I am going to get in real trouble here, because we haven't talked about this ourselves, in the back channel, and we believe in blogger solidarity.
But isn't it time to think about comments again? We love the email we get from people. Our readers are smart and funny and nice, and interesting.
We lied when we said we'd regularly take people's comments and make them into posts and responses. We don't do that, hardly ever.
So our readers don't get to see the thoughts other readers plant in our heads, or how they work their way through our ideas (or fail to resonate with us). Our readers don't know there are other readers out there.
I know you miss the feedback and challenge that you got from readers. And I think you don't miss all the angry oddballs who personally attacked you. I miss the sense of people reacting. I love the emails we get, but I assume (and wonder) about people who might be reading but not bothering to email. I wonder if our readers would enjoy one another.
I am much more likely to answer emails than I am to chime in with comments. If we open up comments, I'll read every one and almost never write anything back. I understand the model of comments as a conversation, and the role of blogger as facilitator, but I don't want to get into that, and I don't have the time for it. (Plus it's not fair to people who use feed readers.) Bloggers talk here in the posts, readers talk in the comments. I know you've always done it a different way, answering and participating and moderating comments to cultivate a vibrant and challenging conversation. Phew! I don't want that kind of responsibility, and maybe comments are no good if bloggers aren't vigilant about the rules and the tone.
Whaddya think? Is something missing without comments? Or is this better as a back-and-forth between two voices, with a friendly backchannel available by email? Readers, please email us your thoughts. Megan, scold me in public or in private. In public, probably. Well, wherever you want. I am ready.