I usually enjoy reading the comments. A lot of readers of Treehugger have a very positive outlook, even with the problems we live with in today's world and they want to share in the discussion. I think the opinions and added information that many bring to the table enhance the article. Yes, there are trolls and detractors but if the articles are sound and other opinions are reasonable we shouldn't worry about defending a position that has firm footing. I appreciate the fine work, necessary work, that the moderators perform. Please continue for the sake of your grateful audience.
Steve - 8 years ago
Like most everything else in life, comments are 99% trash and 1% gold. On treehugger it's always worth panning for the gold.
Timotheus - 8 years ago
The Marxist-Communist, Bolshevik censorship that exists in most sites is appalling. It is reflective of the ubiquitous censorship that has buried freedom of the press in the main stream media in an avalanche of tunnel vision, intellectual bigotry. it is illuminating to note that the great, Marxist tyrant, Lincoln, destroyed freedom of speech and freedom of the press for all time. Stalin considered Lincoln to be the ideal Marxist tyrant. No one should be terrified of the printed word, no matter how grotesque the ideas might be. What should be condemned is the rampant illiteracy in these sites.
Conrad - 8 years ago
It depends. I hate websites where I have to wait for hundreds of comments to load before get to read the article. I don't believe the comments should drown out the main article. So if the website is informative then no comments, interact via email. If the website is more opinion and discussion oriented then have comments, but close further comments subject to some consistent criteria: say after a certain time period or after a certain count. Or at least ensure the article loads before the comments, and that it is clear where the article ends and the comments start: articles presented as a dialogue can blur into the comments. There is only so much time in the day and if the comments are of value then it would be nice to get to the end of them, or believe doing so is possible.
Vee-M - 8 years ago
My problem is I am interested in too many things; and reading and answering comments can become very time consuming. I do try to make my comments helpful and considered - and polite. Sadly you do get trolls and I wish that others were not so easily drawn into engaging with them in the same rude way. Coming down to their level achieves nothing.
Like others I do often wish I could make a comment, or correct a point but find there is no way to do so.
Perry525 - 8 years ago
I often read things that are plainly wrong! Not being able to provide the missing information, leaves people with the wrong information. Take the recent article on kitchens and make up air - simple cheap solution, no way of letting the writer know the solution is available.
It kind of depends on the site. I would read comments on Treehugger, MNN, Grist, etc., but on a lot of news sites, especially political ones, they are about 60% trolling and vitriol.
patsy - 8 years ago
I'm an elderly analytical type. I can't help thinking of objections and/or additions to practically everything I read or hear. I really need and appreciate a comments section as a corrective to my own headlong thinking. In the case of Treehugger, I haven't figured out how to access them, since they seem to be confined to the social media except on special occasions. Instructions might be helpful.
Tim - 8 years ago
most of the time, comments are helpful to readers, both for the raw information they contain and to gauge how the public responds to different topics and ideas. I understand why many sites have comments disabled (too many insults and not enough resources to moderate the comments). I like reading the comments to compare my thoughts with others.
Plus, comments can help share solutions to problems that some face with the topic of the article they are commenting on. For example, treehugger.com recently published an article on the decline of CFL bulbs. A commenter posted that he would like to buy LED lights, but hasn't been satisfied with the common warm white bulbs. He was looking for bulbs that match the color of incandescent light. I was able to recommend a brand that I found matches incandescent light almost perfectly and is as bright or brighter. He will be looking into these bulbs and possibly buying them. Without the comments section (and some open-mindedness), he would've likely never looked at LED lights again and continued using incandescent lights.
Overall, comments are an essential piece to bring balance of thought, additional information, and challenge certain points of an article. Comments need to stay. Moderation should also be kept to a minimum, and only respond to posts that contain personal insults, are totally useless to the conversation (spam), and advertising comments that are totally unrelated.
Sara Anne Maguire - 8 years ago
It is important to:
be able to have a discussion because this is an opportunity to learn;
discuss the issue in a civilized manner and anybody who resorts to insults and threats is not part of the solution but is only adding to the problem so such comments should be removed; and
remember that reasoned criticism is not a personal insult.
I usually enjoy reading the comments. A lot of readers of Treehugger have a very positive outlook, even with the problems we live with in today's world and they want to share in the discussion. I think the opinions and added information that many bring to the table enhance the article. Yes, there are trolls and detractors but if the articles are sound and other opinions are reasonable we shouldn't worry about defending a position that has firm footing. I appreciate the fine work, necessary work, that the moderators perform. Please continue for the sake of your grateful audience.
Like most everything else in life, comments are 99% trash and 1% gold. On treehugger it's always worth panning for the gold.
The Marxist-Communist, Bolshevik censorship that exists in most sites is appalling. It is reflective of the ubiquitous censorship that has buried freedom of the press in the main stream media in an avalanche of tunnel vision, intellectual bigotry. it is illuminating to note that the great, Marxist tyrant, Lincoln, destroyed freedom of speech and freedom of the press for all time. Stalin considered Lincoln to be the ideal Marxist tyrant. No one should be terrified of the printed word, no matter how grotesque the ideas might be. What should be condemned is the rampant illiteracy in these sites.
It depends. I hate websites where I have to wait for hundreds of comments to load before get to read the article. I don't believe the comments should drown out the main article. So if the website is informative then no comments, interact via email. If the website is more opinion and discussion oriented then have comments, but close further comments subject to some consistent criteria: say after a certain time period or after a certain count. Or at least ensure the article loads before the comments, and that it is clear where the article ends and the comments start: articles presented as a dialogue can blur into the comments. There is only so much time in the day and if the comments are of value then it would be nice to get to the end of them, or believe doing so is possible.
My problem is I am interested in too many things; and reading and answering comments can become very time consuming. I do try to make my comments helpful and considered - and polite. Sadly you do get trolls and I wish that others were not so easily drawn into engaging with them in the same rude way. Coming down to their level achieves nothing.
Like others I do often wish I could make a comment, or correct a point but find there is no way to do so.
I often read things that are plainly wrong! Not being able to provide the missing information, leaves people with the wrong information. Take the recent article on kitchens and make up air - simple cheap solution, no way of letting the writer know the solution is available.
It kind of depends on the site. I would read comments on Treehugger, MNN, Grist, etc., but on a lot of news sites, especially political ones, they are about 60% trolling and vitriol.
I'm an elderly analytical type. I can't help thinking of objections and/or additions to practically everything I read or hear. I really need and appreciate a comments section as a corrective to my own headlong thinking. In the case of Treehugger, I haven't figured out how to access them, since they seem to be confined to the social media except on special occasions. Instructions might be helpful.
most of the time, comments are helpful to readers, both for the raw information they contain and to gauge how the public responds to different topics and ideas. I understand why many sites have comments disabled (too many insults and not enough resources to moderate the comments). I like reading the comments to compare my thoughts with others.
Plus, comments can help share solutions to problems that some face with the topic of the article they are commenting on. For example, treehugger.com recently published an article on the decline of CFL bulbs. A commenter posted that he would like to buy LED lights, but hasn't been satisfied with the common warm white bulbs. He was looking for bulbs that match the color of incandescent light. I was able to recommend a brand that I found matches incandescent light almost perfectly and is as bright or brighter. He will be looking into these bulbs and possibly buying them. Without the comments section (and some open-mindedness), he would've likely never looked at LED lights again and continued using incandescent lights.
Overall, comments are an essential piece to bring balance of thought, additional information, and challenge certain points of an article. Comments need to stay. Moderation should also be kept to a minimum, and only respond to posts that contain personal insults, are totally useless to the conversation (spam), and advertising comments that are totally unrelated.
It is important to:
be able to have a discussion because this is an opportunity to learn;
discuss the issue in a civilized manner and anybody who resorts to insults and threats is not part of the solution but is only adding to the problem so such comments should be removed; and
remember that reasoned criticism is not a personal insult.