I personally don’t visit sites more than once that don’t allow comments from visitors. What’s more, I don’t visit sites that require visitors to register with them prior to posting. I have no problem with sites that request a login via facebook, google or whatever, however.
My reasoning is simple. I am the eyeballs that the sites wish to capture. I like discussing news events with other commenters. A site that does not allow commenters is saying, “Hey, jerk, shut up and listen to what we tell you … and click on our ads, stupid!” A site that requires a login specific to their site is saying, “You wanna talk to us? Then fill out this form, jerk! And click on our ads, idiot!”
Whereas a site that allows comments easily is putting out a welcome mat, saying, 'We value your patronage and your ideas! Welcome!" It’s not just because I think you have to put up with my opinions before I’ll read a story – I often do not bother to post a comment even on sites that welcome them, but I find myself dislking those that don’t welcome comments.
Or … is this just me? Lurkers may have a different opinion? What are your thoughts? Comments welcome!
I don’t know about going that far, but I certainly think less of a youtube channel or personal blog which has a no-comments policy, and I will completely ignore any youtube that turns off comments and ratings. If you can’t handle a little feedback, then your opinion must not be very good.
Huh. I actually found a Firefox add-on that disappears comments. I disable it for sites with generally high-quality comments (like, say, Ars Technica, as long as you stay away from articles about the NSA), but it’s invaluable for general-audience sites like the Star Tribune.
I don’t care if a site has commenting or not as I think comments are usually a waste of everybody’s time. The comments on almost every general news site, for example, seem to be made by people competing to make the most ignorant/trollish statements possible.
Also, if I do feel compelled to comment on something I’ll only do so if the site has its own registration. I don’t like that Facebook would be getting more information about my browsing habits because a site is too lazy/incompetent to keep track of the account information themselves.
I’ve noticed several news websites that have comments enabled for some articles but disabled for others. If the story has anything to do with someone black or Latino (whether it’s an arrested gang member, a company CEO, a celebrity athlete, Barack Obama, etc.) comments are disabled to prevent the inevitable deluge of racist filth.
I like Andrew Sullivan’s site, and he has a no comments rule that keeps things civil.
I don’t actually visit too many places where it’s an issue. I do get frustrated with places that make you register through facebook or google, because I don’t have either and get confused.
I did register at the Seattle Times, because they need my comments now and then.
ANY kind of sites. I stopped visiting the HuffPo when they locked down their registration, though I had been pissed at them prior for selling the site and not compensating their contributing bloggers at all. I just don’t like that whole top-down approach.
Oh, sure. The cover page are articles chosen by the editors. They stay till they get bumped. People post every day. Look at the recent posts and recent comments. Better yet, sign up and blog away!
To get me to log into a site requires convincing me that you’re really the cream of the crop. I don’t give out personal information lightly and I have a million options out there.
As for comments, I’m in the option 4 category - I’m OK - I actually prefer - comments being blocked and my primary reason is that there are so many freaking idiots out there. A news article might be about the mud slides in Oso Washington, but suddenly all the comments are a debate about the birther conspiracy because some moron posts: “Obama should have come here, but he’s not a real American.” Or someone says “I heard a black guy died in the mudslides” and now we’re off on race politics in the Americas.
90% comments are such unhelpful, ignorant tangents that I have to actively avoid them or I just become frustrated and angry. I’m reading news to become more educated and getting angry is not helpful.
Ars technica is the only site where I regularly read the comments. Most other sites I regularly go to, I don’t even know offhand whether they allow comments. As has been said, most site’s comments aren’t worth reading.
Books, no. Magazines and newspapers, yes, but not because of lack of interactivity, but because they are fucking boring and out of date by the time they reach print.
It can be interactive, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s not a necessary feature, IMHO. I don’t write my name on every bathroom wall I visit - why would I feel the need to do the same at websites? I already know what my opinion is. I don’t have to write it down.
I used to try to read the comments, I even tried to comment myself. Not much good came of it.
I’m a left-leaning, gay, atheist, French-speaking Québécois with some knowledge of history, science and technology. If a story is of any interest to me, there is sure to be something in the comments that insults me directly, is offensive to me or at least weakens my faith in humanity.
So now I studiously avoid reading the comments. For sites that have them (such as Ars Technica) I do read the curated “best of” comments, but certainly not the whole list.