I always say, “to each their own” and think that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I also appreciate that people like Marco and Matt have a large number of visitors that are probably pretty vocal. More than I do, I’m sure. But I’m not a fan of killing off comments. I don’t mean unfiltered comments where every troll gets their say, but rather well curated comments are also part of the content.1
Have you ever read the comments on Dr.Drang’s site? They’re very good. How about Brett’s site? Also good stuff. I’ve learned a number of interesting things from comments on my site as well. For me, comments are the difference between having a conversation and having a soap box. If turning off comments is what it takes to have great reading material from Marco and Matt, then so be it. I’d be disappointed if the trend continued on sites like LeanCrew.com or BrettTerpstra.com.2
Edit: Sorry for the poor writing. I guess I was a little from-the-hip on this one.
- Hence my “About” page urges comments but also quotes Will Wheaton: “Don’t be a dick” ↩ ↩
- I appreciate the irony that I am using my blog to make a comment about Matt’s post, precisely as he would prefer. But it’s unlikely an average reader of Matt’s site will ever find this comment, so it’s not really part of the conversation. ↩
I’ve been meaning to say this very thing for months. The comments at my place *are* generally thoughtful and on-topic and make my site better.
I can imagine that as a blog gets more popular, it draws comments that detract from it. In fact, the few times I’ve gotten a rash of clueless comments, they were on posts that were linked from a hugely popular site like Daring Fireball. Having had that little taste, I understand why the people who run those sites have comments turned off.
What I don’t understand is why they think their choice is appropriate for me.
Thanks. I’m disappointed that I failed to nail the point of the title though. On your site as well as others, the comments are also the content. There are some real gems in the comments and that’s partly due to curation. I appreciate it when I read through comments and find better or different perspectives. I also appreciate not having to read a bunch of juvenile junk on those sites.
I delete or reject some comments here. It’s my purgative. I pay the bills. It’s also my obligation if I expect to have anyone pay attention to my site. Otherwise it’s just a bunch of people writing on bathroom walls; Bathrooms separated by thousands of miles.
I feel the same.
Sure, my weblog isn’t super-popular, but even if it was I think that the discussion that takes place there is just as important as the words that started the discussion. Mind you, I’m using Livefyre (like Yuvi) and have had a little bit of backlash over that as people don’t like to log in to comment, but I figure we’re headed towards a “login to comment or comment-disabled blogosphere” soon enough thanks to spam.
I take the time to review my comments and do my best to mix it up in there as well.
Not everyone has — or wants — a weblog. By having comments on my site I’ve got windows and doors to it, as opposed to solid brick walls.
Love this sentiment, Gabe. Although I appreciate that some sites work great without comments (e.g. daringfireball.net), and although I realize it can be time-consuming to moderate a heavy load of comments, I still think that the conversations that happen in the comments can be insightful and interesting and inspiring in a way that is different than what happens on Twitter or via email or through other forms of communication.
I sometimes sense this unspoken (or spoken) judgement from no-comment bloggers that it is foolish or amateur to leave commenting turned on. And I disagree with a blanket statement like that. I think commenting is a facet of one’s site that should be considered seriously; sometimes it makes sense to have them on, sometimes it makes sense to turn them off. But I would be very disappointed if ALL my favorite sites had them off…
So thank you for this post.
I think the big blogs find comments a waste because they get so much trolling. The signal to noise gets bad. Smaller blogs like ours do much better. The comments just are almost always much higher quality.
With regards to my blog I find that especially on more technical posts people find them via Google. If there’s a mistake or if someone has a question it’s nice to be able to know about it. After all technical posts about scripting go out of date as the software changes.
I’ve always felt that offering comments significantly reduces the friction for people looking to express interest, curiosity or even concern. I wouldn’t enjoy my own site as much if it weren’t for some of the discussions and relationships that come from that kind of conversation.
Sure some of the comments are total crap, but I’m often surprised. Even if the volume somehow exploded (unlikely concern), I’d want to figure out a way to manage. Then again, that’s just me and what I’m interested in. Like Yuvi, I think it works either way, until you start insisting yours is right.