Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Comment isn't free

Resident Advisor is the latest website to close its comments facility, and its justification for the decision is depressing but valid. What started out in an idealistic spirit as a means of continuing messageboard culture, fostering community and encouraging dialogue gradually became (with the advent of social media) a place for verbal aggression, abuse and toxic attitudes.

While the statement seems to ignore the fact that these issues also blight the likes of Twitter and YouTube, the truth is that sites such as Resident Advisor simply don't have the resources (human or financial) to monitor and moderate comments with anything approaching the necessary degree of vigilance - so the decision, sadly, seems both understandable and inevitable.

(Thanks to Ian for the link.)

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