As I’ve suggested in my comments policy, one of the things that I’m hoping to achieve with this new site is a high standard of discussion; threads of genuine and serious debate where each comment builds on those before it. Conversation, be it face-to-face or online, does tend to wander off on tangents and stray off-topic, but an unfortunate side-effect of this on blogs is that comment threads often degenerate very quickly into several disparate conversations that bear little resemblance to the original post. New readers see no point in getting involved and those commenting gain little satisfaction from their efforts. Nobody really takes anything from the blog post.

One of the reasons that blogging is such an exciting activity is that there is amazing potential for everyone to benefit from a post: author and commenters. If both “sides” of the conversation are disciplined and work hard to use the comment threads as a place where people debate and expand on the ideas in the original post then the blog is a powerful tool.

But the discipline and hard work are, well, hard work. Commenters must resist getting distracted by unrelated tangents, they must ensure that comments build on previously-expressed ideas, and they must respect opposing opinions; blog owners must be firm but fair in their moderation. Egos are fragile and they must be protected. The process of encouraging respectful discussion can be painful for all involved but the results are surely worth it.

The Australian’s Jack the Insider recently made a decision to try and encourage a higher standard of discussion at his blog.

… I’m going to make one important new rule for this blog.

If I don’t think a comment adds to the debate, the comment will be deleted. That’s it. It’s a good rule when you think about it. Good for me, that is. The process is arbitrary, judgment capricious but that’s the way it goes, folks.

I don’t have to publish comments. Don’t mention free speech. It has nothing to do with that.

Harsh but fair? Totally justified? What are your thoughts on the process of encouraging a better standard of conversation on blogs? Let’s see if we can have a chat about it and prove a point at the same time.