Timatollah

Sunday, March 16, 2003
 
Comments?

Mike Silverman asks here whether he should have his head examined for making comments available.

The short answer: You're nuckin futs! :-)

A somewhat longer answer is that I think that comments turn blogging into BBSing (emphasis on the BS part). Or Useneting. Those kinds of forums have their strengths, but reasoned discourse and commentary aren't usually parts of those strengths.

I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again. If someone wants to comment on something I've said, let 'em get a blog and go for it. Or they can send me e-mail. Beyond that, I don't see any responsibility or motive to provide them a forum, even if they should happen (by accident, I suppose) to agree with something I've said.

Addendum: There's also the whole clique thing. The blog world has more than enough of that, in my opinion. Comments sometimes seem to be little more than a vehicle for cliques, possies, and other mutual-admiration societies to form. Hey, we can do mutual-admiration societies just fine without comments, right [insert usual suspects here!]?