Comment Sections do not need to suck (maybe)

Recently I read the blog post Why Comment Sections suck – re:I want to comment on your blog post | Kami’s Corner. The article discusses the various problems of comment sections in blogs.

And actually, I wondered if a Fediverse-integration couldn’t address some of those issues:

  • Lack of ownership: Replies are under your own identity, especially if self-hosting.
  • Privacy issues: No ad tracking etc!
  • Inaccessible to non-users: Public content is viewable without an account, though replies still require joining.
  • Moderation burden: Each server handles its own moderation, reducing centralized overhead.
  • Shallow engagement: Encourages more thoughtful replies compared to typical comment sections.

Yet, the Fediverse is no silver bullet:

  • Low-quality: Trolls and low-quality replies still can and will very likely happen.
  • Ephemeral content: Posts and replies can still disappear without notice.
  • Technical weight: well, the fediverse integration doesn’t come for free – obviously
Fediverse Reactions

Comments

2 responses to “Comment Sections do not need to suck (maybe)”

  1. Readbeanicecream. Avatar

    Hi! This is the exact approach that I took. I have integrated mastodon posts/comments for each of my blog posts. You can see the implementation and the results here: http://readbeanicecream.surge.sh/2025/02/22/integrated-mastodon-comments/.

    So far, it’s working well for me and requires little overhead to manage.

    1. Franz Avatar
      Franz

      Yeah! awesome, Congratulations!

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