Should I leave a comment on TED.com? A commenting manifesto

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You’ve just watched a TED Talk, and now you have some thoughts — about the subject, about the speaker, about life.

In the world of TED ideas, those reflections and reactions are some of our most important resources. Yet, for every 1,000 views on TED.com, only 1 viewer writes a comment in the space below the video. Perhaps the other 999 viewers had nothing to say? Somehow we doubt it.

What can a great talk comment do? It can provide more information, suggest an argument to the contrary, explain a personal connection to the subject matter — among other things. (See some of our favorite comments of 2012.) It’s also a great way to help us understand the impact that individual talks are having: A video share tells us it interested you, but a comment can tell us why.

If you’d like to start commenting, we’d love to hear from you! But before you hit submit, we’d like to let you in on a little-known secret: We do enforce the TED.com Terms of Use for comments. To guarantee that your comment will find a permanent home on the site, please keep in mind these three basic guidelines.

1. Civility. All the bold font in the world couldn’t stress this one enough. If you have even a nagging suspicion that your comment will come off as nasty and sarcastic, it probably will. We understand that some talks inspire very strong emotions, but a polite, well-worded argument communicates more effectively than rudeness — any day.

If your comment crosses the line, our moderation team will remove it and send you an email. Don’t be discouraged — just take a step back and try again. We’re not out to get you; we’re just trying to keep the discussion respectful. If you want more information, we’re always happy to talk to you about what did and didn’t work.

2. Substance. Whether you’re lavishing praise or expressing your disagreement, the more specific the better. The best comments, both negative and positive, are those which add new levels of meaning to the talk. If possible, please try to limit the number of posts you leave on a single talk — a large number of comments from one person can be mistaken for spam.

And, of course, comments should be about the talk itself. If a TED Talk has inspired you to discuss a different but related topic, you can start a TED Conversation and let others know by tagging the talk.

3. Style. Natural writer or not, native English speaker or not, please take a moment to proofread. If you’re more comfortable leaving the comment in a different language, go right ahead! We want to make sure that comments reflect the very best of the commenter, and that others who read your comment know just what you’re saying.

So, should you leave a comment on TED.com? Yes, please! We would love to hear what you have to say, and the same goes for our speakers. Our commenting system isn’t perfect — heck, no website’s is — but with your help, we can continue to build a thought-provoking collection of member-submitted ideas, critiques, and stories around each TED Talk.

You can contact conversations@ted.com with feedback and suggestions. Happy commenting!

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A comment on Szasz

One of the most interesting commentaries I’ve ever read on Thomas Szasz, the long-time critic of psychiatry who recently passed away, has been left as a comment in the obituary we recently published.

The comment is by ‘Aporeticist’ and he or she is clearly a fierce critic of modern psychiatry (to the point of indulging in sweeping generalisations at times) but the analysis of Szasz is remarkably insightful and cuts to the core of both his triumphs and failings.

Many of Szasz’s early critics have over the years quietly come around to some of his basic views. (Karl Menninger was one of his colleagues who acknowledged his change of heart.) The notion that the great majority of people with mental illness should never be hospitalized against their will (even when they are troublesome to those around them) has become common sense. It remains one of the great injustices of history that the psychiatric establishment continues to refuse to credit Szasz with being the first member of his profession who, in the mid 1960s, stated on record — against the unanimous opinion of his colleagues — the revolutionary contention that homosexuality was not a disease, and that it didn’t warrant “treatment” of any kind.

The classical liberal notion of “live and let live” resonates closely with the “first, do no harm” of the Hippocratic Oath that Thomas Szasz took as a young medical doctor. For better or worse, Szasz remained consistently faithful to these principles of negative freedom his whole life. Those, however, who believe that, as individuals and as a society, we have a moral obligation to (somehow) assist the mentally ill even when they don’t reach out for support, would regard Szasz’s characterization of psychiatric paternalism as “cruel compassion” as equally descriptive of his own apparent lack of concern for the welfare of those labelled mentally ill. Szasz tirelessly defended the autonomy of even the most severely disturbed mental patients (so long as they didn’t violate the law), yet seemed to care little whether they live or die if no one infringed on their sacred negative rights.

Recommended. Thanks Aporeticist.

Link to commentary on Szasz’s legacy by Aporeticist.

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