Main Strean Websites With Articles That Dont Have A Comment Section

Man I hate CNN and a whole host of Lame Stream media sites that publish articles that have no comment option. Sometimes I just want to let it flow but cant. I hate it.

a reply to: Medicator

This is an electronic propaganda methodology whereby news outlets stifle dissent and/or counter arguments regarding articles that they post.

It is one of the signs of a fascist dictatorship when the media wing of state sanctioned news outlets continuously post only one side of the story - the official government version of events.

Any other version is a weirdo crackpot fringe conspiracy theorist slant - and usually closer to the truth, which the government attempts to quash at every opportunity.

originally posted by: Medicator
Man I hate CNN and a whole host of Lame Stream media sites that publish articles that have no comment option. Sometimes I just want to let it flow but cant. I hate it.

Popsci did the same thing a couple years ago.

Because they can't have folks questioning their version of the truth.

In the sites I have seen that have stopped comments, it is because the commenters could not seem to restrain from other than civil discourse. Invective, spam, and profanity got to the point where the proprietors decided enough is enough and stopped comments. It has nothing to do with "fascist dictatorships." It has to do with a private company having control over its own site and having the resources to ensure the site adheres to its policies on commenting.

"Free speech" enjoins the government from preventing you from expressing your opinions in a public forum. Private sites may be forums all right, but they are privately owned so you simply do not have the "right to comment." Not everyone thinks your rants are erudite or worth reading. ("Your" plural, not "your" personally, OP)

There also comes a point when comments are not useful. On the Oregonlive site, for example, every article on the occupation has between 1,000 and 2,000 comments. On the major news sites last night as the election returns we're being posted, the comments on any given site were coming in so fast that the scroll was too fast to read them. Are you going to read them all? Are any of them going to change your mind?

Comments are ephemeral. They disappear "below the fold" very quickly and become forgotten. If you feel your comments about events are important, start a blog and take the time to build up a readership. I've done it in the past and I have to tell you it's a lot of work, but it can be done. It will be interesting to see how you treat your own comments section when the shoe is on the other foot.

originally posted by: Sublimecraft
a reply to: Medicator

This is an electronic propaganda methodology whereby news outlets stifle dissent and/or counter arguments regarding articles that they post.

It is one of the signs of a fascist dictatorship when the media wing of state sanctioned news outlets continuously post only one side of the story - the official government version of events.

Any other version is a weirdo crackpot fringe conspiracy theorist slant - and usually closer to the truth, which the government attempts to quash at every opportunity.

Except the media outlets are not controlled by the government. They are controlled by private individuals or corporations with an agenda. Same problem, different source.

I frequent MSN.com and most articles have the comment function.

You can now sit back and imagine the flood of intelligence and critical thought that go into comments on a major news website. The level of debate that goes on is peerless.

Derp.

a reply to: Medicator

Youve ranted your own answer to the issue. Not all webs need any comments, even if you want to. MSM has always been in a reporting modus operandi...thats been the nature of the beast for over 100 years or more from flyers to newspapers, magazines and finally websites.

Agreed. But, not all want any comments. They just want to report "news" and move on to the next story. Actually...the ability to comment has always been around in a very limited Reader Responses Replies in most publications. Certainly not all.

I think youre upset because youve been used to have a place to spout off on websites. Just remember....thats a relatively new concept webs and comments. At least since the mid-late 1980's.

And Its ok if they dont provide to me. I just take that as face value. They report, editorialize, sensationalize, prioritize that which TPTB want us to read about.

Stories ever-changing and no room for comments. At the very least...most webs DO have and welcome comments. I just take those others as suspicious for not letting us make them.

I've considered making a post about this issue as well.

I think it's a VERY understated issue how more and more sites are trending to not have comment sections altogether.

It started when sites required you to register to comment. This, alone, shouldn't be a thing. People should be able to comment on any news piece without registering. Anonymity is a vital and important aspect of the internet.

Then they added FB, Twitter and the like to ensure they were getting non-anonymous responses. I personally can't post what I feel about subjects when this connects to my FB account and threatens to create hostile interactions between the people I know. I also don't want these places knowing who I am.

Sites started eliminating individual comments to show no-one contested their viewpoints and promoting comments that supported articles.

And now, they are removing the ability to comment whatsoever, and taking the voices of people away completely.

The push to make the internet exactly like cable TV is gigantic and rampant and no one is trying to stop it. We stand to lose the greatest form of communication ever made. This is one of the horrors I see happening before my eyes and definitely contributes to my personal depression.

Major pet peeve with me too- gratifying when you see people have been thinking the same as you (: Agenda oriented news sites post stories that are blasphemously full of BS, and conveniently leave out the option to comment.