Comment by cmrdporcupine

I've got a spouse who works in marketing/communications who has spent the weekend working after hours moderating comments on posts about Pride events, and I was musing with her about this -- the days of comments being a thing at all, are numbered. As a means of getting engagement, it gets increasingly the wrong kind not just because of generative AI automation, but because being an asshole is now considered virtuous by many of our highest leaders and the masses are following.

What's the point in even having comments sections? The CBC here in Canada shut theirs off years ago and frankly the world is better for it. News articles are a swamp of garbage comments, generally.

The future of social engagement online is to go back to smaller, registration-required, moderated forums.