In both of ArchDaily's last two major website redesigns, one idea was central to our thinking: Mies van der Rohe's aphorism "less is more." These redesigns added new features, sure - but more importantly, they identified extraneous features on the site and removed them. Today, on February 9th 2017, we are removing one more feature that we no longer believe to be necessary on ArchDaily: comments on certain articles.
All comments previously left on our articles will still be visible, preserving the many positive contributions left by our readers over the years. But from today, we will be gradually shifting the discussion to social media, leaving comments open only on News and Editorial articles while the option to comment on Projects, Events, Competitions and Publications articles will be removed. Instead, we encourage readers to take part in the discussions happening on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or to get in touch through our contact form for direct feedback or substantive comments about our articles. Read on to understand the reasons behind our decision.
ArchDaily was born at the dawn of the Web 2.0, a great milestone for the internet, which enabled bi-directional communication between users and the web. Not only did it enable us to self-publish ArchDaily, but it created a space for architects to engage in enriching discussions.
This section of the website grew quickly, and it enabled architects from around the world to share ideas, to exchange information, to ask questions, to offer useful critique, and of course, to troll. And it became our (ever-growing) task to engage in and moderate discussions.
However, social networks and their capacity to host online discussion have surpassed any of the expectations we could have held 9 years ago, offering a new interactive space for the exchange of ideas and opinions. Along with this growth, we saw the slow decline in the quality and frequency of comments per post.
Today, we actively acknowledge that social networks are the place to discuss architecture, as we have seen on our Facebook page and other networks, where one’s online identity creates a more civilized atmosphere for discussion. As always, we will continue to adapt to the changes of the internet to deliver you inspiration and knowledge in the best way possible.
So goodbye comments - long live the comments!
