Isn`t Inviting Comments Inviting Trouble? - Inviting Spite
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Spammers aren’t the only ones who might abuse your content comment feature. Remember that the Internet is open to everyone, and so is your comments section. No matter what sort of content you feature on your site, at some point someone is going to disagree with those words.
When you invite comments to your pages, you may be inviting spite as well. Because the Internet provides anonymity, many users feel comfortable leaving comments that can be quite difficult for others to read. Those who write the content may become greatly discouraged by comments with a more negative connotation, and it can turn traffic off your site and prevent others from engaging in the discussion. These critical comments can change the tone of content and of user interaction.

The above tame examples barely display the amount of negativity a seemingly simple piece of content can produce. Some commenters will leave replies filled with offensive language and themes; some may even insult the writer of the piece or the entire site itself. In some cases, the negative comments will outweigh the positive responses.
This can be disheartening, to say the least. Regular content contributors may shy away from adding new material for fear of the comments it could provoke. This obviously does little to help your site. It’s also no good to have wildly offensive or language-inappropriate comments on your site. Even if you did not write these comments, they are on your site and this can give all the pages an unsavory reputation.
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