Comments

Comment sections are a secondary component of a web page in which users can discuss a primary source of media. These systems provide an easy way for users to interact with the author and fellow commenters, fostering a participatory online environment, and at their best, enabling the exchange of ideas. Unfortunately, comment sections are perhaps best known for the ways in which they are consistently abused.

Abuse of comments comes from their design

The frequency with which comments are abused comes from a few sources of their common implementation and design:

• Comments are typically public, which encourages performative behavior of all kinds, including the nastier varieties.
• Comments are viewed as low stakes, since typically they are secondary to the primary content of the site, which encourages less thoughtful engagement, and feels less consequential to the commenter.
• Comments are often paired with scores and voting, which inculcates competitive one-upsmanship and encourages "Dunking": ridicule performed for an audience.
• Because comments fragment a conversation across multiple entities (replies, threads, primary content), they're harder to moderate through automation that analyzes the content of text.

By reevaluating comment system design, product managers can mitigate challenges faced by platforms and discourage abusive user behavior.