There’s something in a statement on Engadget’s site that serves as a reminder of the delicate dance new media sites have with their readers and commenters (those two groups not always being the same in our opinion). After the gadget site stopped allowing comments to appear on a certain blog post they reminded everyone of their position that comments are a privilege not a right:
You may have noticed that comments on the recent Storm post have been turned off. If you’re wondering why that’s the case, it’s because a handful of folks posting on that story are being rude, disrespectful, reactionary jerks. To be clear, we can do that on any and all posts. Commenting on this site is a privilege, not a right — and this is an exercise to demonstrate that. Lately we’ve noticed a lot of belligerent commenters acting like they own the place (the place being Engadget). News flash — you don’t. We love the participation and input from our commenters — the readers of this site are what make it so great — but when the normally intelligent discussion devolves into nasty, hate-filled rants… well, we have our limits of tolerance. If those commenters who wish to keep up this childish garbage continue, we’ll just switch all the comments off. All the comments. Off.
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“Commenting on this site is a privilege”
No it’s not!
Comments offer added – non-paid-for content and community for sites like PSFK and Engadget.
If some of those comments are rude, nasty, counter-productive, badly thought or grammatically unwell, then so be it. It’s the Internet. Everything should be permitted.
I think sites get the comments they deserve. If you’re delivering intelligent content then you can expect and intelligent readership and comment section.
December 19th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Are you really arguing that you have a right to comment on PSFK?
I don’t agree. If this was my cafe or pub and you were making the atosphere lousy I’d have the right to chuck you out – for my benefit and the other people. And hang on, being a commenter means you don’t even buy the pints…
December 19th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Not so much a right but certainly not a privilege.
I think the Net should be open and free from censorship as much as possible it makes it more lively, even if some of it is offensive.
Look at mediabistro and their awful commenting set up compared to Adscam for example.
I don’t think the pub analogy holds.
A “bad” comment can simply be ignored.
When I’m not commenting here, I hang out over at Joystiq and enjoy some lively gaming debate but also have to “suffer” a lot of puerile nonsense.
Still, I respect the fact if someone gets a kick from writing “Nintendoes Iz teh gay Suckorzzz!11!” then that’s their business. Viva La Internet.
Do I win a prize for leaving the most comments on PSFK this year? I’ll accept a pint for my invaluable contribution. :)
December 19th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Is the atmosphere in the PSFK comments section lousy? I’ve seen a couple of thoughtful, sometimes provocative discussions around.
However, I do think it is okay to moderate comments. A newspaper does not print all the letters to the editors either- but then: A blog is not a newspaper. Blogs offer much more flexible and transparent ways to communicate with your audience, as you all know. This comes with a few difficulties. Especially when you start to delete comments etc. We’ve had one case in Germany recently, where one Financial Times editor had deleted a provoactive commentary about his blog’s content from one of his colleagues. The blogosphere got all protest then.
I don’t know which issues Engadget had with their readership. But it sure can be frustrating to have people ranting in the comment box. It is also easier than ranting through a letter-to-the-editor via snailmail.
Floyd, I partly agree that blogs get the comments they deserve. But sometimes there are a few black sheep who just want to rock the boat.
December 19th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
As a small fry blogger I enjoy any and all comments. No matter how immature or irrelevant. When commentator’s begin to disrespect each other I feel like it is the sites responsibility to protect it’s readers from the trolls. If you take away comments you are taking more away from the site than you would be gaining by loosing the bad apples.
December 20th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
hhhmmm should this be titled ‘to control or not to control’? Can see both sides of the coin here… out of context people piping up in any conversation can be annoying and usually leave when they discover they’re talking to themselves. Sometimes not and bouncers are required… responsible participants attract responsible participants who can let the bored black sheep baaaaa occassionally.
hhhmmm… floyd number of comments, maybe that’s the black sheep’s game? How is it possible to measure comments that add value? Nothing personal here… I’d buy you a pint for the value you’ve added!
December 24th, 2008 at 1:50 am