Interesting piece on negative comments in a comments thread (building upon discussions of trolling, etc.) – built upon the ‘broken windows’ theory – that one broken window/poor comment has the potential to bring the whole ‘area’ down…
Comment threads on web publications, especially when related to contentious stories, can become similarly heated, but the impact of disputes between two parties can be much more wide-ranging. The tone of reader engagement can lift or sully a digital publication enormously: affecting readers’ relationships with each other, the value of the published content, editorial ideas, editorial-reader relationships, commercial partnerships and website traffic.
Read full article (thanks to @ChirpyBirdy007 for sending), and also see these posts from Vicky Beeching and Tanya Marlow – and I’ve seen many other great posts in recent days!