Comments Off
Any time I’m reading a long article on a web page, I’ll occasionally glance over at the right side of my browser window. I’m looking for the scroll bar, trying to figure out how much longer this thing is. Sometimes it’s because it’s boring, sometimes it’s because I have to go to the bathroom but I’m really interested in it and want to finish reading it before I go.
This behavior isn’t limited to the internet. I do it when reading books, too. Whenever I eat at a restaurant by myself, I bring a book. Often, I’ll stay much longer than the time it takes to finish the meal, just because I want to finish the chapter. Sometimes chapters are long. If it’s more than 10 pages or so, I’ll usually just call it a loss and leave.
In any case, I often try to assess the length of whatever it is I’m reading. I think it’s useful, and you probably do it, too.
And now I finally come to my point — anybody who makes a web page with comments, please make the comments a separate page. Or make them hidden until you click on “reveal.” Or just turn them off. I don’t care how you do it — but they need to not add length to the page.
Like I said, when the article is long, I’ll look at the scrollbar. If it looks like I’m halfway through it, I’m usually wrong, because there are comments at the bottom and sometimes they’re as long or longer than the original article. This is bad.
In my mind, the page does not exist for the sake of leaving comments — it exists so you can read the words of the original author. Now, let it be said that I think comments are are a good idea. I understand their relevance, but they are certainly not as important as the original article. Newspapers don’t print ever single letter they get. The have a special page for letters and they only print a few.
Unless the purpose of the site is discussion, comments should be de-emphasized. And, also, they tend to be poorly written. So I make it a point not to read them. Sometimes I do, when it’s technical information or it’s a site where the comments have a decent reputation, like Slashdot or Metafilter. But usually they’re bad and not worth reading.
If what I’ve said before hasn’t convinced you, think of all the lost productivity. If comments on internet were magically turned off, we’d have entire communities looking up, blinking their eyes and stretching, and going outside to paint the shed.
Certainly you’re as sick of all those unpainted sheds as I am.