

Where Have All The Comments Gone? - Garbage
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/11/19/critical-thinking-vs-critical-acclaim-where-have-all-the-comments-gone/

======
krschultz
When I read a decent blog post on a topic covered by HN, I'm going to HN for
the discussion not the bottom of the post.

If I comment on your blog, odds are I never will read anyone's response to it.
I hate the typical solution to that problem (send me an email everytime
someone responds, I honestly won't care 5 days from now much less 2 years from
now). But a few hours later? I forgot where that artical was.

On HN, I click on my username and can look at my comments for the past day. It
is central. It is easy. I typically read for about 10-15 minutes every 2 hours
so it fits my workflow and my schedule.

I also find the commentary here far more insightful, active, and I actually
recognize some of the other posters so there is continuity. Random posts with
a spattering of comments don't have any of that.

~~~
cosgroveb
I think the rise of social bookmarking sites, especially Hacker News, and to a
lesser extent places like Reddit probably does mean that a lot of people who
would be leaving insightful comments are spending most of their time
discussing things in places like this rather than in the comments section of
most blog posts.

------
nkurz
This is a wonderful article that is directly applicable to HN. Read it! It's
got both a good theory as to why comments tend to become more superficial over
time, as well as suggestions for what can be done to counter this:

    
    
      As Commentators, What Can We Do?
      1. Offer Personal Highlights
      2. Be Constructive
      3. Read Fully Before Drawing Conclusions
      4. Ask Questions
      5. Share Related Experiences
    

I'd probably rank #2 as the highest in importance. I try to never vote down a
comment where someone is trying to be constructive, even if I don't think they
are succeeding. But perhaps I need to move farther, and actively vote up every
comment that meets this criterion.

------
bmm6o
First, you have to take any article that calls out a trend without providing
any numbers with a grain of salt. Second, he seems to believe that this trend
is global and not local. That is, that internet comments _as a group_ are all
becoming more superficial, rather than a _particular forum's_ posts becoming
that way over time. I don't think I agree.

