I am getting an increasing number of comments, nearly all of them critical, posted to old comment threads where there has not been any activity for a while. For critical comments on active threads, I usually don't need to respond because the regular commenters here will point out where the criticism goes awry (if it does, and it usually does). For an old thread, though, the regulars will not see it, but it is there on our blog and needs to be addressed, taking up time.
If the blog software had the capability, I would close threads to comments automatically after a week of inactivity. Since it does not, I will generally close a stale thread to further comments after answering (or sometimes not publishing) such a comment.
If the blog software had the capability, I would close threads to comments automatically after a week of inactivity. Since it does not, I will generally close a stale thread to further comments after answering (or sometimes not publishing) such a comment.
An excellent idea. My experience is that entries and associated comments have maybe a three to five day shelf life, then time moves on.
This is an excellent debate forum, and important topics for debate can be carried forward in new entries. But after a time, comment threads just become too long and too old to be of general interest to readers, and thus should come to an end.