4 ms·

If news sites know what's good for them, they should be disabling the comments section asap

by afrcnc 5y ago

freetime2 5y ago
Why would disabling the comments section be good for them? Doesn’t commenting increase engagement? Also - aren’t we in the comments section of a news site right now? Are you suggesting that HN should disable comments?
- ineedasername 5y ago
  HN, despite the "N", isn't really a news site in the most commonly used sense: A site that is an originator of news. HN is... not something there is a specific word for. Something like "mostly community-driven news aggregation & discussion forum about technology or something else if enough people think it's interesting." That's a bit long, maybe an acronym would work better: MCDNADFATSEEPTII.
  - krapp 5y ago
    "content aggregator" or "news aggregator."
  - freetime2 5y ago
    What is fundamentally different about the comment section on HN vs. an originator of news, though? We read news stories (or the headline at least), and we jump into the comments section to share our thoughts with each other. I mean, subjectively I would say that HN is a much better community than most news sites - but I'm clearly biased here and I'm sure there are many people who would disagree with me that the HN comments section holds any value. How do you feel about a site like Ars Technica, which is an originator of news and also has a very active forum and comments section? I personally disagree with a lot of the comments (and perhaps more importantly, the style of commenting) on that site and regret it almost every time I browse into the comments, but I wouldn't say it is Ars' best interest to shut the comments down. I think they probably get a lot additional ad impressions, premium subscribers, etc. from people who interact with the comments. And if it's just a difference in the quality of the comments - is the correct course of action for news sites to disable comments, or work to improve them through moderation, UX, etc? Not trying to be nit-picky here btw, I genuinely did not understand the basis for the parent's comment that "If news sites know what's good for them, they should be disabling the comments section asap".
    - ineedasername 5y ago
      Yeah, I don't understand the "if they know what's good for them" comment either.

If news sites know what's good for them, they should be disabling the comments section asap

by afrcnc 5y ago

If news sites know what's good for them, they should be disabling the comments section asap

Why would disabling the comments section be good for them? Doesn’t commenting increase engagement? Also - aren’t we in the comments section of a news site right now? Are you suggesting that HN should disable comments?

ineedasername 5y ago
HN, despite the "N", isn't really a news site in the most commonly used sense: A site that is an originator of news. HN is... not something there is a specific word for. Something like "mostly community-driven news aggregation & discussion forum about technology or something else if enough people think it's interesting." That's a bit long, maybe an acronym would work better: MCDNADFATSEEPTII.
- krapp 5y ago
  "content aggregator" or "news aggregator."
- freetime2 5y ago
  What is fundamentally different about the comment section on HN vs. an originator of news, though? We read news stories (or the headline at least), and we jump into the comments section to share our thoughts with each other. I mean, subjectively I would say that HN is a much better community than most news sites - but I'm clearly biased here and I'm sure there are many people who would disagree with me that the HN comments section holds any value. How do you feel about a site like Ars Technica, which is an originator of news and also has a very active forum and comments section? I personally disagree with a lot of the comments (and perhaps more importantly, the style of commenting) on that site and regret it almost every time I browse into the comments, but I wouldn't say it is Ars' best interest to shut the comments down. I think they probably get a lot additional ad impressions, premium subscribers, etc. from people who interact with the comments. And if it's just a difference in the quality of the comments - is the correct course of action for news sites to disable comments, or work to improve them through moderation, UX, etc? Not trying to be nit-picky here btw, I genuinely did not understand the basis for the parent's comment that "If news sites know what's good for them, they should be disabling the comments section asap".
  - ineedasername 5y ago
    Yeah, I don't understand the "if they know what's good for them" comment either.