The first thing I should say is that the below doesn’t apply to this blog. Not because my commentators are particularly discerning (although they are, and adding a comment to this post will confirm your discernment), but simply because my posts only generate 4-10 comments. A perfectly manageable number.
Comments are rubbish
The question of whether comments are valuable has been doing the rounds for quite a while now. Information Architects have been toying with new comment formats after complaining (on Twitter, naturally enough) that reading through comments is i) a chore and ii) not particularly edifying as they too often degenerate into name calling and intellectual peacockery. Twitter, on the other hand, provides them with focused, immediate feedback.
From a reader’s point of view, comments are of mixed value: Sometimes they’ll clarify or illuminate a point made in the original post, provide an alternative perspective or simply entertain. Other times they’ll miss the point, needlessly antagonise or make zero sense. When a post attracts lots of comments this becomes a moot point: By the time you get to comment#30 you’re skimming for either famous names or words that look vaguely interesting.
Perhaps it’s just The Telegraph
This reasonably amusing Telegraph post on the effects of the internet is a good example of all that’s frustrating about comments. Some are conscise:
Glad you put “The Art of Polite Disagreement” at #1. The rants that follow under your newspaper’s mis-named “Comments” section are the proof.
Others pedantic:
Which word might apply to you, and whose face has egg all over it?
Others, well…
@ DC: Shut up. Pretty much everyone here has probably seen some form of internet porn. Get over it.
The point is: What does all this stuff add to the article?
Get rid of them
I used to think that keeping comments on newspaper/expert sites might be possible if they were somehow adapted, edited or required approval before publication. I think I was wrong. The web is, of course, an inherently democratic medium, but that doesn’t mean all information is of equal value. Regardless of its politics, The Telegraph is a hugely respected publication: Why should my opinion be appended to an article on Gordon Brown’s supposed weaknesses? What would it add to the world’s understanding of this issue?
If I’m desparate to publish my opinion I could always post a blog article, or use a more appropriate, informal medium such as Twitter, where it may or may not receive a response.
But not from here
A cosy fire
However. For those of us playing in the lower leagues comments can be important. They tell us when we’re being silly, reassure us we’re being read and can even provide an encouraging nudge: I can only guess at iA’s excitement at God’s visitation (and I have to admit it was quite pleasing getting a one line visit from Joe Clark [sans e]).
Your regular visitors can be relied on to give an honest opinion of what you’ve written without having to worry about how clever they look (even if they are really talented).
And when you’re dealing with no more than 10 comments or so, it’s easy to read through and keep track of who’s saying what to whom. It’s quite cosy, even.
So come and join me for a cup of tea and a fireside chat. Leave a pithy, enlightening comment below.