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The comments section on Ars is particularly depressing. I've been posting there for two decades and watched it slowly devolve from a place where thoughtful disc
by kethinov 8mo ago
The comments section on Ars is particularly depressing. I've been posting there for two decades and watched it slowly devolve from a place where thoughtful discussions happened to now just being one of the worst echo chambers on the internet, like a bad subreddit. I've made suggestions over the years in their public feedback surveys to alter their forum software to discourage mob behavior, but they don't seem to be doing anything about it.
- archerx 8mo agoYea but doing that would decrease engagement and engagement is the only metric that matters! /s
- the_biot 8mo agoThey don't actually publish the comments under the article, only a link. I've long suspected sites doing that are fully aware of how shit the comment section is, and try to hide it from casual viewers while keeping the nutjob gallery happy. Phoronix comes to mind.
- Sharlin 8mo agoMost mainstream news sites around here have by now hidden the comment section somehow, either making it folded by default or just moving it to the bottom of the page below "related news" sections and the like.
- mbreese 8mo agoThis goes back a lot farther with Ars. They done this for years because their comments section is driven by forum software. The main conversations happen in the forums. They are then reformatted for a the comment view. So, their main goal wasn’t to hide the comments, but push people to forums where there is a better format for conversation. At least that’s how it used to work.
- bombcar 8mo agoThe Ars forums used to be incredibly useful sources of information - many of their best authors "grew" from forum posters; and the comments sections on articles were quite informative and had serious comments from actual experts - and discussion! Then the Soap Box took over the entire site and all that's left is standard Internet garbage.
- kotaKat 8mo agoThey should get rid of the fairly extremely prominent badges of years-on-the-forum and number-of-comments. Maybe that'd help quell some of the echo down, because every comment section on Ars articles is 10+ year old accounts all arguing with each other.
- ifwinterco 8mo agoYeah it's like a rogues' gallery of terminally online midwits over there
- hed 8mo agoI can only conclude it’s what they want at this point
- NetMageSCW 8mo agoIt is certainly how they moderate.
- g947o 8mo agoHard agree. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/06/meta-debuts-playstation-plus-like-quest-subscription/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/06/meta-debuts-playstati... is an example I remember. The subject matter of the is not controversial (just another Game Pass like subscription), but the comment section is full of -- yes you've guessed it -- Meta BAD! There is absolutely no meaningful discussion of the service itself. I mostly stopped paying attention to the comment section after that, and Ars in general.
- murderfs 8mo agoYou see the same sort of thing around here with people complaining about the death of Google Reader on anything that even vaguely mentions Google.
- wizzwizz4 8mo agoI don't see that.
- stavros 8mo agoYou know what else I don't see? Google Reader, because Google killed it!
- everdrive 8mo agoHN has also been taking a turn lately. Part of it is a large influx of new users, part of it (I suspect) is just a growing disenfranchisement with the technology scene. I'm partly to blame for this as well. I've tried to stop commenting most of the time since my first and strongest response has just been to express my anger and frustration at the direction most technology is taking.
- wizzwizz4 8mo agoIf you have a computer, a static IP address, basic programming ability, and an eye for quality, you have the power to make things better.
- raddan 8mo agoThe switch to their newest forum software seems to discourage any kind of actual conversation. If I recall correctly, the last iteration was also unthreaded, but somehow it was easier for a back-and-forth to develop. Now it is basically just reactions-- like YouTube comments (which, ironically, is actually threaded). Is HN really the last remaining forum for science and technology conversations? If so... very depressing.
- badgersnake 8mo ago> Is HN really the last remaining forum for science and technology conversations? Honestly, HN isn’t very good anymore either. The internet is basically all trolling, bots and advertising. Often all at once. Oh and scams, there’s also scams.
- JohnnyMarcone 8mo agolobste.rs is smaller but can have good discussion.
- raddan 8mo agoThanks for the tip. Sadly it appears that lobste.rs is invite only?
- JohnnyMarcone 8mo agoYeah, I haven't tried to get an invite, but I enjoy lurking there. Seems like a cool system.
- mikkupikku 8mo agoTry reading Slashdot these days and it's the same story. I stopped reading regularly when cmdrtaco left but still check in occasionally out of misplaced nostalgia or something.. The comment section is like a time capsule from the 00s, the same ideas and arguments have been echoing back and forth there for years, seemingly losing soul and nuance with each echo. Bizarre, and sad.
- dotancohen 8mo agoI'd like to subscribe to your newsletter, you insensitive clod.
- bombcar 8mo agoNetcraft reports the newsletter is dead, and covered in hot grits.
- bsimpson 8mo agoI can say that to a certain degree about Hacker News too. Still often good comments here, but certain topics devolve into a bad subreddit quickly. The ethos of the rules hasn't scaled with the site.