Comment sections might seem like public forums for random jokes, but they can be much more than that. Some comment sections might foster a sense of community and even belonging, creating spaces for people to “hang out” virtually with like-minded others.
A 2016 qualitative study of two British online newspapers found that people in the comment sections tend to form small imagined communities. The commenters, as the authors put it, “treat each other as identifiable individuals.” Essentially, even when they’re complete strangers, commenters feel they have something in common — the content they’re posting about.
When we add humor, the community-building aspect of comment sections becomes even stronger. The researchers posit that jokes in the comment section don’t work the same way they do in a typical setting. There’s no need for the classic set-up and punchline routine. “Comicality is humour derived from a context, situation, misunderstanding or other atypical setup,” they write. “It is not necessarily dependent upon overt joke telling, and thus is not dependent upon [there] being a punchline for the payoff.”
It’s true that comment sections can be breeding grounds for racism, sexism, and other kinds of problematic behaviors and rhetoric. After all, anonymity gives people free rein to say things no one will hold them accountable for in real life. This is why comment sections are almost obsolete in many publications, except on social media, of course. But some experts argue that community management is a major factor in people wanting to spend time on a page.
The comment section can be a useful tool for investigative journalism. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Fahrenthold often engages directly with his audience in the replies to his social media posts. When Fahrenthold was investigating Donald Trump’s campaign donations in 2016, he used information commenters shared on Twitter to conduct his investigation. He didn’t shy away from sharing his progress and even asked readers for tips.
Other publications have also adopted this style of open-source investigation, like the non-profit Bellingcat, The New York Times' Visual Investigations unit, the BBC, and Storyful.
Some commenters might be so devoted that they even become a part of a new outlet’s history. A dedicated commenter on Carolyn Hax’s advice column on the Washington Post was memorialized in an outlet’s publication after passing away. Other readers also celebrated her life and paid their respects in the place where they would always meet — the comment section.
In some cases, the comment sections might even become the place where recruiters find their next hires. This happened to Yoni Appelbaum, The Atlantic’s now-senior editor for politics, who was plucked out of the comment section and into the role of a guest writer for the outlet.
It all began with Appelbaum commenting on The Atlantic’s then-editor Ta-Nehisi Coates personal blog posts. Under the pseudonym Cynic, Appelbaum would debate the author on topics ranging from Alexis de Tocqueville to "Iron Man 2." As the conversations continued, Coates realized he had a talented writer on his hands, saying, “He was just like the master mold for what I would have wanted a commenter to be.”
So, Pandas, it seems like the comment section can be the perfect place to find community, sources for your journalistic investigation, and even a job! But what are your experiences with comment sections? Do you love them, or do you hate them? Tell us all about your feelings in the comments below! And if you’d like to see more funny comments, check out these compilations here and here!
