A response to the discussion in general, but primarily based on The Case For Comments

Comments can take the role of truth sayer

I have noticed a lot of people when they are presented with an opinion they are unsure if they agree with, they will impulsively check the comments to see if they should agree with it. Without comments, the reader is forced to actually think about what they think about the opinions expressed before them — No one tells them how to think.

@grok what do you think about this?

Comments are just noise

I can agree with the above mentioned posts that:

This amount of preamble can feel like overkill in a lot of situations. For example, [...], cracking a joke, [...], sometimes a comment is the best fit.

For a quick joke or a goof, a comment field is the best fit. My boring opinion on that is however: What value does that bring? More often than not, I feel like it is just noise.

Speed is bad actually

So the first reason why I believe comments don't belong on blogs is that they enable fast quips and thoughtless opinions. Some people do hold grounded and tested opinions, but we are on the internet. Tribalism and righteousness run rife, and debunking the oposition tends to be more important than actually adjusting your own opinion.

Forcing the user to slow down by composing a mail will both encourage them to properly think about and compose their opinions, and also hamper bad actors who are not interested in having a actual discussion.

Thoughts and opinions take time, unlike comments.

You are now entering Opinion Land

Or well this entire post is an opinion piece, don' worry 'bout it

We need to detox from engagement culture

Our modern web landscape is fundamentally built on ranking eachother based on engagement. Who got the most clicks, hits, comments, likes, viwes, etc.

Algoritms push content that drives the most engagement, we intrinsically agree with posts that have a lot of engagement, and we constantly chase it to fulfil our own ego.

By constantly chasing engagement, we need to dumb down our opinions to be as agreeable as possible. When you start comparing hom many comments, views and likes your posts get, you naturally try to create content that will arcue more engagement. This rarely leads to more thoughtful and valueable content.

I'm not here to defend myself

I use this blog to express my opinions and thoughts, but I have no desire to defend them. If you don't agree with what I say, you are free to leave, or atleast live with that we don't share opinions in that specific area. You are more than welcome to send me a mail, if you wish to discuss and share ideas, but if you just want to tell me I am wrong, then a non-public email is a lot easier and convient to ignore than a comment.

You are not here to show your righteousness

With comments being public, you have a interest in sharing a opinion that not only appeals to the author, but also other readers. Having to adjust your writing based on what other readers think about your opinion at a glance does not add value.

Also, having your name attached to comments will make you think about how it would change your image, and that doesnt help you make thoughtful and arguments that everyone might not agree with.

To Recap

I welcome discussions and thoughs on my posts, however I expect you to atleast put down the effort to compose a mail. If your thought wasn't worth the minute to write a mail, is it even worthwhile for me to read?

Comments are also a venue for engagement, and any type of measurable engagement is bad.

A blog should (in my opinion) mirror a public talk at a venue, with personal one-on-one discussions coming after. If your are looking for a experience more like a soapbox discussion in a public plaza, you are looking for a forum instead (those still exist you know?)

Also, this is all opinions, if your blog has comments, that's your choice. You have your own opinions and standpoints and they are also valid.

(PS. have you reflected on that the internet and irl meaning of comments are actually mostly the same? Like, I have always felt like the comment section under a video, and commenting about someones appearance in person are fundamentally different, but both are just, well, comment about someone/something. Might just be my bilingual ass being confused)