No comment

The phrase “no comment” has become synonymous with avoiding a question or avoiding accountability. When it comes to online content, however, “no comments” can be a powerful tool for promoting a positive and productive online environment.

As you may have noticed, or may notice when you scroll down, I don’t have a commenting feature enabled. Nor will I ever have. And I’m hardly the first.

Many websites and blogs have opted to disable comments on their content, and there are several reasons for this decision. One of the main reasons is the prevalence of trolling and harassment in online comment sections. Allowing comments on a website can open the door to negative and harmful interactions, which can create a toxic environment for both the website’s creators and its audience.

I love feedback but for me comments are not the solution. I find that embedded commenting placed directly beside the content often results in one way communication where one party gets a tiny corner of the internet to blast their opinion or argue with a blog post written half a decade ago.

And don’t get me started on all the spam and irrelevant content that can accumulate in a comment section. Has comment spamming ever generated any sales? Does the advertisement of Herbal Viagra beside an article about the new exciting field of frontend development from 2012 really hit it home?

In addition, comments sections will often devolve into echo chambers, where the same ideas and perspectives are repeated over and over again. And frequently by the same person using multiple accounts. This can lead to a lack of diversity in the conversation and can prevent meaningful dialogue from taking place.

Without a comments section, the conversation can be directed to social media, where it belongs. Or to the back and forth nature of olden days when different views battled it out in long form, newspaper articles or blog posts, debating a topic and responding to each other in often a heated but more civilized way.

I miss the days of old.

I believe that disabling comments on a website or blog can be a proactive decision for promoting a positive and productive online environment. By moving the discussion to Twitter or Mastodon (or whatever social network you so do prefere) we get more control over the conversation around our content, have a chance to civil discord and will protect us from legal issues and maleficent trolls.

However, lastly, it’s important to note that disabling comments is not the only way to achieve this, there are also other ways to moderate comments or have a healthy discussion. But the means to achieve this is far beyond the control of a lonely blogger.

Don’t you agree? I’ll see you on Twitter then.