3 ms·

Ask HN: Why are comments under news articles gone?

2 points by sam_lowry_ 2mo ago

0x4d4c 2mo ago
Because we're not longer used to this form? Just speculating, had similar thought the other day - somehow fb / x is for interaction and commenting - we rarely read end to end - news sites tend to have this never-ending scroll now, where one article / news is followed by the other
delis-thumbs-7e 2mo ago
They should never have existed. They are an astroturfing and bot raiding bonanza. Maybe news sites have finally figured out that there’s a reason why you need editorial control and don’t let Russian, or Chinese (or American for that matter) bot army to take over your comment section to peddle whatever nonsense it is this week. Especially now with LLM’s, it’s pretty difficult to even spot the bots or moderate the comments.
- sam_lowry_ 2mo ago
  Says someone on Hacker News, a website that only tangentially about sharing links.
inigyou 2mo ago
Allowing comments increases engagement but it means that underneath your article is a bunch of text saying it's wrong. I imagine the engagement/propaganda tradeoff is something to balance. Also, we've forgotten how to write software. First, things had their own comment systems, and then they had Disqus, and now they don't have comments at all.
anenefan 2mo ago
The simple answer why many news media closed down comments was the fact laws changed in some countries for content control that put the onus on the platform to moderate all content regardless if that via public comments.
rstuart4133 2mo ago
In Australia, the cause isn't a mystery. A judge ruled publishers are liable for defamatory comments. Within a few weeks, all the comment sections were gone: https://www.sydney.edu.au/law/news-and-events/news/2021/09/13/high-court-rules-media-liable-for-facebook-comments-on-stories.html https://www.sydney.edu.au/law/news-and-events/news/2021/09/1... That one ruling took a huge toll on social discourse and civil society in Australia. It was a very sad day. Section 230 was a inspired piece of law making.

2 points by sam_lowry_ 2mo ago

Because we're not longer used to this form? Just speculating, had similar thought the other day - somehow fb / x is for interaction and commenting - we rarely read end to end - news sites tend to have this never-ending scroll now, where one article / news is followed by the other

delis-thumbs-7e 2mo ago

They should never have existed. They are an astroturfing and bot raiding bonanza. Maybe news sites have finally figured out that there’s a reason why you need editorial control and don’t let Russian, or Chinese (or American for that matter) bot army to take over your comment section to peddle whatever nonsense it is this week. Especially now with LLM’s, it’s pretty difficult to even spot the bots or moderate the comments.

sam_lowry_ 2mo ago
Says someone on Hacker News, a website that only tangentially about sharing links.

inigyou 2mo ago

Allowing comments increases engagement but it means that underneath your article is a bunch of text saying it's wrong. I imagine the engagement/propaganda tradeoff is something to balance. Also, we've forgotten how to write software. First, things had their own comment systems, and then they had Disqus, and now they don't have comments at all.

anenefan 2mo ago

The simple answer why many news media closed down comments was the fact laws changed in some countries for content control that put the onus on the platform to moderate all content regardless if that via public comments.

rstuart4133 2mo ago

In Australia, the cause isn't a mystery. A judge ruled publishers are liable for defamatory comments. Within a few weeks, all the comment sections were gone: https://www.sydney.edu.au/law/news-and-events/news/2021/09/13/high-court-rules-media-liable-for-facebook-comments-on-stories.html https://www.sydney.edu.au/law/news-and-events/news/2021/09/1... That one ruling took a huge toll on social discourse and civil society in Australia. It was a very sad day. Section 230 was a inspired piece of law making.