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Main takeaways, in my view: - Longer form allows for less heated conversation - Allowing randos to emplace their screeds immediately below your post encourage

Main takeaways, in my view: - Longer form allows for less heated conversation - Allowing randos to emplace their screeds immediately below your post encourages fighting That second point I think bears more exploration. Maybe we shouldn't allow trolls to inject themselves into every conversation, eh? My favorite format for post/discussion is still the blog format, where comments are moderated by the author of the post. You want to post something the author wouldn't allow on their post? Do it on your own blog. (Dreamwidth, main successor to Livejournal, has this property as well.)

ObsoleteNerd 8y ago
I run a few blogs for a couple of pretty big Authors (not GRRM big, but still top 5 in Amazon for their categories). For years now, I've been suggesting to not have comments on the blog, and just have a link to their email saying something like "Want to discuss this? Send me an Email, I'd love to chat!". Every single one of them prefers this method, and has said it creates a much more valuable conversation 1-on-1 with the person, rather than the exposed public sharing of an open comment section. One of the authors actually came up with the idea, and I now love it too. A few others ask for comments as normal, but want people to sign up, and be approved. WP has a nice feature for this where people can sign up + comment in a single go, then the admin can approve that comment, which also approves them to post in the future. Settings > Discussion > "Comment author must have a previously approved comment."
- saurik 8y ago
  I find it really interesting (and even exciting) that Instagram stories (which have rapidly taken over Instagram) work like this: you respond by sending a private message to the poster, not by leaving a public comment.
- jseliger 8y ago
  A long time ago, James Fallows of The Atlantic made the decision to turn off comments on his blog: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/09/lets-talk-reader-comments-one-more-time/280058 https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/09/lets-ta...
CommanderData 8y ago
I think Reddit and sites alike cause a problem with activism. I see topics for great initiatives on sites like Reddit however everything about its engagement is just wrong. Comments are poor - people know how to game it, posts have a limited life span affecting comment quality, when a post disappears from the front page engagement drops to what seems 0%. Re-posts are looked at negatively, reddit community gets bored of seeing the same topic even if there is an interesting change or update. There is something fundamentally wrong about it. Forums allow for longer discussion and are a good way of promoting long term activism when needed, there are threads forums lasting years, are a joy to read and follow.
- qrbLPHiKpiux 8y ago
  I don’t mind seeing a quality dank meme resurface every once in a while. Scumbag Steve pops up in my life frequently!
- spiderfarmer 8y ago
  Reddit is not a one size fits all solution. The internet is a large place and there's always room for independent communities.

ObsoleteNerd 8y ago

I run a few blogs for a couple of pretty big Authors (not GRRM big, but still top 5 in Amazon for their categories). For years now, I've been suggesting to not have comments on the blog, and just have a link to their email saying something like "Want to discuss this? Send me an Email, I'd love to chat!". Every single one of them prefers this method, and has said it creates a much more valuable conversation 1-on-1 with the person, rather than the exposed public sharing of an open comment section. One of the authors actually came up with the idea, and I now love it too. A few others ask for comments as normal, but want people to sign up, and be approved. WP has a nice feature for this where people can sign up + comment in a single go, then the admin can approve that comment, which also approves them to post in the future. Settings > Discussion > "Comment author must have a previously approved comment."

saurik 8y ago
I find it really interesting (and even exciting) that Instagram stories (which have rapidly taken over Instagram) work like this: you respond by sending a private message to the poster, not by leaving a public comment.
jseliger 8y ago
A long time ago, James Fallows of The Atlantic made the decision to turn off comments on his blog: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/09/lets-talk-reader-comments-one-more-time/280058 https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/09/lets-ta...

CommanderData 8y ago

I think Reddit and sites alike cause a problem with activism. I see topics for great initiatives on sites like Reddit however everything about its engagement is just wrong. Comments are poor - people know how to game it, posts have a limited life span affecting comment quality, when a post disappears from the front page engagement drops to what seems 0%. Re-posts are looked at negatively, reddit community gets bored of seeing the same topic even if there is an interesting change or update. There is something fundamentally wrong about it. Forums allow for longer discussion and are a good way of promoting long term activism when needed, there are threads forums lasting years, are a joy to read and follow.

qrbLPHiKpiux 8y ago
I don’t mind seeing a quality dank meme resurface every once in a while. Scumbag Steve pops up in my life frequently!
spiderfarmer 8y ago
Reddit is not a one size fits all solution. The internet is a large place and there's always room for independent communities.