Do you think that having a comments section on a website is ever beneficial?

I've been mulling this over for a while, and I just can't think of a website where I think it really benefits from having a comment section. A forum section tends to be somewhat better, in that people are more likely to stick around, put some time into their replies, make jokes with other users they've become familiar with, and in general not just be mouthy assholes. I'm applying this to the Internet as a whole, not just Giant Bomb.

Comments on the other hand, promote making 1-2 sentence posts by their very nature, but unlike Twitter, there's no accountability. And since the only group of people who seem to have the time and interest to be on the Internet all the time are teenage boys who think they know everything, most comments sections just seem utterly worthless to me. Comment threads seem to devolve into name-calling between 14-year-olds at an alarming rate.

My overall point is that on just about any site I go to, whenever I look at the comments section, 99% of the comments make me think "Oh goddammit, you stupid, stupid people." Almost everybody acts like a petulant child, just shooting out a knee-jerk reaction, that I don't feel enriches the site or my personal interaction with it.

Not sure what exactly you mean.

It definitely isn't beneficial on EVERY page, but pages like a video or a picture I enjoy it on.

Not because it creates a "meaningful" discussion but because I am curious about other peoples opinions compared to my own.

If only everyone who ever gets the urge to say "first" or something similar could burn in a fire, it would be much better though.

No.

I'd like to discuss the news story....in the news story, weird no?

Unless you are talking about yahoo, i don't usually see bad comments propagated to the top.

No, and it's usually filled with a bunch of "first!", or "damn, I almost got the quest", followed by a bunch of one-liners about something that was already funny in the video. I rarely find "hmm, well this has me excited, but I'm still worried about ______", or "The presentation looks nice, and they seem to have improved the graphics side of their engine". In other words, it's almost all a bunch of junk.

I'm still trying to understand what you are getting at. You're okay with forums but don't see the point of comments sections elsewhere (like videos/articles)? Or have I misinterpreted you?

No. 99% of people spew absolute garbage.

Yes. Community involvement leads to people joining as members. The more members the stronger the community. The stronger the community, the more views a website has. For example, youtube.com

Yes but trolls are a small yet vocal minority....

Even when the posters (internet words!) attempt to write something constructive, they are often either incorrect or poorly written enough to be only vaguely better than the usual racist/sexist/pointless posts.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm referring to news sites, blogs, and other standard written media formats, NOT to Giant Bomb.

@JasonR86 said:

For example, youtube.com

...Which is why YouTube Options for Chrome is the first extension I install, and "Hide Comments" is the first box I check.

I think it goes both ways, and is hugely dependent upon the content the comment section is focused on. Though communities in gaming can vary, so you do get what you might consider a significant group variability of negative or positive. But comments centered on say a particular gaming console or an idolized franchise will be much different from more generalized or mutually shared subjects.

No, and it's usually filled with a bunch of "first!", or "damn, I almost got the quest", followed by a bunch of one-liners about something that was already funny in the video. I rarely find "hmm, well this has me excited, but I'm still worried about ______", or "The presentation looks nice, and they seem to have improved the graphics side of their engine". In other words, it's almost all a bunch of junk.

I love the comment section. That's where all the drama is. Who doesn't love internet drama?

@mlarrabee said:

Even when the posters (internet words!) attempt to write something constructive, they are often either incorrect or poorly written enough to be only vaguely better than the usual racist/sexist/pointless posts.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm referring to news sites, blogs, and other standard written media formats, NOT to Giant Bomb.

This is one of the things I was getting at. You're right on the money about most comments being "either incorrect or poorly written". I'd prefer a discussion involving tolerant, well-informed people, and hell, you sometimes barely get that from journalists themselves. The comments section of most websites reminds me that the majority of people in human civilization are pretty much those people that read [the newspaper in your country that every respectable person knows is a complete rag and sensationalizes everything] and think it's a great read.

I'd rather not be reminded of how depressing the human race is, if it can be avoided.

I love the comment section. That's where all the drama is. Who doesn't love internet drama?

They're funny, sometimes. That's good enough for me.

I'm of the idea that reviews just shouldn't have comment sections. Nothing good ever happens in them.

Yes. I want to hear what the average human has to say, and reading their comments on places like foxnews and youtube reassures my faith in humanity.

@Virago said:

Yes. I want to hear what the average human has to say, and reading their comments on places like foxnews and youtube reassures my faith in humanity.

You forgot the MSNBC newsvine comment section.

Totally unnecessary, even on this site. Go look at the comments for the recent MGS HD collection QL or the Ultimate MvC 3 one on here or Youtube. Go ahead, I dare you.

Would much rather have it than not.

@Claude said:

I love the comment section. That's where all the drama is. Who doesn't love internet drama?

Thank you. At least someone sees reason.

Witty, informed comments exist. Stupid, ignorant comments also exist.

Generally, the smarter the content is, the smarter the comments are.

I am at peace with that.

Yup.

If there were no comments section, readers would just find some other outlet to post the same thing. The comments section serves to gather those responses in a nice, tidy section where they can be safely quarantined from the rest of the site.

It all depends on how they are used, like on this site they are great.

Thanks for the interesting feedback, guys. The poll results were actually a lot closer than I expected.

I'm of the idea that reviews just shouldn't have comment sections. Nothing good ever happens in them.

On Youtube, never.

I find that fanboys and people with too high of an opinion usually comment on news and such. I try to avoid reading it because I know someone will be an idiot and kinda annoy me. (The worst was trying to watch anything MW3/BF3 related with the other side saying the other game sucks and how much this game was better.)

If in 100 comments there is one that is insightful I've still gained a little bit of insight so yes.

I enjoy reading the comments, they're interesting from time to time. 

You're just mad that some people are engaging in creepy hero-worship on QL videos. Just be honest.

I've never seen a truly constructive argument or criticism ever on a comments board for an article, review or video in my entire time on the internet. It's all "FIRST!" or "This article sucks, the writer blah blah blah". It's almost never "I respectfully disagree, here are my well laid out thoughts". It's always personal attacks too. The internet is full of savages.

Well if they don't have the comments section people would be emailing their complaints directly to the source, so I'm sure both sides would want a comments section. There is good mixed with the bad, people just have a tendency to remember the negatives more cause it pisses them off.

Giantbomb suffers a bit from "TGWTG-syndrom" sometimes, with some of our member being creepy oversensitive ninnies, but in general:
 
Yes, definitely. How else are you supposed to give feedback on a piece of content?

I can tell you when i go looking for Naruto Anime, i skip to the comments to see if anyone says filler, and if they do, i don't watch... Comments actually save ALOT of time.

Pro tip: Dont make a survey for open ended questions.

@NickL said:

Not sure what exactly you mean.

It definitely isn't beneficial on EVERY page, but pages like a video or a picture I enjoy it on.

Not because it creates a "meaningful" discussion but because I am curious about other peoples opinions compared to my own.

If only everyone who ever gets the urge to say "first" or something similar could burn in a fire, it would be much better though.

Yeah, I agree.

How would people find out how wrong the article was if I couldn't leave comments?

Yes, but at this stage I'm almost inclined to go with the herd and just do it through Facebook API's saves you messing about!