“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”

Harlan Ellison

If I could redesign the Internet, the first thing I would do is remove the comment section from everywhere.

This would also eliminate social media, which after ten years of watching it develop, has turned into nothing more than gossip tunnels and breeding grounds for stupidity. Perhaps it’s just me getting old, but I’m tired of the endless chatter that serves no purpose than to fill the boredom in people’s lives.

Seeing the occasional update, some recent photos—sure, that’s great to see.

“I spilled cereal on the table and now there’s milk in the shape of an arc. LOL” —no.

Stop. Just stop.

News sites have already figured out adding a comments section to their stories will keep people glued to their site for a few more minutes because people love a parade of drama. It’s also the reason they’ve changed their writing style online to incite rage among the mass audience.

The only place I’ve seen it done right are invitation only forums. Everyone is allowed to read, but only select people are allowed to post. The worldview may not be as wide by allowing anyone to automatically post, but you can almost be assured it has depth.

The comment section is the mud puddle that still lingers the day after it rains. It’s the person at the party you got stuck talking to before realizing why no one else would go near them.

It’s the place that empties you even more than mindless browsing.

There are better ways to fill your life.