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We have comments on Social Edge, though we don't see them used that much outside of our weekly discussions. This holds true even when we have content that is a bit more, for lack of a better word, provocative. Recently we published an X-Interview with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. We haven't had a single comment on the site to this post. You have to be a logged in member to be able to post a comment, but still, I was surprised to see that there wasn't a single comment responding to what the former president had to say.
The same video is posted to YouTube, where comments are a different story. At this time, there have been 38 comments on YouTube. The comments have not, however, been a shining example of considered cognitive discourse, and have instead veered off into insipid insults and argumentative posturing. With all the knuckle dragging you would think the video was a prolonged insult to neanderthals. Alas, I don't know that any of the comments related to the content of the video at all, instead merely focusing on supporting or debasing the subject of the video, Mr. Carter.
Oh, how I would have loved to read a discussion concerning the eradication of guinea worm and other diseases! If it devolved into a political discussion with an intelligent back and forth on the pros and cons of habeus corpus restrictions, that wouldn't have been terribly disappointing either. Instead, people have used the comments to call President Cater an "ass," a "son-of-a-bitch," a "fool", a "senile old bastard" - you get the picture. We're not reaching Lincoln-Douglas level of debate on this one.
I have to admit, while reading the comments I was tempted to delete most if not all of them and close down further comments on the video. YouTube allows you to set your comment options thusly:
Ultimately, what people want to say is up to them. Sometimes, however, what goes unsaid is far more interesting than what is shouted, screamed, hollered or typed.
The same video is posted to YouTube, where comments are a different story. At this time, there have been 38 comments on YouTube. The comments have not, however, been a shining example of considered cognitive discourse, and have instead veered off into insipid insults and argumentative posturing. With all the knuckle dragging you would think the video was a prolonged insult to neanderthals. Alas, I don't know that any of the comments related to the content of the video at all, instead merely focusing on supporting or debasing the subject of the video, Mr. Carter.
Oh, how I would have loved to read a discussion concerning the eradication of guinea worm and other diseases! If it devolved into a political discussion with an intelligent back and forth on the pros and cons of habeus corpus restrictions, that wouldn't have been terribly disappointing either. Instead, people have used the comments to call President Cater an "ass," a "son-of-a-bitch," a "fool", a "senile old bastard" - you get the picture. We're not reaching Lincoln-Douglas level of debate on this one.
I have to admit, while reading the comments I was tempted to delete most if not all of them and close down further comments on the video. YouTube allows you to set your comment options thusly:
Ultimately, what people want to say is up to them. Sometimes, however, what goes unsaid is far more interesting than what is shouted, screamed, hollered or typed.
