4 ms·
The really confounding thing here was the shaping/censoring on the comments... Want to post something that looks like an article with a comment area to boot? A
by sk5t 14y ago
The really confounding thing here was the shaping/censoring on the comments... Want to post something that looks like an article with a comment area to boot? A responsible publication must then at least allow a healthy discourse, so that readers who don't spot the advertisement can find a little enlightenment. Alternately they may have, in good conscience, permitted no user feedback at all; put "Comments on sponsored content are unavailable" at the bottom. Good enough.
The illusion of an article plus a sham of heavily censored comments went beyond the pale.
- corporalagumbo 14y agoThe guys from Scientology's PR department requested moderated comments with (I suppose) overtly negative comments removed. As they were paying for the content to be run, they were free to request any terms and conditions that they desired. The Atlantic was free to accept or refuse the terms and conditions and in this instance chose to accept them. For what it's worth I found it interesting to hear comments from people outing themselves as enthusiastic Scientologists. First time I've come across that on the web.
- rdl 14y agoI would have preferred no comments to moderated comments.
- pavel_lishin 14y ago> I found it interesting to hear comments from people outing themselves as enthusiastic Scientologists. I didn't read any of the comments; were they actual people you'd heard of before, or random scientologists for whom the association was already moderately public, or total sock puppets?
- corporalagumbo 14y agoThe second.
- nonamegiven 14y agoSome free-thought comments did get through. My favorite went something like "This is great! How much does it cost to join?"