T’s the classic story about Jeff Bezos telling his team at Amazon he wanted “one-click ordering.” They came back to him with three-click ordering.
So he told them to come back when they had one-click ordering. They came back with two-click ordering.
So he told them again to stuff it, and build one-click ordering. Which they did. And it let them absolutely crush the online retail competition. Why? Because it’s one click.
Easy is good. Impossibly easy is something worth talking about.
The Seattle Times just implemented a new comment system that has a cool look to it, puts a comment count beside each username, and more importantly, lets users vote other comments up and down based on quality.
As a tech guy, I find it hard to get excited about comment innovations that happened five years ago. Don’t get me wrong—this is a big step forward for the Seattle Times, and being able to vote comments up or down is a really cool feature to have, but it’s a bit like upgrading to Windows XP.
Of course, that’s a bit ironic coming from me since the comment system on this blog is pretty rudimentary. But Automattic just bought IntenseDebate, and I imagine that new releases of WordPress are going to be integrated some of their advanced commenting features pretty soon.
But I digress. In the spirit of constructive criticism, here’s what’s wrong with the Seattle Times‘ new comment system:
- Users are required to register to comment
- You have to load a new page to leave a comment
- That new comment page doesn’t have the original article on it
- When you’re done commenting, it takes you to an empty landing page
- No threaded comments?
All this tells me one thing: the page view is more important than the reader experience to the Times. And that’s a problem.
The one-click ordering of comments is being able to comment without leaving the page (like you can on this one).
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Eat Sleep Publish is a Seattle-based blog that explores the difficulties and opportunities currently facing the publishing industry. 
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I have to disagree with you on one point: “Users are required to register to comment.”
I know the registration vs. no registration argument has been beaten to death and I know that no registration = more hits, but as far as “the reader experience” is concerned, I think registration is a good thing. Sure, it’s a bit of a hassle the first time through, but it lessens the frequency of “drive bys,” which I think is a big reward for the loyal, everyday readers of the Times.
Paul – You do have a good point. And I’ve said before that I think making people use an identity is important in reducing trolls, but there’s a difference between allowing anonymous comments and not requiring users to register.
I’m advocating for the latter, not the former.
Jason, how about giving IntenseDebate a try? We’ve got all the features you listed above covered.
We leave it up to the blog admin when it comes to allowing your readers to comment without having to create an IntenseDebate account. If you post a comment without creating an account you’re only required to enter a display name. However you can also include your email and URL.
Please email me at if you’re interested in testing out ID.
Commenting on most places is usually quite the effort. To entice audience interaction, it’s always going to be most important to remove any barriers at all to getting started.
No registration is the biggest thing. Remembering commenters is also important. Another key thing is giving the person a feeling of reward after posting, which may usually be specific to the website.
Good post, Jason.
Michael – Thanks for the offer. I’m currently planning to use the built-in WordPress system on Eat Sleep Publish because:
a) it’s simple
b) it has a great back-end control system
c) I have COMPLETE control over the data, and
d) I’m lazy
But if those change, I’ll take a look at IntenseDebate. Of course it might become moot if your system gets built into WordPress standard.
Daniel – Thanks!
That’s actually an excellent list of recommendations on comment systems. I try to respond to every comment that I can because it helps give that feeling of reward, and I want people to feel like their comments are appreciated (which they always are).
Maybe I should hit you up for an interview on the principles of a good comment system?