My sandbox, my rules: Why there are no comments here

Two weeks ago, I launched this website, and with it a revived form of Dot Dot Dot, a blog I first started, um, 22 years ago. (Two weeks, 22 years; time is a construct, right?)

One of the best things is reconnecting with people I’ve not been in touch with for years, as well as connecting with people for the first time. (My email contact is always at the bottom of any page.)

I have been asked (all of twice) about why there are no comments on this site.

When designer Matthew Hollett (read more about his contribution here) and I were chatting about options, including look and feel, we both had the same take on comments: no thanks.

Commenting has been called a necessary evil in digital circles, and I would go so far as to question the modifer “necessary.” It’s actually not always needed. There’s a belief out there that commenting drives traffic, but we know from metrics and tools that the vast majority of readers never scroll that far down.

In a perfect world, commenting would be informed, respectful and useful. Too often, it’s none of those things.

Moderation is also time consuming, and this is not a job; this whole project is something I do for fun. (I will tell you that psychological harm can come to people who moderate comments on major websites for a living. It’s a serious health hazard. You’ve seen pure bile online, I’m sure; just imagine what moderators see that never gets that far. And I’d rather not get started about the shaky hopes of automation and moderation.)

I should note that I do post pieces to my Facebook page with a public setting, and comments are open there.

Comments are also open on posts I make to Substack. (Here’s how to find me on Substack.) I’ve been impressed so far with how people there interact.

But here? In short, this little corner is my playground, and these are my rules.