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On more magazine-y or alt-weekly stuff (like The Stranger!) I think there is a place for them, as they are more advocacy journalism oriented, and comments *tend* to have more of an air of discussion about them.
I've always wondered what the difference is between Seattle Times readers and Slog readers, and why our comments are so much better than theirs. I just figured Slog readers are smarter.
"But here’s the new thing: I’ve had two separate discussions with friends who run mid-sized internet properties–we’re talking high hundreds of thousands to millions of unique users a month–and they’ve both recently completed heavy analysis on their traffic and come to the somewhat shocking conclusion that the people who actually read comments are a small fraction of one percent of their entire readership."
So ... "millions of unique users a month". That would be a major site, wouldn't it?
And yet 99%+ of those "unique users" don't read the comments.
99%+ of the "unique users" at that major site only go there for ... what? The articles? Are there pictures? Video? That sounds weird to me.
Slog comments have been great since we initiated the registered commenter system a couple years back. Before there was registration, it got a little tense, but now everything's grand.
Comments are only useful when you run them thru Dataminr.
* And by "terrorists", I mean the bitchy feminazi lesbians, especially the black ones, because they're extra-loud.**
** And for those who are deliberately tone-deaf, that footnote was part of the joke and not my actually opinions, smart-ass.
Slog seems to hit the sweet spot...and I'm not just saying that to blow smoke up our hosts' collective ass. Having registration be optional but non-registered comments hidden by default is a stroke of genius. (Most of) the trolls have an outlet, and it is really easy for the rest of us to ignore them.
I only write comments for one reason.
So that later I can come back and read my own comments.
This started when I realized that almost one one was printing anything that was the truth in the news.
I thought at one point that there might be some few people who might agree with me, but the vicious replies of people here and elsewhere quickly dispelled that notion.
You like your lies!
Sorry to have disturbed your slumber...
Oh, and you're all a bunch of fucking retarded faggots that don't know what they're talking about.
@27: "Then why did Huffington Post, which is about 80 percent user generated content (comments) zoom to become the #3 news source in the world?"
Have you ever fucking READ a Huffington Post article's comments?
It's 90% bullshit, and it's even worse are the articles where the moderators only approve the glowing ones that support their whackadoodle antivax guru diet experts.
Or maybe everybody universally thinks your ideas are goobery?
You lost me as soon as you started to brandish the word "truth".
Once comment volume gets past a certain threshold, authors don't have enough time in the day deal with them. Then at a higher threshold, there are too many comments for even (most of) the commenters themselves to read through and reply to, and the comments become little more than a kind of sad ritual of people throwing words into the void.
This is why comments to a typical Dan Savage SLOG post* are pointless; he doesn't reply to them, because he doesn't have the time for them all. Comments to a typical (e.g.) Charles Mudede post are much better; he gets about six replies, and he argues with them.
* to be fair, Gay Famous Sex Columnist does probably attract more shouty shouters and logic-immune crazybrains than the rest of you combined. I wouldn't see much point in reading or replying to fans like that either, if I were in his shoes.
Yeah, there's no logic or sincerity to posters like period troll or Seattleblues. You get nothing but Santorum all over yourself bothering to reply to them.
I don't mind the loony regulars so much, they kind of grow on me. But Dan gets all these inane interlopers working themselves into a lather, or just occupying vast stretches of vertical space with their drive-bys.
I see he's recently posted another "letter of the day." If you've got the stomach for it, go over there in a little while and count the number of comments that are simply having a game of "Let's Play Sex Advice Columnist", leaving a useless pile of answers to the posted question, as if Dan were doing an audition for his replacement. And count the number of comments Dan leaves in response...
Often Dan explicitly invites commenters to weigh in. He's even said "Sometimes I learn from my readers, other times they learn from me." Yes, it's an ecosystem, a collective effort, a conversation. It's not a lecture. It definitely draws people from all over the world. These are bad things?
And Savage Love needs a female perspective. Personally, I'm grateful for the input of women like EricaP and others, and I'm guessing Dan is as well. Frankly, kind of bummed you've checked out. Oh well, guess it's not for everyone.
Or so I'm told.