on the Main Blog Page Brings you to this User Help Tutorial Audio Caption: You should now be on the page that reads "Join Our National Dialogue..." If you wish to leave a comment, click on the link that reads "Comment Now." (Note you will have gotten to this presentation by selecting “How to Submit a Comment” from the main National Dialogue Blog page).

Select a Topic, for Example, What Works Audio Caption: Once you have clicked on the "Comment Now" link, the next page that appears should read "Topic List for Commenting" in bold letters. Click on the topic you wish to comment about. For this example we selected “What Works”.

Enter Your Name, and Comment Enter Name, address and Comment Audio Caption: Now you should see a page that has the topic that you chose at the top in bold letters. Enter your name and address in the corresponding box. Now, place your cursor in the comment box and type your comment or response and select “Submit Comment”

Leaving a Comment About a Post Read the Post and Select “Leave a Comment Audio Caption: If you would like to respond to a blog post, click the link that reads "leave a comment" which appears just beneath the post.

Enter Your Name, Address and Your Comment Enter Name, and Comment and Select “Submit Comment” Audio Caption: Type your name and address in the corresponding boxes. Now, place your cursor in the comment box and type your comment or response. Select “Submit Comment”

Replying to a Previous Comment Navigate to the Link for Existing Comments Audio Caption: Instead of responding to a post, you may want to reply to an existing comment. Look for the comments link after a post with a number that reflects one or more comments were received. Click on this link.

Select the Comment for Reply For Example Reply to the 2 nd Comment Audio Caption: Select the reply link for the comment you would like to respond to.

Enter Your Reply Enter Name, and Comment and Select “Submit Comment” Audio Caption: As before, fill out the form tat appears and select “Submit Comment”

Comment Approval If the blog on which you are commenting is moderated, it may take some time for your comment to be approved and displayed. Audio Caption: Your response may not appear immediately. Moderators must approve all comments and responses so that we can abide by legal guidelines. Comments should be published about 2 hours after they are submitted.

END Audio Caption: That’s the end of our presentation. Good luck blogging, and thanks for your input