What’s a writer without readers? That is to say, if I write a column in the forest and no one is there to post rude comments after it … did I even make a point?
Wired recently predicted the end of online comments sections, as Bloomberg, the Verge, the Daily Beast, and Motherboard have all eliminated the after-article comments features from their sites. I hope The Independent doesn’t follow suit. I often read the comments posted after my columns there to see what kinds of discussions are fueled, and if I’ve missed an important consideration in my thinking. Mostly, though, I find phrases like “giant turds” and “fat chicks” and comments like this one: “This is so stupid I could vomit.”
In the past year alone, anonymous commenters have called me a bitch, boob, creep, and “hysterically hateful feminist.” They’ve publicly speculated as to whether I’m trying to hide a weight problem, whether my marriage is falling apart, and what sort of lousy school system could dole out As to a child as dumb as mine must certainly be.