Hey folks! 👋
As of a few days ago, we turned off comments on all our posts. There are many reasons for this change, but the main one is simple.
Comments on all major blogging platforms have, essentially, become totally hijacked by nefarious actors. These actors seek to flood websites with advertising backlinks or other nonsensical content unrelated to that of the website on which they comment. In a word: spam. There are, of course, ways to block or mark these spammy contributions but we simply don’t have the time or financial resources to maintain that system, especially for a feature that becomes less and less relevant to us as discussion moves to social media platforms.
We were also motivated by the sentiments expressed by Popbitch that comment sections are, more often than not in 2019, sites of nasty—and frankly, deplorable—behaviour and conduct. We have not experienced this ourselves on Eurovision NZ, but we have no interest in finding out we if we will. And history suggests that, had we not taken this step, we would have.
To that end, farewell comment section. If you have something healthy and, ultimately, kind to say to us or someone else in relation to on article we’ve written, we would still love to hear from you on Twitter. There’ll be a Tweet for every piece we put out.
However, with the intent to not simply transfer the vile of comment section to Twitter (which is quickly cornering the market of Internet vileness), we do not invite those with nothing helpful to say to contribute to our Twitter discussion. And, if you do, we’ll just quietly take steps to force you away.
Eurovision is about love, kindness, acceptance, and fun. Not words you would associate with internet comments. So, as far as we have a say on things, off they go into the annals of history.
Now, back to the music!
