In the last year, the notorious law gossip website Above the Law eliminated its comment section entirely, since it had become an even more idiotic cesspool than previously.  During that same time, the Chronicle of Higher Education, after being quite hands-off with comment moderation, realized that was a disaster, and has started to moderate aggressively to produce substantive discussions.   Meanwhile, the Inside Higher Ed website, which always had some moderation, has gone the opposite route, becoming even more hands-off, with the predictable result:  its comment sections are increasingly sewers of ad hominem abuse, tangential ranting, and assorted nonsense consistent with the First Five Laws of Cyber-Dynamics.  I fear this is probably related to IHE's takeover by a private equity firm that invests heavily in for-profit colleges.  Comment sections, even appallingly stupid ones, generate traffic and interest.    Until they reform their practices, I am going to generally refrain from linking to them.  I would urge others with blogs to do the same.