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Kinda general question on AO3 comments
Jul. 15th, 2023 12:18 amSometime last winter, or possibly last year (time is meaningless) I mass-turned off non-logged-in AO3 comments due to an influx of spam. I had forgotten about this entirely until this week, and now I'm wondering ... do I want to turn them back on?
This is probably the wrong audience to ask, since most people here who comment on AO3 most likely have accounts. But I'm just seriously on the fence about it. On the one hand: some people who would like to comment will never be able to. And I do get nice comments from non-logged-in users! (Plus, AO3 has currently suspended new account creation, relating to the recent downtime.) But - flipside - it *does* stop most of the spam and trolling, and I *did* occasionally get spam and troll comments, so it's awfully nice not to deal with that.
The poll is obviously nonbinding and is really just a way for more people to weigh in on the question without having to comment. At this point I'm leaning towards leaving it off because it's the path of least resistance (I really hate messing around with the mass edit screen) but I'm curious if anyone has thoughts on this that I haven't considered, or if there's like, overwhelming opinion towards leaving them on or something like that.
This is probably the wrong audience to ask, since most people here who comment on AO3 most likely have accounts. But I'm just seriously on the fence about it. On the one hand: some people who would like to comment will never be able to. And I do get nice comments from non-logged-in users! (Plus, AO3 has currently suspended new account creation, relating to the recent downtime.) But - flipside - it *does* stop most of the spam and trolling, and I *did* occasionally get spam and troll comments, so it's awfully nice not to deal with that.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 71
Do you generally think allowing non-users to comment is a good idea?
View Answers
Yes, in general
29 (41.4%)
No, the benefits don't outweigh the problems
27 (38.6%)
Never thought about it/no opinion
12 (17.1%)
My opinions are too complex for your binary poll! (see comments)
2 (2.9%)
Would it benefit you personally, or someone you know, if I turn it back on?
View Answers
Yes
0 (0.0%)
No
48 (68.6%)
Not sure
9 (12.9%)
I would like a pony (i.e. no opinion)
13 (18.6%)
The poll is obviously nonbinding and is really just a way for more people to weigh in on the question without having to comment. At this point I'm leaning towards leaving it off because it's the path of least resistance (I really hate messing around with the mass edit screen) but I'm curious if anyone has thoughts on this that I haven't considered, or if there's like, overwhelming opinion towards leaving them on or something like that.