Commenters: Barnacles on the Web 2.0 Whale?

Most people who write online for a living (or even just regularly for their own pleasure) will have their own story to tell regarding commenters, and usually it’s bad (though we here at FishbowlNY have no complaints! Mostly because our readers choose to forego the complicated(?) commenting system and write us directly…also, you’re all very nice.). Some examples: last month the NYT had to shut down the comments on Emily Gould’s Magazine cover story, Huffington Post is overwhelmed with over-the-top remarks, and we’ve known more than one blogger who’s closed the comments feature on their personal sites because the vitriol has gotten out of hand.