Someone on some blog somewhere was whinging about the Guardian's Comment is free section - how it's filled with tripe, how you always get the same old knee-jerk reactions from the regulars, etc. etc. Which may be partially true - certainly when it comes to the more tribal issues such as politics and football.
And currently the front page has a broken image, so you can't see this wonderful Martin Rowson cartoon in its full glory.
But occasionally you read such wonderful comment threads as this one here on Doctor Who and the gay community. Or this one here on the Evening Times' website about how Glasgow City council are sticking "cancelled" stickers on fly-posted gig ads - look out for posts by "JH, Glasgow", who appears to be a real actual council worker tickled pink that people on the Internet are talking about their cunning schemes.
(As an aside, I found out about what my local council was up to, and the comment thread on the Evening Times' website, by reading a US-based Internet blog's most recent post in my automatic RSS feed reader. I love the 21st century. I'm not the only one.)
So the thing is: if I read something on Comment is Free, or some other website which allows comments, and the comments thread gets silly, trite, boring, insulting, or otherwise not my time, I'll just close that tab and move on. But if I see a news article that doesn't allow comments - like much of the rest of the Guardian - now that is a wasted opportunity.
