Inspired by recent research and design interventions this project proposes a new system of "live reading" to replace traditional comments sections.

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Participation
After
Publishing
Moving Readers Out of the The Comments
Zoe Middleton
The New School for Public Engagement
Summer 2016

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Table of Contents / page 2
Fast Facts / page 3
Framing the Comments / page 4
The Problem / page 5
Design Questions / page 6
The Idea / page 8
Design Inspiration / page 9
How It Works / page 12
Why It Works / page 14
Reading List / page 16
Bibliography / page 17
Table of
Contents

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According to a study at the University of Texas,
78% of Americans have read an online comment.
Thatsamestudyindicatedthat 55%ofAmericanshave
left a comment online.1
A Pew poll found that roughly 25% of Internet users
have posted comments anonymously. 2
Fast Facts
1 Wang, Shan. “Who Is Posting Comments On News Stories, And Why Do They Do It?”. Nieman Lab.
N.p., 2016. Web.
2 Konnikova, Maria. “The Psychology Of Online Comments - The New Yorker”. The New Yorker. N.p.,
2013. Web.

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Over the course of my research, comments
were characterized in a variety of ways.
Here are some of the ways authors, users,
and researchers framed the comments:
Framing the
Comments
Early Social Media
Obsolete
Haven for Internet Trolls
Ruinining the Internet
Hard to Manage
Conversational
A dialogue between publisher and reader
Experiment in the limits of free speech online

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If comments are so popular, why get rid of them?
Comments are popular, but they aren’t the best
measurement of engagement nor do they represent the kind
of civil discussion publishers hope to inspire. What’s more
already over-burdened newsrooms are
spending precious resources to monitor the comments for spam
and hate speech.
Some publishers such as Scientific American have done away with
comments entirely while other outlets like CNN and the Guardian
pick and choose which articles and
topics to allow comments on.
I wanted to design and prototype a third way - something that
rejected the status quo in commenting, but didn’t altogether
eliminate interaction.
The Problem

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Design
Questions
1. How might an online publisher
re-design the commenting
experience to be more
substantive, participatory and
welcoming for their audience
members?

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2. How might an online publisher
(re)inject the vibrancy of social
media comments on news stories
into the comments section of their
site?
Design
Questions

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The Idea
A collapsible “live-reading” system in which
users highlight, make annotations, and learn what other
readers are thinking.
This system borrows from the phenomenon of live-tweeting
whereanaudienceisactivelyengagedinanongoingevent. In
this case, the “event” is the text and users have a few options
for how they can engage (publicly or privately, highlighting or
annotating).
Designfunctionslikehighlightingandannotatingareinspired
by a variety of approaches to comments section in recent
years, most notably by Medium and Quartz.

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Design Inspiration
Inspiration #1
The excitement, sociality and fun of live-tweeting and
threaded conversations.

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Design Inspiration
Inspiration #2
Textual analysis functions like highlighting and
annotatingthatinspiremorethoughtfulcommentary.
Medium’s highlighting feature
Quartz’s annotation system

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Design Inspiration
Inspiration #3
Non-textual options for responding to content.
Facebook’s reaction buttons
GIPHY’s Reaction Search Feature
Voice Memo widget

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ForreaderstoparticipatetheymustbeloggedinnativelyorviaFace-
book/Twitter.
Participating does not share any of their commentary directly to their
social media sites or flood their timelines/feeds. That feature must be
turned on by selecting ‘public commenting’ in sharing settings.
Alongside the story is a collapsible “live feed” of other readers
comments with the most recent at the top.
To participate with the story readers simply tap/click on an
unobtrusive icon that opens a text box. A hashtag relevant to the story
is already in the box.
Of course, readers on the Internet don’t “speak” solely in sentences.
A range of plug-ins can be added - including a GIPHY “keyboard”.
How It Works

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Users can respond to one another in the feed.
To interact with a particular claim or piece of the story users can high-
light in two ways - one color to disagree/question and another to pull
quote - similar to Medium’s feature.
Reporters and editors can interact as much as they like to respond to
readers and answer questions.
Reporters and editors can hold “office hours” on a particular piece,
similar to a Twitter chat.
Please take time to view the quick wireflow frame I’ve
developed at the shareable link below.
https://www.fluidui.com/editor/live/preview/p_JW0T3dPIAXbloIFvQHF-
d4grzsgq
How It Works
continued

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Why It Works
Accountability
Users identities are more easily verifiable, linking to social
media accounts holds users accountable for their contribu-
tions (fewer incidents of hate speech, anonymous trolls etc).
Engagement
Editors and journalists are able to contribute to the “afterlife”
of a story more easily - clarifying questions, engaging with
dissenting interpretations, and so on.
Linking to social media also provides additional data to
publishers about who their most active readers are.
W
c

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Why It Works
continued
Quasi-Customizable
Allows users to interact with journalism on their terms.
Not everyone wants to leave a public comment.
Not everyone wants to type their contribution.
Fun
The “live-reading” element re-injects a sociality and
excitement into the act of reading itself rather than
saving participation for a hit-or-miss comments section.

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Reading List
The Dark Side of Guardian Comments - The Guardian
Online’s ‘nasty effect’ - LA Times, Op-Ed
Comments are Making the Internet Worse So I Got Rid of Them - Washington Post
A Brief History of the Demise of the Comments - Wired
The Psychology of Online Comments - The New Yorker
More than a Decade In and Internet Comments Continue to be Terrible - The Atlantic
New York Times Overhauls Comment System Grants Privleges to Trusted Readers - Poytner
Who Is Posting Comments on News Stories and Why do they Do It? - Niemann Lab
What happened after 7 news sites got rid of reader comments - Niemann Lab
Here are some of the best and most interesting ideas from The Guardian’s comments-focu-
sed hack day - Niemann Lab
Goodbye Comments, Hello Conversations - Medium
If Your Website is Full of Assholes, It’s Your Fault - Anil Dash

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Bibliography
Bilton, Ricardo. “Here Are Some Of The Best And Most Interesting Ideas From The Guardian’S Comments-Focused
Hack Day”. Nieman Lab. N.p., 2016. Web.
Burgos, Pedro. “Goodbye Comments. Hello, “Conversations””. Medium - Pedro Burgos. N.p., 2015. Web.
Dash, Anil. “If Your Website Is Full Of Assholes, It’s Your Fault”. Anil Dash: A Blog About Making Culture. N.p., 2011.
Web
Daum, Meghan. “Online’s Nasty Effect”. The Los Angeles Times 2013: n. pag. Web.
Ellis, Justin. “What Happened After 7 News Sites Got Rid Of Reader Comments”. Nieman Lab. N.p., 2015. Web.
Finley, Klint. “A Brief History Of The End Of The Comments”. WIRED. N.p., 2015.
Gardiner, Becky et al. “The Dark Side Of Guardian Comments”. The Guardian 2016. Web.
Konnikova, Maria. “The Psychology Of Online Comments - The New Yorker”. The New Yorker. N.p., 2013. Web.
Lat, David. “Comments Are Making The Internet Worse. So We Got Rid Of Them.”. The Washington Post 2016. Web.
McBride, Kelly and Tom Rosenstiel. The New Ethics Of Journalism. Print.
Rosen, Rebecca. “More Than A Decade In, And Internet Comments Continue To Be Terrible”. The Atlantic. N.p., 2011.
Web.
Sonderman, Jeff. “New York Times Overhauls Comment System, Grants Privileges To Trusted Readers”. Poynter. N.p.,
2011. Web.
Wang, Shan. “Who Is Posting Comments On News Stories, And Why Do They Do It?”. Nieman Lab. N.p., 2016. Web.

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