What are the best Tumblr posts and can you turn them off?

Tumblr provides one of the coolest platforms for blogging. And thanks to the reblogging feature, top-notch posts are sure to be moving like wildfire in no time. But what about direct visitors? Don't you wish they could see your best work right away? You can't expect people to scroll around forever and come across the best articles you've published, can you?

Summary So what are the best messages? Do I have control? Can I turn off the best messages? What if you were a visitor? Exposure can be good…or bad?

This is where the Top Posts come into play. With this new Tumblr feature, your blog now automatically puts your best posts at the top. But do you have control over what appears as a Top Post? What exactly is considered a Top Post? What if you don't like the feature? Read on to find out everything you need to know.

So, what are the best posts?

In short, Top Posts displays your blog's most popular posts published at any time during the last three months. Users can simply tap on the preview pane listed just below your blog's header to open a dedicated page of top posts, from which they can then check out twenty bits of your craziest stuff. However, only mobile visitors should see them – desktop users cannot, at least for now.

What criteria must a post meet to appear on the Top Posts page? Tumblr determines that simply by the number of ratings (a fancy word for comments) a post receives in the last three months, with at least one comment coming in in the last two months. Therefore, those with the most comments are ranked, with the top twenty then considered the best posts.

Note: If you have blocked people from commenting on your posts, you better hurry and enable it if you want to see your posts appear under Top Posts.

Tumblr doesn't just categorize your original posts, it also includes any reblogs you make. But when it comes to the latter, Tumblr only counts new comments your reblogs receive directly, not the original ones the post already had.

Do I have a control?

It would have been fantastic if you had the ability to determine exactly what appears as a Top Post. But unfortunately, Tumblr does not allow this. At least an option to remove some posts and make room for other posts – for those you wished had more visibility – would have made all the difference. Maybe such a thing is in the works, so don't give up hope just yet.

Can I disable best-posts?

As useful as Top Posts can be, there are several reasons why you would want to disable the feature. Maybe you don't want your visitors to be distracted by the Top Posts preview pane, or you don't like certain posts — such as reblogs — that show up there. Luckily, Tumblr lets you disable the Top Posts feature quite easily.

Note: You must use the Tumblr mobile app for Android or iOS to disable or enable Top Posts. Tumblr doesn't provide a way to do this on the desktop.

Step 1: Open the Tumblr app, then tap the Account icon.

Step 2: Select the blog you want to edit, then tap the Settings icon.

Step 3: Scroll to the bottom of the Settings screen, then turn off the switch next to Show Top Posts.

Mobile visitors should no longer see the Top Posts section when viewing your blog. If you want to turn the feature back on, just go back to the Settings screen and turn the Show Top Posts button back on.

Note: Disabling Top Posts only affects the particular blog you selected before going to the Settings screen.

What if you were a visitor?

When it comes to surfing Tumblr, Top Posts can be a great way to check out the most popular posts on your favorite blogs. If you find the feature annoying, unfortunately there is no getting rid of it. The Show Top Posts switch in Tumblr's settings only works on your own blogs and does not act as some kind of toggle to turn on or off Top Posts when viewing other blogs.

But you can always consider messaging or sending a request — or even an anonymous request — to a blog admin and try to get them to disable the feature. Something like distraction might do the trick.

Exposure can be good… or bad?

Additional exposure to your best posts can be a very good thing. How many times have you seen popular posts end up being buried under dozens of other posts and reblogs? However, the lack of control over exactly what appears can be quite annoying, not to mention Top Posts acting as a potential distraction from new posts.

Therefore, it is ultimately up to you to weigh the pros and cons when it comes to using the feature. And Tumblr made it easy to turn it on or off, didn't it? So feel free to experiment.