Do you read the comments people post after a news story?

[Dee*Jay]

Lately I have taken to reading the comments after news stories. Holy cow... as a society we are surely doomed. There is virtually nothing that can't be turned political, and truly nothing that can't be turned hateful.

Do you notice this? Do you even read the comments? If I were smart I would just stop at the end of the story, but I'm always so hopeful someone will say something interesting or enlightening...

Why are people like this?!?

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

My cousin wrote an article in the newspaper about the upcoming change in gun laws and his article showed NO personal opinion, only data and quotes from different view points. In the comments, he was ATTACKED on 'his' views. Um, did you even read the article? he mentioned NOTHING about his own thoughts. It was just crazy. Normally I do not read the comments though. People are crazy and you just can't reason with a good majority of them.

 

[vc10um]

If I do, I immediately regret it. I've certainly noticed the same and do my best to try and avoid reading the comments, but sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me. I generally make it through about 5-7 before I'm completely full of rage, and then I have to close the article and do some deep breathing before I can go on with my day. Either that, or I turn into this guy from the xkcd comic.

 

[JewelFreak]

I don't know what's to become of us, DJ, the way people treat one another nowadays. It's worse on the internet -- "nasty" is the prevailing ethos -- but can get unpleasant IRL too. Depressing. I do sometimes read the comments -- once in a while somebody writes a real funny one, but generally, gaaahhh.

I don't know what is harder about saying something nicely instead of viciously.

--- Laurie

 

[Octavia]

Yes, I often do. I must have some masochistic tendencies or something. But I generally find a small handful of comments really interesting, informative, and well thought out, so I try to skim through the ignorant and hateful ones to get to those. Doesn't always happen, though.

 

[AGBF]

I have to say that if I read the comments posted after a "news" story on the Internet for anything other than, "The New York Times", I am usually sorry that I did. When I read the comments after an on-line story in, "The New York Times", I often find my thinking provoked, just as I do when I read the letters to the editor printed in their regular daily newspaper. In fact, there is more diversity among the posters writing on-line and sometimes they say things that are even more thought provoking than what I read in the print version of the paper.

Naturally some people say ghastly things, but that is to be expected. There are always going to be people who are mean-spirited, shortsighted, and small-minded. They are not, however, the majority. So I still find it worth my time to do the reading.

Deb/AGBF

 

[maccers]

Yes and no. I used to read comments for news stories no matter what site I was visiting. After awhile I found myself infuriated, aghast and just plain sad at the ignorant and hateful comments on some of these news sites. I stick to reading the comments on sites where I find the readership is more educated and liberal. Perhaps I should grow a thicker skin but I find that my outlook for the rest of the day can be impacted negatively by some comments.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I certainly agree that many comments leave me wondering what has become of America. Comments such as you described are pretty much everywhere. It has changed my views on immigration. We need well educated immigrants because our own culture is creating a lot of people with very little ability to think well. The racism, anti-semitism and generally hostile comments are so discouraging to me as well. I watched a show where the President of New York university said he found very little of value in the internet, and while the New York Times reader and writer many be above average intellectually,(this has historically been the case), the rest of the internet spews a lot of hate and stupidity. I really don't enjoy writing this, but I see it as the truth.


Annette

 

[Dee*Jay]

To be fair, every once in a while something good comes out of the comments. This is the comment one poster made to another today based on a particularly wacky message:

Well you certainly win the tin foil hat award of the day.

I seriously did LOL.

 

[VRBeauty]

I'm embarrassed for my town when I read the comments posted after most any story on our newspaper's website. A lot of hatred and barely disguised racism, and almost no thoughtful commentary worthy of (in my humble opinion ) first amendment claims. Unfortunately I see the same thing in the forums maintained by many other newspapers. The opportunity to voice one's opinion anonymously seems to reveal the worst of some people.

 

[justginger]

There seem to be an excess of keyboard cowboys out there these day. I try to console myself by pondering the possibility that none of them actually believe what they're writing, they're just stirring - but we all know that's not true. There are so, so many, some must be genuine.

To be honest, I find it foreboding - the fact so many people adamantly MUST SHARE their vitriolic thoughts and opinions, without shame. Many are attached to their Facebook profiles; they are not saying outrageous things from a position of safe anonymity. No, they are proud of their racist, homophobic, bigoted, violent viewpoints.

I read a lot of international news stories, and no other society seems to suffer from this to the extent that the US does right now. It really makes the States appear to be ripping apart at the seams.

 

[VRBeauty]

There seem to be an excess of keyboard cowboys out there these day. I try to console myself by pondering the possibility that none of them actually believe what they're writing, they're just stirring - but we all know that's not true. There are so, so many, some must be genuine.

To be honest, I find it foreboding - the fact so many people adamantly MUST SHARE their vitriolic thoughts and opinions, without shame. Many are attached to their Facebook profiles; they are not saying outrageous things from a position of safe anonymity. No, they are proud of their racist, homophobic, bigoted, violent viewpoints.

I read a lot of international news stories, and no other society seems to suffer from this to the extent that the US does right now. It really makes the States appear to be ripping apart at the seams.

Actually, I take solace in the fact that it's a very few people who are actually posting their hatred. It looks like a lot because they often make up a large proportion of the posters, but it's a small number of people. I like to think that most reasonable people either don't feel a need to add their two cents worth, or decided to abandon those forums to the haters a long time ago. Unfortunately though that does leave mostly the "cowboy" comments.

My local paper does monitor comments, and will shut down comments on a story entirely when it looks like there is a lot of hatred/meanness for its own sake being posted. They also delete all comments attached to a story at the end of each day.

 

[woofmama]

I almost always read the comments. I use the thumbs up/thumbs down button to agree/disagree with comments. I never post comments myself.

 

[ame]

Not anymore. Mostly because people are INSANE and I can't deal with it. I do like that many of the sites have taken to requiring the comments link to a Facebook page so that it's tied to someone's real name in most cases, and it will forever link them to it.

 

[AGBF]

Not anymore. Mostly because people are INSANE and I can't deal with it. I do like that many of the sites have taken to requiring the comments link to a Facebook page so that it's tied to someone's real name in most cases, and it will forever link them to it.

What sort of site uses Facebook as a means of qualification? I consider Facebook to be the lowest of the low itself. Using it to certify that someone is qualified to post is like asking Mayor Daley to vouch for the integrity of a Chicago politician. I would never stoop to opening a Facebook account, so it's good that, "The New York Times" hasn't started to use it to weed out worthy posters. Not that I have ever posted on their website... but I haven't ruled it out.

AGBF

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

Not anymore. Mostly because people are INSANE and I can't deal with it. I do like that many of the sites have taken to requiring the comments link to a Facebook page so that it's tied to someone's real name in most cases, and it will forever link them to it.

What sort of site uses Facebook as a means of qualification? I consider Facebook to be the lowest of the low itself. Using it to certify that someone is qualified to post is like asking Mayor Daley to vouch for the integrity of a Chicago politician. I would never stoop to opening a Facebook account, so it's good that, "The New York Times" hasn't started to use it to weed out worthy posters. Not that I have ever posted on their website... but I haven't ruled it out.

AGBF

I think she means that in order for a person to make a comment on something, the comment and link to the article will have to post onto that persons facebook page. Am I right, Ame?

 

[AGBF]

I think she means that in order for a person to make a comment on something, the comment and link to the article will have to post onto that persons facebook page. Am I right, Ame?

I got that. I don't have Facebook because I think it is slimy. Why would I allow some newspaper to force me to use it so that I could respond to said newspaper? If a newspaper told me I had to drink poison in order to post a reply in their paper, would I do it? Uh...not likely!

AGBF

 

[luv2sparkle]

I have read a few and am always surprised how nasty and rude people are. I think Ame is right, and there are a lot of insane people out there. There is something about posting a comment that seems to bring out the worst in people and I do think it is because they can remain anonymous. I love the 'tin foil hat award' comment. That is a person I would like. I haven't seen any linked to a facebook acct on MSN where I usually read them though.

 

[kenny]

Of course.
I love to hear the various reactions.
I love how people vary, and reactions to news stories really illuminates this.