Comment Cultures

I read an interesting post today written by Todd Alcott at The Beat: The News Blog of Comics Culture in which he does an analysis on Batman: The Movie (1966).

First, let me say that I am a huge fan of Batman and really enjoyed that post. What really captured my attention though, was the discussion it generated, with many of the comments from people voicing their disagreements.

From that comments thread, I’ll have to say that I partly disagree with Geert Lovink when he says in Blogging, The Nihilist Impulse that, “If you disagree with a fellow blogger, it is even unwise to write a comment” (Reader p. 218). I believe that since blogs, as he says, “create communities of like-minded people” (Reader p. 218), it is always good to hear what others might have to say about a particular topic in a niche. Because if readers are passionate and interested enough, chances are they will have enough knowledge to share their input with other people and maybe even disclose information that the writer might have missed out.

Of course there is a difference between, giving an opinion in a civil and mature manner when disagreeing with somebody and just being a plain troll. Comments like ‘You’re an idiot’, ‘That was stupid’ and other inflammatory remarks certainly do not help in stimulating public debates and would only end up causing non-insightful arguments or lead to a flame war. This is where I agree with Lovink, because if comments that intentionally aim to offend  are all someone has to offer, then s/he is better off not saying anything at all.

So to encourage practical and meaningful discussions in a blog, we have to remember to abide by netiquette rules.

Lovink says that most bloggers do not aim to foster public debates, and I think to a certain extent he is right. But I personally feel that the aim is not what’s important, because a blogger is not gonna know (in most cases anyway) the impact that a post is gonna have on readers until after it is published. What is important, is whether or not the blogger will allow the discussion to continue (by approving even disagreeable comments, not deleting them) or participate if something interesting is said. This determines the success of a blog as a public sphere.

Lovink also argues that people don’t comment but blog instead about a post that they don’t agree with on their own blogs, which he says is a limitation to blogging (Reader, p. 218). Perhaps that’s true, although the thread that I’ve linked here shows otherwise. I believe that if a blogger chooses to do that, that is just his/her way of debating and I would still look at that post as a comment albeit a long one in a different format. I know I’m looking at this optimistically, but I believe that even if a blogger is unaware that someone else has blogged him/her, the fact that it’s happened shows that the blogger has succeeded in starting a discussion and has compelled others to consider their own views (whether intentionally or not), despite it happening elsewhere. It’s still sorta like a public sphere then, only one that’s not restricted within one blog.

I have allowed anyone to comment on all my posts if they wish, because I believe that having a blog where visitors can’t leave comments, like what Claire E. Write suggests (Reader p. 222) is just being close-minded and erodes the democracy that a blog promises. I have also decided to approve all comments (except spam, of course), even the ones where people might disagree with me.

The reason I welcome comments, good and bad, is because they’re my way of learning something new. I’d also like to be corrected if I get my facts wrong. The people that I hang out with aren’t interested in comic books, so in a way I’m depending on the people who come here to have discussions with me and if I’m lucky, maybe even get excited about a new comic book with me.

I will participate, but only when necessary. I probably won’t reply if my comment would be similar to what I’ve already said in my post. Mostly I’d just be interested in other people’s opinions, because I suppose if I’ve already published a post, it means I’ve already said all I wanted to say anyway.

I don’t have many comments (yet), nor have any of my posts ignited debates. Maybe it’s because I’m an amateur blogger and haven’t been blogging for long enough yet. Which got me thinking… Maybe this is one of blogging’s limitation revealed. I mean, with so many blogs out there, I’m competing for readers and more importantly for readers’ time to leave comments and start discussions with me. It seems that blogs with a large readership are likelier to attract comments.

And perhaps that’s a limit to the long tail. A niche blog might only attract a handful of readers, depending on how narrow that interest is. And not all of them who read the blog are gonna participate by commenting. I mean, it is common knowledge that even though the Internet has fostered a participatory culture amongst its users, there are some who still choose to remain silent. And because of that, some niche blogs remain the most silent in the blogosphere.

I’m still hopeful…