NPR Website To Get Rid Of Comments (NPR, 8/17/16)

This has spurred much debate in media circles over the value of comments, particularly if they’re only appealing to and being used by a small percentage of an overall audience. Personally I understand where NPR is coming from on this topic, but anytime publishers of any kind discard on-domain conversation hosting they do the overall historical record a disservice. Those comments are, rightly or wrongly, part of the historical record and many of them add significant value to the story they’re left on. Removing them takes away from the story. Not only that, but it’s another instance of publishers outsourcing an important community management function to platforms they don’t control, which is never a good thing.

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Gawker.com is shutting down (Recode, 8/18/16)

You can take issue with some of Gawker’s approaches over the years and be absolutely right. They were not on the side of the angels every time out. But the idea that a billionaire can launch a crusade against a company and take the entire operation down, both the good and the bad, is truly frightening. This won’t end with Gawker.

New Ways to Control Your Experience on Twitter (Twitter Blog, 8/18/16)

I’m good with the separate Notifications tab for responses from people you don’t already follow, that makes a lot of sense. What I’m not so sure about is the comment about filtering by the quality of the account and such. That could lead some well-meaning individuals to never be heard because the filter doesn’t think their accounts are of sufficient merit, which stifles speech, not protect against hateful speech.