<story><title>Why we’re removing comments on most of Inquirer.com</title><url>https://www.inquirer.com/about/philadelphia-inquirer-comments-section-changes-20210201.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>dredmorbius</author><text>I&amp;#x27;d be curious to compare early rationales arguing news sites &lt;i&gt;should&lt;/i&gt; run comments sections wth the reality that&amp;#x27;s transpired.&lt;p&gt;There &lt;i&gt;are&lt;/i&gt; numerous articles from the past decade arguing &lt;i&gt;against&lt;/i&gt;.  (These turned up searching fror the &amp;quot;pro&amp;quot; argument.)&lt;p&gt;Why comments sections must die (2018)
&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.salon.com&amp;#x2F;2018&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;17&amp;#x2F;why-comments-sections-must-die&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.salon.com&amp;#x2F;2018&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;17&amp;#x2F;why-comments-sections-must-...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Is it really wise for news websites to stop people from commenting? (2015)
&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.theguardian.com&amp;#x2F;media&amp;#x2F;greenslade&amp;#x2F;2015&amp;#x2F;sep&amp;#x2F;25&amp;#x2F;is-it-really-a-good-idea-to-turn-for-news-websites-to-turn-off-comments&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.theguardian.com&amp;#x2F;media&amp;#x2F;greenslade&amp;#x2F;2015&amp;#x2F;sep&amp;#x2F;25&amp;#x2F;is-...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Comment sections are poison: handle with care or remove them (2014) &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.theguardian.com&amp;#x2F;science&amp;#x2F;brain-flapping&amp;#x2F;2014&amp;#x2F;sep&amp;#x2F;12&amp;#x2F;comment-sections-toxic-moderation&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.theguardian.com&amp;#x2F;science&amp;#x2F;brain-flapping&amp;#x2F;2014&amp;#x2F;sep&amp;#x2F;...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;No Comment! Why More News Sites Are Dumping Their Comment Sections (2018) &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.kqed.org&amp;#x2F;lowdown&amp;#x2F;29720&amp;#x2F;no-comment-why-a-growing-number-of-news-sites-are-dumping-their-comment-sections&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.kqed.org&amp;#x2F;lowdown&amp;#x2F;29720&amp;#x2F;no-comment-why-a-growing-...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>anigbrowl</author><text>Well, I was a big evangelist for the idea back int he 1990s, as well as for anonymous posting. With hindsight, this was a big mistake, predicated on an overly rosy view of democracy-as-civic-participation. I thought that people who really wanted to comment (such as myself) were doing so in good faith and wanted ideas to succeed or fail on their merits.&lt;p&gt;On the one hand, I formed these overly rosy views prior to Eternal September, but on the other it should have occurred to me that the reason trash tabloids sold in large quantities was not that people were tricked into buying them but because a lot of people are in fact awful.</text></comment>
<story><title>Why we’re removing comments on most of Inquirer.com</title><url>https://www.inquirer.com/about/philadelphia-inquirer-comments-section-changes-20210201.html</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>dredmorbius</author><text>I&amp;#x27;d be curious to compare early rationales arguing news sites &lt;i&gt;should&lt;/i&gt; run comments sections wth the reality that&amp;#x27;s transpired.&lt;p&gt;There &lt;i&gt;are&lt;/i&gt; numerous articles from the past decade arguing &lt;i&gt;against&lt;/i&gt;.  (These turned up searching fror the &amp;quot;pro&amp;quot; argument.)&lt;p&gt;Why comments sections must die (2018)
&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.salon.com&amp;#x2F;2018&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;17&amp;#x2F;why-comments-sections-must-die&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.salon.com&amp;#x2F;2018&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;17&amp;#x2F;why-comments-sections-must-...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Is it really wise for news websites to stop people from commenting? (2015)
&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.theguardian.com&amp;#x2F;media&amp;#x2F;greenslade&amp;#x2F;2015&amp;#x2F;sep&amp;#x2F;25&amp;#x2F;is-it-really-a-good-idea-to-turn-for-news-websites-to-turn-off-comments&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.theguardian.com&amp;#x2F;media&amp;#x2F;greenslade&amp;#x2F;2015&amp;#x2F;sep&amp;#x2F;25&amp;#x2F;is-...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Comment sections are poison: handle with care or remove them (2014) &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.theguardian.com&amp;#x2F;science&amp;#x2F;brain-flapping&amp;#x2F;2014&amp;#x2F;sep&amp;#x2F;12&amp;#x2F;comment-sections-toxic-moderation&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.theguardian.com&amp;#x2F;science&amp;#x2F;brain-flapping&amp;#x2F;2014&amp;#x2F;sep&amp;#x2F;...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;No Comment! Why More News Sites Are Dumping Their Comment Sections (2018) &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.kqed.org&amp;#x2F;lowdown&amp;#x2F;29720&amp;#x2F;no-comment-why-a-growing-number-of-news-sites-are-dumping-their-comment-sections&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.kqed.org&amp;#x2F;lowdown&amp;#x2F;29720&amp;#x2F;no-comment-why-a-growing-...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>wyattpeak</author><text>From memory, published arguments have only been against right from the start, because it was so popular that the pro side needed no support.&lt;p&gt;Comments and social sections were the big in-thing in the latter part of the noughties, if you were trying to make your site modern and hip, it was assumed you&amp;#x27;d have comments and share links on everything. I recall a degree of belief that social media was the future and if you didn&amp;#x27;t integrate with it you&amp;#x27;d get left behind, but I think as much it was just a design fad.</text></comment>