I’ve been considering this for several months now. It’s the right thing to do for a variety of reasons. Keeping the comments section open reads as an invitation to engage with me, but I am rarely commenting back. I thought if I was persistent enough with my writing, if I put more effort into my way with words, that this blog could become what it once was (like the best sort of suburban neighborhood, with frequent visits from the supporting cast and reasoned interesting discourse between all participants). But the combination of an absentee host and a smaller cast of supporting characters has forced me to accept that things are different now.
Over the past six months though I’ve come to realize that preserving and owning my own space is more important to me than striking through the writing/commenting roadblocks. I don’t invite strangers into my home to comment on my choice of curtains or the cleanliness of my bathrooms, and I’m not sure it makes sense to do so with my writing either. No matter how kind or good-intentioned each of you may be, all but a select few are anonymous to me. We are strangers, and I would like to utilize other spaces to get to know each other, keeping That Wife as a space that showcases my views absent the influence of others. Imagine if the movie theatre screened a film with a running commentary from critics on the side. Your opinion of the film would forever be altered from the experience you may have had if the communication had been limited to the creators viewpoint. Or if a novel had footnotes on the bottom with corrections from readers, interrupting the immersive and reflective experience we enjoy when reading a good book.
Just as I was about to announce this, research came out showing how the comment section affects perceptions of content. The researchers deemed this the “nasty effect.”
We asked 1,183 participants to carefully read a news post on a fictitious blog, explaining the potential risks and benefits of a new technology product called nanosilver. These infinitesimal silver particles, tinier than 100-billionths of a meter in any dimension, have several potential benefits (like antibacterial properties) and risks (like water contamination), the online article reported.
Then we had participants read comments on the post, supposedly from other readers, and respond to questions regarding the content of the article itself.
Half of our sample was exposed to civil reader comments and the other half to rude ones — though the actual content, length and intensity of the comments, which varied from being supportive of the new technology to being wary of the risks, were consistent across both groups. The only difference was that the rude ones contained epithets or curse words, as in: “If you don’t see the benefits of using nanotechnology in these kinds of products, you’re an idiot” and “You’re stupid if you’re not thinking of the risks for the fish and other plants and animals in water tainted with silver.”
The results were both surprising and disturbing. Uncivil comments not only polarized readers, but they often changed a participant’s interpretation of the news story itself. - source
And let’s face it, I’m terrible at moderating. I struggle with defensiveness, I can’t figure out what to keep and what to eliminate, and inevitably I wind up getting emails from perfectly nice people who feel like they’ve been slighted. I enjoyed writing (almost/sorta) everyday in November. It felt nice to curl up in bed with my laptop and engage in a sort of writing therapy. I like looking back and seeing how I’ve grown and changed over the years (even if I am often embarrassed by things I’ve said in the past). I’m not sure exactly how often I’ll keep writing but I’m going to turn off comments for the next little while and see how I like it. Starting with this post :).
From here on out I’ll be interacting back and forth with people on Twitter, @jennacole. I would love to go back and forth with you in 140 characters on a given topic! I can do so from the stairmaster, during a work break, from the car, right before I go to bed. If you would like to leave a longer-form comment on a given post That Wife Blog’s Facebook page would be an excellent space to do so, which I will always read but may not reply to. I’m declaring email bankruptcy on a monthly basis so if I don’t respond to emails within that time frame you will need to resend if it is still relevant.
I guess I’ll hear from some of you on Twitter? Even if I don’t, you can continue to read what I have to say in this space. I’ve still got some writing muscles that need flexing.
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