There’s a storm brewing about blog comments. Engadget turned off their comments because of trolls, then a bunch of blogs reacted because they have balls and haven’t turned off their comments, and now folks on Twitter are all grumbling and indirectly commenting with every link to an Engadget post.
Here’s my take.
Blogs need comments.
I know that seems weird coming from the person who proclaims himself to be anti-social media, but think about it harder. Without blog comments, how are you going to tell an author s/he sucks? Sure you could e-mail them, but that doesn’t publicly call them out that their information is inaccurate or their opinion just plain bitchy. Or even worse, it doesn’t let you fess up when they actually do something right.
We’re moving into a world where blogs are hosting their comments less and less. Every link on Facebook or Twitter or wherever has the potential for someone to say something about it. Maintaining comments on your own page is the best way to gauge reaction. Otherwise, people will spit all over you and you will have no idea why you’re so wet.
Shutting comments down is a signal of giving up. You look thin-skinned. It’s different if you’ve never used comments because that just shows you’re too cool for school. But giving up is never the solution. It’s lazy, complacent, and an excuse.
For the readers and commentators of the world, here’s my Anti-Social Media Rule: Don’t be negative and pissy in blog comments just because you can. You don’t look cool. No one looks cool for trolling a website.
There’s an art to being negative. Let’s imagine someone’s blog post as a painting. You can slap some post it notes on it to point out that parts that are weak, or you can just cover it all in feces.
One of those options is the better choice, and it’s not the one dealing with bodily excrement. Comment wisely, whether you’re starting the conversation or adding to it. No one needs to throw feces or clog the toilet over a blog post.
Anti-Social Media