Most journalists hate to read it, because it’s stinging and distracting, and readers rarely plow through long comments sections unless they intend to post something themselves.
I don’t understand why “news” portals still keep their comments sections. I guess it’s for the advertising revenue. I’d not even dream if ever going anywhere near any of those comments sections. Readup is the first time I’m actively commenting on articles
That's a great point, I had fallen out of the habit of bothering to comment on articles either. It was like throwing a perfectly good sandwich into a ravine. Readup has definitely re-engaged me in discussing articles again, didn't realize I missed it until I got it back.
Same! There is so much value in discussing an article. But it only works if the commenters actually read the article properly (yay Readup!) and are willing to have a meaningful conversation.
I always read the comments on Readup - as fun and interesting as the articles themselves. Many times readers have recommended a book or link related to the article and I happily dive further into the subject matter. I’m not familiar with other reading sites but Readup seems to be an intelligent community intent on sharing and learning from one another. There are no trolls or combative, snarky comments. I feel safe and heard here.
Creating registration standards, inventive means of moderating and displaying comments, membership benefits for regular posters and ratings systems for useful comments
Many sites do all of that (and quite well) now. But Readup can further raise all of those bars.
It should be writer’s picks instead of editors pick’s. Problem is, they can’t get writers to want to look at all of that sh*t. I know many writers (including me!) who love their Readup comments. Also ratings need to only come from readers ;)
This article was excellent. A piece of history. But again, I do think we’ve come a long way since this. I’d call it “semi-evergreen.”
(Alexa, you mentioned that Medium’s got problems with this these days? Do they not moderate at all? Or can the author not hide stuff they don’t like?)
I'm not entirely sure how their comments work. When I look at it, there is some filtering based on comments that get applause being boosted higher than ones that don't (I'm sure replies to comments do something too). However, this can also be gamed--I've seen some pretty foul comments make it pretty high up when the nay-sayers team up and all clap for the same garbage or pile on the same thread.
I think you can hide responses on medium, but I think this mostly means you don't get notified if someone writes a response which...ok I guess having your head in sand to insulate is better than nothing?
Also, while there is an option to report a comment (which they call stories) idk how that process works. So many questions! Clearly can't work that well for all the aggressive or otherwise garbage comments i see on there though huh.
Update (4/30/2020):
ok, guess you can hide all comments but people can still write responses to your work that links back. It does not appear that you can delete an individual comment if you don't like it, just report it. I assume because the goal of Medium is to inspire discussions, so they say.
When I have something to say about an article, I often take a look at the comments, see hundreds of other comments, mostly negative, and just give up the idea of posting another one. That's one of the nice things about Readup, meaningful, interesting comments.
Well, Commenting on Readup is engaging.
Yes, the perfect word!
I don’t understand why “news” portals still keep their comments sections. I guess it’s for the advertising revenue. I’d not even dream if ever going anywhere near any of those comments sections. Readup is the first time I’m actively commenting on articles
That's a great point, I had fallen out of the habit of bothering to comment on articles either. It was like throwing a perfectly good sandwich into a ravine. Readup has definitely re-engaged me in discussing articles again, didn't realize I missed it until I got it back.
Same! There is so much value in discussing an article. But it only works if the commenters actually read the article properly (yay Readup!) and are willing to have a meaningful conversation.
I always read the comments on Readup - as fun and interesting as the articles themselves. Many times readers have recommended a book or link related to the article and I happily dive further into the subject matter. I’m not familiar with other reading sites but Readup seems to be an intelligent community intent on sharing and learning from one another. There are no trolls or combative, snarky comments. I feel safe and heard here.
Agreed. It’s what makes Readup so unique
this is great, from '09 and as relevant as ever. Makes me v grateful for how thoughtful the comments on readup are\
Excellent! This is a good outline of the basics:
Many sites do all of that (and quite well) now. But Readup can further raise all of those bars.
It should be writer’s picks instead of editors pick’s. Problem is, they can’t get writers to want to look at all of that sh*t. I know many writers (including me!) who love their Readup comments. Also ratings need to only come from readers ;)
This article was excellent. A piece of history. But again, I do think we’ve come a long way since this. I’d call it “semi-evergreen.”
(Alexa, you mentioned that Medium’s got problems with this these days? Do they not moderate at all? Or can the author not hide stuff they don’t like?)
I'm not entirely sure how their comments work. When I look at it, there is some filtering based on comments that get applause being boosted higher than ones that don't (I'm sure replies to comments do something too). However, this can also be gamed--I've seen some pretty foul comments make it pretty high up when the nay-sayers team up and all clap for the same garbage or pile on the same thread.
I think you can hide responses on medium, but I think this mostly means you don't get notified if someone writes a response which...ok I guess having your head in sand to insulate is better than nothing?
Also, while there is an option to report a comment (which they call stories) idk how that process works. So many questions! Clearly can't work that well for all the aggressive or otherwise garbage comments i see on there though huh.
ok, guess you can hide all comments but people can still write responses to your work that links back. It does not appear that you can delete an individual comment if you don't like it, just report it. I assume because the goal of Medium is to inspire discussions, so they say.
Hiding Comments on Medium "Rules"
When I have something to say about an article, I often take a look at the comments, see hundreds of other comments, mostly negative, and just give up the idea of posting another one. That's one of the nice things about Readup, meaningful, interesting comments.