It's much better that commenting is open, so that people thinking these things can express themselves, and be exposed to different viewpoints, resulting in more thinking and shared knowledge.
Without that, an opinion can fester in someone's mind, becoming worse since there's no way to release it and no visible counterarguments.
In my younger Slashdot days, I would read these polarized discussions, and it taught me about many perspectives on even the simplest thing.
> In my younger Slashdot days, I would read these polarized discussions, and it taught me about many perspectives on even the simplest thing.
I know precisely what you mean, but I'd argue that you were in a position to consider multiple perspectives in the first place. A lot of people are not. They have determined their position ahead of time, and regardless of new information, they will not change it.
This. Long forum flame wars taught me a lot about the subjects bur also about discourse as such. These days the top comments are quickly moderated, like they have been here, and the only thing you are left with is headless conversations about how shallow takes are bad - without having an opportunity to react with said supposed shallow takes for youself.
Without that, an opinion can fester in someone's mind, becoming worse since there's no way to release it and no visible counterarguments.
In my younger Slashdot days, I would read these polarized discussions, and it taught me about many perspectives on even the simplest thing.