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On comments and social interaction
I got a request in email to add something like Disqus to my blog, which would allow a richer platform for the commenting that goes on here. I think that the request and my reply are interesting enough to warrant this blog post.
My comment system is the default subtext one, but there are several advantages to the way it works. You can read the full explanation in Joel on Software post about the matter, but basically, threading encourages people to go off in tangents, single thread of conversation make it significantly easier to have only one conversation.
There is another reason, which is personally important to me, which is that I want to "own" the comments. Not own in terms of copyright, but own in terms of having control of the data itself. Having the comments (a hugely important part of the blog) being managed by a 3rd party which might shut down and take all the comments with it is not acceptable.
That is probably a false fear, but it is something that I take under consideration. The reasoning about the type of interaction going on in the comments is a lot more important. There is also something else to consider, if a post gets too hot (generating too many comments), I am either going to close comments on it, or open a new post with summary of what went on in the previous post comment thread anyway, so it does have some checks & balances that keep a comment thread from growing too large.
Comments
Agree very much with Joels narrative on this subject. And the comments on your blog are almost all relevant and build upon each other instead of just saying the same thing over and over again.
Makes sense, I use the same on my site for similar reasons.
I especially agree with the the statement
" I want to "own" the comments. Not own in terms of copyright, but own in terms of having control of the data itself. Having the comments (a hugely important part of the blog) being managed by a 3rd party which might shut down and take all the comments with it is not acceptable"
Its the same as having your blog under your own domain and "owning it" rather than having under wordpress or typepad domain. If you want to move your domain to another host you can. Cheers
I haven't cared about the technical details, but for Wordpress at least Disqus posts all the comments to the blog as well, so turning off Disqus leaves all comments as is, just not as pretty.
Exactly why I haven't outsourced my comments. I agree with you and Joel about threaded comments. I think there other ways to improve Subtext comments than adding threading. Ayende, let me know if we can improve comments for you in Subtext. :)
I think the problem is more sociological than technical.I mean, this is the Ayende blog, and someone can feel a little embarassed to start a complete thread inside it, and soemone else can use this as a sort of weapon to have the last word in a discussion.
This blog just all credibility by mention Joel.
NC, at least proof read your comments if you want to be a douche. No so much for our sake, but for the sake of the children.
That's not such an irrational fear. I've just been watching a couple of bloggers have to deal with their comment provider shutting down.
@Andrew - Noted.
What I was meaning to say, was:
This blog just lost all credibility by mentioning Joel.
Social interaction? It only happens when you turn off the computer and talk to real people
@ayende,
How about a 3rd party commenting platform that allows you to own your data and/or allows you to have our own installation.
The reason I bring this up is because the default commenting features of blogging platforms may not solve all commenting /discussion related problems.
One size may not fit all....
Andrew, at least proof read your comments if you want to be a pedant. Not so much for our sake, but for the sake of the children.
Whoosh. Way to completely miss the point John.
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