5 ms·

Hmmm. I'm probably in the minority here, but I'm a subscribed member. I've been reading the Times for a while, and I really enjoy their writing, so I decided to

Hmmm. I'm probably in the minority here, but I'm a subscribed member. I've been reading the Times for a while, and I really enjoy their writing, so I decided to sign up. The one thing I noticed is that a) most articles don't have comments any more. 3-4 comments is the norm. On one hand, it's a bit sad...but.. b) the comments that are there tend to be far more worth reading. The old Times site had a big problem with trolls and flamers, and somewhat unsurprisingly, this problem is greatly diminished. It would be nice to see more comments though. For me, it's almost like a very quiet HN at times. I haven't regretted signing up yet, though I've never used any of the Times+ stuff that's 'supposed' to be the benefit. Cutting out the trolls in the comments is worth the money to me.

pavs 16y ago
You read newspaper for comments?
- hitonagashi 16y ago
  Nope :). I signed up because I like the writing, and columnists and I'm willing to pay for good content. Comments are just something that I noticed was an emergent property.
  - Ardit20 16y ago
    You think their writing is so much superior to say the guardian, or seeing as you might have conservative leanings, the telegraph?
    - hitonagashi 16y ago
      Simply put..yes! :). I did try the Guardian and Telegraph, but I just preferred the articles I found in the Times.
- cabalamat 16y ago
  I read news sources -- such as HN -- at least as much for the comments as for the news. If one of the UK's newspaper websites had a good way to filter comments and allow me to more easily see the comments I'm interested in, make my own comments, and engage in conversations, then I would probably read that newspaper a lot more.
pwim 16y ago
In that case, it sounds like charging for commenting could be a better model.
- noverloop 16y ago
  or they could approach a reddit-like approach. I would absolutely love to have such a feature on my online newspaper.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
c1sc0 16y ago
I wonder is some kind of reverse flattr would cut out the trolling: as a commenter I have the option of paying a little money to comment, with a nice filtering option for non-paying commenters, maybe the default?
lwhi 16y ago
Do all the comments seem to agree with each other? Creation of a microcosm of like-minded views?
- hitonagashi 16y ago
  Nope. Especially on controversial topics (such as anything regarding BP), there are some quite heated arguments. Politics threads do tend to clique somewhat though. I tend to read the comments on those less though :).

pavs 16y ago

You read newspaper for comments?

hitonagashi 16y ago
Nope :). I signed up because I like the writing, and columnists and I'm willing to pay for good content. Comments are just something that I noticed was an emergent property.
- Ardit20 16y ago
  You think their writing is so much superior to say the guardian, or seeing as you might have conservative leanings, the telegraph?
  - hitonagashi 16y ago
    Simply put..yes! :). I did try the Guardian and Telegraph, but I just preferred the articles I found in the Times.
cabalamat 16y ago
I read news sources -- such as HN -- at least as much for the comments as for the news. If one of the UK's newspaper websites had a good way to filter comments and allow me to more easily see the comments I'm interested in, make my own comments, and engage in conversations, then I would probably read that newspaper a lot more.

pwim 16y ago

In that case, it sounds like charging for commenting could be a better model.

noverloop 16y ago
or they could approach a reddit-like approach. I would absolutely love to have such a feature on my online newspaper.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

c1sc0 16y ago

I wonder is some kind of reverse flattr would cut out the trolling: as a commenter I have the option of paying a little money to comment, with a nice filtering option for non-paying commenters, maybe the default?

lwhi 16y ago

Do all the comments seem to agree with each other? Creation of a microcosm of like-minded views?

hitonagashi 16y ago
Nope. Especially on controversial topics (such as anything regarding BP), there are some quite heated arguments. Politics threads do tend to clique somewhat though. I tend to read the comments on those less though :).