HughHewitt.com: "We did have an exchange on comments/no comments, and I got to air my view that comments sections are defamation/copyright time bombs waiting to go off, and that hostiles will figure out soon enough how to post defamatory/copyrighted material on blogs they don’t like with the hope of provoking crippling lawsuits. I also got to argue that comments section hold down the growth of new blogs by giving easy access to text to folks who should be out earning their audience and thus planting new trees in the opinion journalism forest rather than just new branches to already tall trees."
A few comments on commenting:
ReplyDelete1. It is true that some commentators lead a vicarious existence by leeching off someone else's blog. That is, at the least, a minor nuisance. If it becomes a serious problem, their comments can always be deleted.
2. Likewise, comments which are defamatory or infringe copyright can also be deleted. I'm not sure, though, that comments are nearly long enough to exceed the fair use provision.
3. If worst comes to worst, this privilege can be revoked. However, in a blog with an apologetic emphasis, interaction is an important part of the dialogue, equivalent to examination and cross-examination in a formal debate. We should be able to take as good as we give.
Then you may have some folks who might like to delete what the blogger has posted, but keep the comments section open! :-)
ReplyDelete