Civilization!

So as we've all noticed and lamented, internet commenting boards are a cesspool of non-discussion, flames and retarded gays. It seems all very well-intentioned to make your site "interactive" by adding a messageboard to your creative site, but I'm not sure I've ever seen it add much to a creative product I already enjoy.

Until now -- I just recently realized that the webcomic Achewood has quietly added a discreet "discuss" feature to the bottom of the strips. And when clicked upon it reveals a world of actual discussion. Sure, there's some arguments back and forth but oh my god, it's kinda crazy to see people responding in creative ways to each other. There's even a bit of mock discussion board fan fiction posted about halfway down. Now I know that there are tons of messageboards on the Interweb where this is the norm, but it's nice to see it come about as an extension of a simple "what do you think about this thing?" commenting function.

My favorite feature? That you can rate the comments as "chubbies" or "lames."