4 ms·

The comments are usually better than the article. It feels like the same article gets pushed across the web over and over and all the news comes from the same

The comments are usually better than the article. It feels like the same article gets pushed across the web over and over and all the news comes from the same few sources on a few channels. The comments give variety and call out the BS.

sliverstorm 12y ago
Maybe on a dedicated discussion platform like HN, but so many times the comments section of a major news outfit read like a YouTube commentator's stupider, meaner little brother.
- a3n 12y ago
  Yeah, I don't know why general news outlets have comment sections, they're universally awful. They should go back to Letters (Emails) to the Editor, but that would mean they'd have to pay someone to field the emails.
  - tim333 12y ago
    Where voting is allowed for best comment, the best ones are often quite useful. The Economist for example, it's usually worth reading the top comments. For some odd reason the guardian does not allow sorting the comments by best votes.
  - krapp 12y ago
    I suspect comment sections outside of forums (or sites which are designed around discussion like HN or Reddit) are mostly attempts to make a site more "viral" and "social", in the belief that doing so will somehow drive people to your site and keep them engaged and maybe clicking on the ads or whatever. While this could be true, with certain sites (like news sites) comments are bound to be politically charged and tend towards the negative. Doubly so if comments allow threading or reflinks, making tangential discussions (and arguments) between posters easy. I think many sites assume comments would somehow lead to a revenue stream because something something facebook. Also, it's probably likely that any site built on Wordpress is going to keep comments by default in their templates.
- shortoncash 12y ago
  There's always gems among the dumb and/or mean comments. I don't comment too much[1] because I've found that, in general, there's always someone smarter than me who has said what I want to say already. The fact that I always seem to find that smarter person in the comments is why I'd prefer comments sections not to go, even if they are loaded with trolls. [1] This thread's an exception, I suppose. I don't want to see comment sections go, though!

sliverstorm 12y ago

Maybe on a dedicated discussion platform like HN, but so many times the comments section of a major news outfit read like a YouTube commentator's stupider, meaner little brother.

a3n 12y ago
Yeah, I don't know why general news outlets have comment sections, they're universally awful. They should go back to Letters (Emails) to the Editor, but that would mean they'd have to pay someone to field the emails.
- tim333 12y ago
  Where voting is allowed for best comment, the best ones are often quite useful. The Economist for example, it's usually worth reading the top comments. For some odd reason the guardian does not allow sorting the comments by best votes.
- krapp 12y ago
  I suspect comment sections outside of forums (or sites which are designed around discussion like HN or Reddit) are mostly attempts to make a site more "viral" and "social", in the belief that doing so will somehow drive people to your site and keep them engaged and maybe clicking on the ads or whatever. While this could be true, with certain sites (like news sites) comments are bound to be politically charged and tend towards the negative. Doubly so if comments allow threading or reflinks, making tangential discussions (and arguments) between posters easy. I think many sites assume comments would somehow lead to a revenue stream because something something facebook. Also, it's probably likely that any site built on Wordpress is going to keep comments by default in their templates.
shortoncash 12y ago
There's always gems among the dumb and/or mean comments. I don't comment too much[1] because I've found that, in general, there's always someone smarter than me who has said what I want to say already. The fact that I always seem to find that smarter person in the comments is why I'd prefer comments sections not to go, even if they are loaded with trolls. [1] This thread's an exception, I suppose. I don't want to see comment sections go, though!