B sides

When I read an article online, I usually spend about twice as long reading the comments section as I do the original article. Partially this is because the sheer bulk of comments--nonsensical or otherwise--easily outweighs that of the article. But mostly I'm fascinated to read other people's arguments--again, nonsensical or otherwise--particularly when the parent article is an opinion piece or somehow controversial. An article, no matter how nuanced or multifaceted its arguments, is almost always a single monologue from a single writer's perspective, and I'm convinced that I learn more from the interdependent swarm of commenters who respond not only to the original article, but to each other's arguments.

I feel the same way about this blog: I think my most concise, coherent writing has actually been in response to your comments, since I have another person's ideas to (a) offer an alternative perspective and (b) give concrete objections on which to focus my thoughts. They're like B-sides: not as polished and audience-friendly as the featured tune, but often a better look into the artist's soul.

Based on the preceding, I've constructed a method for evaluating the quality of a website: instead of trying to judge the content directly, it's easier and more accurate to judge the quality of the discussion it generates. A site that inspires misspelled, all-caps ranting is likely to serve up marginal content, whereas comments thread with meaningful debate usually appear on sites with quality material. "Meaningful debate" is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but I've decided to rank five corners of the web according to this criteria, from worst to best:

5. Youtube

Youtube comments are perhaps the only compelling argument I've ever heard in favor of voluntary extinction. It's been argued (persuasively, I say) that it's impossible to post a comment on YouTube so stupid that people realize that you're kidding. Spelling and grammar are nonexistent, and any disagreement devolves immediately into name-calling. My only consolation is the assumption that mostly teenagers have the time and temperament to watch videos all day. Oh, I hope.

4. Ordinary news outlets (CNN, NYT, MSNBC)

Comments here aren't terrible. By the mass-appeal nature and easy controversy of news sites, comments tend towards angry posts telling people to "wake up" and "stop drinking kool-aid". But there are usually enough calm, reasonable comments to steady my wavering faith in humanity.

3. Online "magazines" (Slate, The Economist, etc.)

Comments here are often quite good. Magazines tend to cater to a somewhat niche audience--often a particular portion of the political spectrum--and the general readership is well-informed, articulate, and capable of quality debate. The biggest drawback is homogeneity: the vast majority of commenters comes from the appropriate political niche, and so the minority opposition feels the need to comment both loudly and inarticulately. Reading comments on Slate (respectively The Economist) therefore gives the impression that conservatives (respectively Keynesians) are ignorant screamers, which isn't good for leveling one's biases.

2. AV Club

The Onion's sister site is not a joke, but its commenters are very, very funny. They are also mean, crude, and pretentious. Funny trumps nice, however (and anyways, AV Club posters expect to be ridiculed--it's an understood part of the fun), so I give the AV Club a hearty recommendation.

1. Wikipedia

Whenever I encounter a Wikipedia naysayer, I invite them to check out the talk pages behind the articles they read. First, the comments there are the best possible way to discern the quality of an article--of course there are bad articles on Wikipedia, but an article with lots of discussion has probably been pored over, its content verified, and its controversial sections moderated by compromise. Second, talk page debates are fascinating examples of quality argument. While debates occasionally degenerate into personal attacks and edit wars, contributers--for no compensation other than (semi-)professional pride--typically succeed in finding common ground, achieving consensus, and turning out a reasonable article. It's a soul-sustaining specimen of human dignity.

Conclusion and obvious subtext: comments here are encouraged!