The Problem with MessageDance

I have previously mentioned MessageDance, a service which allows you to embed a widget on your blog or web site which visitors can post messages to via email, but didn't have access at the time. Whilst I finally got my invite to the service last week, I have not had the opportunity to blog about it until now (have I mentioned the fact every waking moment has been spent on an appallingly written PhD?).

Whilst I still like the idea of MessageDance, I think it requires too much work on the part of a message poster to be worthwhile embedding. If someone attempts to email a message to a MessageDance account, they receive the following message by return post.

The MessageDance user you are sending a message to (webometrics) does not have you in their accepted friends list. In order for you to send them messages, you need to be a registered user of MessageDance and webometrics has to agree to accept your messages.

On my blog I want people to be able to email me comments without having to join a service they may have no interest in using again. Yes, this opens the service up to spam, but I should have the option of taking that chance, and vetting the comments before they are posted if I choose. Good services grow because of the quality of the product rather than forcing customers to join.

If MessageDance changed this aspect, I would happily embed the widget at the earliest opportunity.