Voices in the Feminine - Digital Delights

"I’ve been blogging for a very, very long time now, and in doing so I have found incredible support online — found myself part of many intellectual, personal, and professional communities. But the “community” — that is, the commenters and my interactions with them — on my early personal blogs was quite different than what exists on most the technology blogs I’ve since worked and written for. More often, it’s not “community” at all.

And as Hack Education has gained a larger readership, the commenters have become more like the latter (like tech sites) than the former. Yet, Hack Education remains my personal (albeit education-focused) blog. It’s just me here. No other staff. No “social media editor.” No “community manager.” That makes the comments — particularly the hostile ones — harder to deal with.

It’s become increasingly clear to me that I am not building any sort of community through the comments on this site. If nothing else, I just don’t have the time (or the stomach) to moderate and respond. And moderation of comments is absolutely necessary.

That’s not to say I don’t believe in engaging with my readers and my peers and my friends and my colleagues online. That’s not to say I don’t believe in engaging with my critics. That’s not to say I’m uninterested in hearing feedback (or copy-editing) on my stories. But blog comments just aren’t the place that this is happening."