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On the Comment Sections

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Since the aggressiveness of trolling has been noted several times in comments, I should probably make a statement rather than responding every time individually:

  • We should be clear about some potential means of addressing the problem that are Not Happening Ever: Full moderation. Disemvoweling.  Anything that involves enormous amounts of uncompensated labor on the part of the writers.  I really hope this doesn’t require further explanation.
  • I like Disqus, which would mitigate the problem substantially, but my understanding is that it would be impossible to switch without losing the old comment threads, which I’m reluctant to do.
  • We could, at less cost, to a user approval system, but given the effects this would have on the quantity of comments I’m inclined to think it’s a cure that’s worse than the disease.  There would be many times when we could not approve a registration request in a timely manner.
  • Finally — and I know I’m howling into the void here — it should be emphasized that we do not so much have a troll problem as a responding to trolls problem.  Trolling that does not generate a response does much less to derail threads and can also be deleted much more easily and without orphaning comments.  And, of course, the extraordinarily high response rate also incentivizes the trolling.  I can hardly blame our resident troll — when even the laziest, pro forma, and repetitive trolling can generate multiple responses before you’ve started to search Taki’s Magazine for your next cut n’ paste job, why wouldn’t you keep doing it?  Every once on a long while — particularly when the troll is trying a little and commits some heinous offense against the English language — troll-response threads can be funny, but then these aren’t the problem.  Much more commonly, the immediate responses to the trolling are just as witless as the trolling itself.  Look, I can’t tell people what to do.  If you think it’s really important to leave the 100th unfunny response to the 12th reposting of the Nazi party platform in a particular thread, I’m not going to stop you unless you do something else banworthy.  But don’t blame the troll for wrecking the thread, and certainly don’t suggest that I spend several hours a day to save you from yourself.
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