Comments are an integral part of new-media publishing. As bloggers and journalists, we're conversation starters, not just reporters, and we judge our success in part on the volume and quality of the conversations that our stories kick off.
We know that the comment system on Wired.com leaves something to be desired. It's too easy for spam to sneak in, trolls and fanboys can easily drown out intelligent conversation, and the system doesn't make it easy to follow a thread of arguments and counterarguments.
So, starting today, we're testing a new comment system on Gadget Lab that, we hope, will make the conversation easier and better.
It's powered by Disqus. If you have a Disqus account, you can log in using that; it will also let you log in using your Facebook or Twitter profile, if you'd like.
The new comments give you a few benefits:
- Threaded commenting for posting replies to specific comments
- A "Like" button so you can vote up the comments you think are the best
- Facebook and Twitter integration for sharing your comments on your Facebook or Twitter account
- A "Flag" button for reporting spammy or abusive comments
Bear with us while we test this out. Some older comments have disappeared: This is a bug, not deliberate censorship. We're working on it.
Also, the Disqus login is not synchronized with the Wired.com login yet, so you'll have to log in to Gadget Lab separately from the rest of the site. This is something we hope to fix if we roll this system out to other blogs here. In the meantime, I hope the benefits of the new system outweigh that inconvenience.
Let us know what you think of the new system: Post your comments below. Or, if it's just not working, send me e-mail at dtweney@wired.com.
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