Time was when writers wrote and readers read, and that was it. But now everyone can have their say online
Below the line. Three words guaranteed to have struck fear into Guardian writers at some point in their careers. Before the arrival of Comment is Free, writers had a very straightforward dare I say, satisfactory relationship with their readers. The writers wrote and the readers read. Occasionally a letter would arrive several days after an article appeared usually to point out an error, though sometimes to congratulate but for the most part there was silence. A silence into which anything could be read: a silence that writers for the most part interpreted as a sign that the article they had written was indeed the best thing to have appeared in the newspaper for some months.
Comment is Free put an end to that particular illusion. It turned out that some readers thought the articles were completely ill-informed and the writers catatonically stupid. Did xxx really get paid to write this? is a familiar below the line leitmotif. This is not a line of argument any writers really want drawn to their bosss attention. Unsurprisingly, it took time for writers to learn how to engage with commenters. Some chose, and still choose, to ignore them and make a point of never responding; others chose to get stuck in.
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