It’s old news now, so you’ve probably read about Popular Science shutting down their comments section in September. Other similar sites immediately followed suit, while most chose to keep that part of their web pages open. This major event has led a lot of us to consider whether or not the ability to comment directly on an article is a good thing or a bad thing. Perhaps it’s both, for different reasons, at the same time.

First and foremost to establish is that it’s up to any given site to determine whether enabling comments is appropriate. We are not a science publication, so some of the specific reasons we use for or against them will obviously be different. We’re also not a satire publication like The Onion, so we don’t have to worry about people mistaking what we say as fact. For the sake of discussion, we’ll try to include reasons that any site may or may not want to use this system, while giving special weight to the specific merits of a gaming publication.

Arguments in favor

• They allow a natural space to discuss any given article or review on the spot. This eliminates the need for someone to post the link elsewhere and have secondary levels of discussion, which often leads to lower comprehension of what the article is actually saying.
• They are more focused on site content than separate message boards. Though some forums still thrive today, the technology as a whole is more or less dead. People prefer to be able to comment directly on articles, and upvote and downvote those discussions.
• They provide an easy reference point for debates. If someone says something that happens to be complete nonsense, one can simply copy and paste something right from the article above and insert it into their reply. There’s no need to juggle multiple tabs and sites.
• They help readers to provide feedback. Even though a lot of the comments you guys leave on the site are extremely opinionated, they do give us some useful insight into how we’re doing, and what you guys like/dislike in terms of content. In doing so, we can provide you with better content, and a great little cycle perpetuates itself.

Arguments against

• They give people a platform to make fools of themselves. Internet posts are written with a pen, not a pencil. Even if someone deletes their embarrassingly incorrect or irrational comment, the damage is already done in most cases. Some people maybe shouldn’t have a keyboard and Reddit access.
• They encourage rampant fanboyism. In the past, when people had a favorite console or game series, they mostly had to keep it to themselves (and anyone in earshot). This isn’t the case anymore. Anyone can go on a comment section to type out their absurdly fanatical views on the console wars, and have those validated by thousands of others who agree with them. Of course, there are also thousands that don’t, which leads to my next point.
• They encourage flaming. Most people aren’t content to simply downvote or ignore something they disagree with. They’ll often take the time to try to destroy that person’s soul via text. Granted, how much psychological stock that other person puts in that retort varies considerably, but either way this isn’t a positive practice.
• They allow all kinds of shoehorning. If someone is just waiting for their excuse to talk about the PS4 or Xbox One, a comment section will easily provide them that opportunity… even if the article itself had nothing to do with what they’re saying. It’s unfortunate, but very much true in a lot of cases.
• They give bad people an avenue to be bad people. If someone wants to be obnoxious to you on the internet, it’s quite easy for them to do so. Especially with integrated comment systems like Disqus (which we use), someone can follow another person around the web and be a douchebag.

What we’ve found works best on Pixelvolt is to maintain a thoroughly moderated comment system with opportunity to upvote and downvote posts. If you use foul language, add links and media, or just get into TL;DR territory, your comment goes in the moderation queue. This doesn’t mean the discussion is always productive and intelligent, but it helps. You’ll also see site editors and authors chime in on the regular; we feel this creates a dynamic atmosphere where our content creators are also content perusers. We’ll freely disagree with each other on editorials, but we also back each other up when needed. It’s a simple system and it works.

http://pixelvolt.com/2013/12/09/meta-on-meta-should-gaming-sites-have-comment-sections/