I partly agree with Jacobs that the architecture of online journals present problems for discussion of complex issues. This is because:
there are few hurdles in presenting such issues in one's entries; however
there are significant hurdles in discussing such issues via comments.
Comments are not very friendly because:
of the time lag when one does get a reply to one's comments;
of the lack of visual cues when one does not get a reply to one's comments.
Those times when you do get a reply, it is often delayed - perhaps a few days late. In order to prepare a counter, you will have to devote some time re-familiarizing yourself with the conversation thread. While this is not a problem for simple issues, it is hard for complex, technical ones.
And for those times when you do not get a reply, you do not know whether the person agrees with you or is rolling their eyes.
However, discussion via comments must not be entirely discounted - its indirect nature allows a friendlier way for (offline) introverted folks to express themselves.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Limits of an online journal
Date: 2009-02-10 04:01 pm (UTC)From:Comments are not very friendly because:
Those times when you do get a reply, it is often delayed - perhaps a few days late. In order to prepare a counter, you will have to devote some time re-familiarizing yourself with the conversation thread. While this is not a problem for simple issues, it is hard for complex, technical ones.
And for those times when you do not get a reply, you do not know whether the person agrees with you or is rolling their eyes.
However, discussion via comments must not be entirely discounted - its indirect nature allows a friendlier way for (offline) introverted folks to express themselves.