I hated the comments section when I worked for a news outlet. I have said if you want to feel like the smartest person alive, read the comments on the website of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. If aliens arrived, and saw only the comments section of our news sites, they would think we’re idiots.

In a word, I would describe commenters as angry. They seem to use the comments section to voice frustrations and say things they would never say “in real life.” 

Nonetheless, my friend (oh, and she’s an outstanding journalist) Sam Liss posted a link to a story in one of Patch’s sites in the Chicago area. A man was killed in an auto accident, but one of the commenters, Joan, wanted his family to know he did not die alone. It’s really worth your time to check out.

For every story like this, I have seen hundreds where commenters are racist, sexist, ect. And while they still make me shake my head, stories like this one make the comments section worth the trouble.