I was very happy today to read news that the on-line presence for Popular Science had made the decision to disable public comments.
Why we’re shutting off our comments.
Suzanne LaBarre, Popular Science
It’s been a while since I made the decision to disable comments on my blog(s), but I don’t regret doing it for a minute. The sad fact is that Internet commentary has become a cesspool of attempted snark or outright SPAM, a haven for poorly researched misinformation. It’s become the political stump speech of the Internet, long on fiction, short on fact and totally bereft of value.
I don’t hold out much hope that others will follow Popular Science lead in eliminating the monster, for one the “free speech” nonsense seems to have taken hold, but it would be nice if they would. That’s not to say there aren’t good comments out there (Matt Bramanti’s work comes to mind) but to find those you have to dredge through page after page of stupidity mistaken as cleverness by someone who thinks snark=winning or some other nonsense.
So Kudos to Popular Science for making the right move, the question now is “Who’s next?”
