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agsr

if you scroll through comment sections of many newspapers you you may find great value to engage, or be appalled by spam and low quality discussions.  In fact many media companies have disabled comments sections, and some like NY Times, provide a moderated comments experience.
There is an interesting debate on this topic athttp://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/04/18/have-comment-sections-on-news-media-websites-failed/get-rid-of-comment-sections

4 debaters presented their opinion in the opinion pages. Which one do you agree with the most, or a 5th option of using DebateIsland instead to debate news.

kakka_19928311

Reader engagement does matter. Although, Debateisland.com is the best option.

CYDdharta

Comments sections aren't for debates, they're for comments.  Debate is a discussion, not just a comment.  It's difficult to do that in a newspaper comments section.  That said, I don't believe the crackdown in papers like the NYT has as much to do with the comments that are being made as in trying to control content and catering only to their audience's point of view. 

agsr

CYDdharta,
i agree with you.  Given enormous amount of lengthy user comments in popular newspapers, people don't seem to target the right channel to voice their opinions. They should go to debate sites instead.

okdnk_10928

That's a great pointCYDharta and agsr. I completely agree.