There wouldn't be free speech on the private site, but there's nothing stopping a would-be commenter from writing their own rebuttal article, were comments disa

There wouldn't be free speech on the private site, but there's nothing stopping a would-be commenter from writing their own rebuttal article, were comments disabled. I like this better because there's a much smaller chance of a flamewar happening, and the responses will generally be well thought out.