Contained in:
Book Chapter

Do user comments belong to journalistic articles? A brief visual history of user interaction on selected German and American news websites 1996–2024

  • Johannes Paßmann
  • Martina Schories
  • Paul Heinicker

The chapter reconstructs a brief history of online commenting, based on the position comments have to journalistic articles on news websites. Its key assumption is derived from paratext theory: Changes in spatial and temporal proximity of texts in the periphery of a main text––such as comments on the same web page as a journalistic article as compared to posts in a separate forum––indicate controversies over relevance of participants in a public discourse. Studying transformations of online comments is thus considered an access point to studying histories of public spheres. With help of a software the authors and colleagues developed, changes in commenting sections are traced and visualized. These changes are detected in a data sample of archived web pages provided by the Internet Archive.

  • Keywords:
  • commenting,
  • web archive,
  • paratext,
  • news websites,
  • user comments,
+ Show More

Johannes Paßmann

Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany - ORCID: 0000-0002-2822-6082

Martina Schories

Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany - ORCID: 0009-0003-1322-5356

Paul Heinicker

Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany - ORCID: 0009-0001-7695-974X

  1. augsburger-allgemeine.de. 2001. “Foren. Meinungsaustausch bei Ihrer Augsburger Allgemeinen Zeitung.” December 23, 2001. <http://web.archive.org/web/20011223234743/http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/Portal/start?pagename=index&sptnid=984043348689>
  2. augsburger-allgemeine.de. 2008. “550 Briefe: Wirtschaft Protestiert Gegen Stillstand Bei A-8-Ausbau.” May 2, 2008. <https://web.archive.org/web/20080502222146/http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/Home/Nachrichten/Bayern/Artikel,-Wirtschaft-protestiert-gegen-Stillstand-bei-A-8-Ausbau-_arid,1216708_regid,2_puid,2_pageid,4289.html#kommentar>
  3. augsburger-allgemeine.de. 2010. “Nachrichten Augsburg Bayern.” October 31, 2010.<https://web.archive.org/web/20101031130140/http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/Home/Nachrichten/Startseite/regid,2_puid,2_pageid,4288.html>
  4. Böhnke, Alexander. Paratexte Des Films: Über Die Grenzen Des Filmischen Universums. transcript Verlag, 2007. DOI: 10.1515/9783839406076
  5. Bourdieu, Pierre. 1990. “The Logic of Practice“. Translated by Richard Nice. Stanford/CA: Stanford University Press.
  6. Brügger, Niels. 2008. “The Archived Website and Website Philology“. Nordicom Review 29 (2): 155–75. DOI: 10.1515/nor-2017-0183
  7. Brügger, Niels. 2018. “The Archived Web: Doing History in the Digital Age“. Cambridge (Mass.): The MIT Press.
  8. Consalvo, Mia. 2017. “When Paratexts Become Texts: De-Centering the Game-as-Text“. Critical Studies in Media Communication 34 (2): 177–83. DOI: 10.1080/15295036.2017.1304648
  9. Dembeck, Till. 2007. “Texte rahmen“. Grenzregionen literarischer Werke im 18. Jahrhundert (Gottsched, Wieland, Moritz, Jean Paul). Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. DOI: 10.1515/9783110975123
  10. de.wikipedia.org. 2024. “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.” In Wikipedia. <https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frankfurter_Allgemeine_Zeitung&oldid=242340528#Publizistische_Ableger>
  11. faz.net. 1997. “Frankfurter Allgemeine Online.” 1997. <http://web.archive.org/web/19970126031017/http://www.faz.de/>
  12. faz.net. 2001. “F.A.Z. Aktuelle Ausgabe.” 2001. <http://web.archive.org/web/20010309172354/http://www.faz.de/IN/INtemplates/faznet/default.asp?tpl=faz/overview.asp&rub=%7b7113DBFA-05D2-4BA6-94AC-23EE31EEE75B%7d>
  13. faz.net. 2002. “Foren.” January 24, 2002. <http://web.archive.org/web/20020124115715/http://www.faz.net/IN/INtemplates/faznet/default.asp?tpl=forum/forum_overview.asp&rub=%7bEEA0DD83-6AE7-47c6-B146-75E5A5F54FB6%7d>
  14. faz.net. 2005. “Aktuell.” June 14, 2005. <https://web.archive.org/web/20050614234631/http://www.faz.net/s/homepage.html>
  15. faz.net. 2011. “Die F.A.Z. Im Internet: Übersichtlich, Meinungsstark Und Diskussionsfreudig.” October 4, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111004121255/http://www.faz.net/aktuell/die-f-a-z-im-internet-uebersichtlich-meinungsstark-und-diskussionsfreudig-11447692.html.
  16. faz.net. 2014. “Janukowitschs Macht Zerbröselt: Flucht Aus Kiew.” 2014. <http://web.archive.org/web/20140529155827/http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/janukowitschs-macht-zerbroeselt-flucht-aus-kiew-12815733.html>
  17. Genette, Gerard. 1997. “Palimpsests: Literature in the Second Degree“. Translated by Channa Newman and Claude Doubinsky. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
  18. Genette, Gerard. 2010. “Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation“. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  19. Gillespie, Tarleton. 2018. “Custodians of the Internet: Platforms, Content Moderation, and the Hidden Decisions That Shape Social Media“. New Haven: Yale University Press.
  20. Goffman, Erving. 1986. “Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience“. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
  21. Hediger, Vinzenz. 2004. “Trailer online. Der Hypertext als Paratext“. Oder: Das Internet als Vorhof des Films. In Paratexte in Literatur, Film, Fernsehen, edited by Klaus Kreimeier and Georg Stanitzek, 283–99. Berlin: Akademie Verlag.
  22. Jones, Steven E., and George K. Thiruvathukal. 2012. “Codename Revolution: The Nintendo Wii Platform“. Cambridge (Mass.): The MIT Press.
  23. Kiechle, Oliver. “Ein gespaltenes Netz? – Das Usenet der 1980er-Jahre zwischen Regulierung und Anarchie.” In Zur Geschichte des digitalen Zeitalters, edited by Ricky Wichum and Daniela Zetti, 125–42. Geschichte des digitalen Zeitalters. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2022. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-658-34506-8_7
  24. latimes.com. 1996. “Los Angeles Times Speak Out.” December 23, 1996. <http://web.archive.org/web/19961223084507/http://www.latimes.com:80/HOME/SPEAKOUT/>
  25. latimes.com. 1997. “Los Angeles Times Discussions.” August 5, 1997. <http://web.archive.org/web/19970805154359/http://www.latimes.com:80/HOME/DISCUSS/>
  26. Latour, Bruno. 2005. “Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory“. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  27. McLuhan, Marshall. 1994. “Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man“. Edited by Lewis H. Lapham. Cambridge (Mass.): The MIT Press.
  28. nyt.com. 1996. “The New York Times on the Web.” December 19, 1996. <https://web.archive.org/web/19961219002950/http://www.nytimes.com/>
  29. nyt.com. 2009. “When Bonus Contracts Can Be Broken - Room for Debate Blog.” March 21, 2009. <https://web.archive.org/web/20090321143730/http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/when-bonus-contracts-can-be-broken/#comments>
  30. nyt.com. 2010a. “Editorial - Thinking About a New Haiti.” February 6, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100206054052/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/opinion/01mon1.html.
  31. nyt.com. 2010b. “Thinking About a New Haiti - Readers’ Comments.” February 6, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100206062634/http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/opinion/01mon1.html.
  32. nyt.com. 2016a. “Comments.” April 3, 2016. <https://web.archive.org/web/20160403071334/http://www.nytimes.com/content/help/site/usercontent/usercontent.html>
  33. nyt.com. 2016b. “Hillary Clinton Denounces the ‘Alt-Right,’ and the Alt-Right Is Thrilled.” September 1, 2016. <https://web.archive.org/web/20160901001117/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/us/politics/alt-right-reaction.html>
  34. nyt.com. 2024. “Hillary Clinton Denounces the ‘Alt-Right,’ and the Alt-Right Is Thrilled.” January 27, 2024. <https://web.archive.org/web/20240127172635/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/us/politics/alt-right-reaction.html>
  35. Paßmann, Johannes. 2023. “Sorting Texts out (or in). Revisiting Paratexts Praxeologically“. Preprint. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.36824.26889
  36. Paßmann, Johannes, and Lisa Gerzen. 2024. “Follow the Updates! Reconstructing Past Practices with Web Archive Data“. Internet Histories, 5 February. DOI: 10.1080/24701475.2024.2310405
  37. Paßmann, Johannes, Anne Helmond, and Robert Jansma. 2023. “From Healthy Communities to Toxic Debates: Disqus’ Changing Ideas about Comment Moderation“. Internet Histories 7 (1): 6–26. DOI: 10.1080/24701475.2022.2105123
  38. Reagle, Joseph M. 2015. “Reading the Comments: Likers, Haters, and Manipulators at the Bottom of the Web“. Cambridge (Mass.): The MIT Press.
  39. Schäfer, Hilmar. 2016. “Praxis als Wiederholung. Das Denken der Iterabilität und seine Konsequenzen für die Methodologie praxeologischer Forschung“. In Praxistheorie. Ein Soziologisches Forschungsprogramm, edited by Hilmar Schäfer, 137–59. Bielefeld: Transcript.
  40. Sewell, William H. Jr. 2005. “Logics of History: Social Theory and Social Transformation“. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  41. spiegel.de. 1997. “Spiegel Online Forum.” June 15, 1997. <https://web.archive.org/web/19970615022041/http://www.spiegel.de/forum/>
  42. spiegel.de. 2001a. “Gespräche Gescheitert: Windows XP Ohne AOL - Netzwelt - SPIEGEL ONLINE.” June 8, 2001. <https://web.archive.org/web/20010608201136/http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/ebusiness/0,1518,137643,00.html>
  43. spiegel.de. 2001b. “‘Bianca’s Smut Shack’ - Service - SPIEGEL ONLINE.” June 9, 2001.< https://web.archive.org/web/20010609122254/http://www.spiegel.de/service/0,1518,137202,00.html>
  44. spiegel.de. 2010. “Best of Engadget: Das iPhone Fällt Nicht Weit Vom Ast.” March 4, 2010. <http://web.archive.org/web/20100304045925/http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/gadgets/0,1518,674791,00.html>
  45. spiegel.de. 2014a. “Jan Böhmermann: Porträt Vom ‘Neo Magazin’-Moderator.” January 14, 2014. <https://web.archive.org/web/20140114144756/http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/tv/jan-boehmermann-portraet-vom-neo-magazin-moderator-a-939862.html>
  46. spiegel.de. 2014b. “Champions League: Atlético Madrid Gewinnt Gegen Chelsea.” August 18, 2014. <https://web.archive.org/web/20140818033329/http://www.spiegel.de/sport/fussball/champions-league-atletico-madrid-gewinnt-gegen-chelsea-a-967088.html>
  47. spiegel.de. 2018. “Volker Kauder Warnt Tsipras Vor Ende Des Griechischen Sparkurses.” February 14, 2018. <https://web.archive.org/web/20180214125931/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/volker-kauder-warnt-tsipras-vor-ende-des-griechischen-sparkurses-a-1016139.html>
  48. spiegel.de. 2020. “Diskutieren, Was Ist.” January 8, 2020. <https://web.archive.org/web/20200108173806/https://www.spiegel.de/backstage/diskutieren-was-ist-a-a633c185-38ef-425b-a1c6-8531f49683c5>
  49. spiegel.de. 2023. “Neue Community: Freuen Sie sich auf SPIEGEL Debatte.” Der Spiegel. November 7, 2023. <https://www.spiegel.de/backstage/neue-community-freuen-sie-sich-auf-spiegel-debatte-a-4a1bae59-84a4-4d71-ab37-922e6a0e5f48>
  50. Stanitzek, Georg. 2005. “Texts and Paratexts in Media“. Critical Inquiry 32 (1): 27–42. DOI: 10.1086/498002
  51. sz.de. 2003. “Sueddeutsche.De.” April 29, 2003. <https://web.archive.org/web/20030429173428/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/index.php?url=/sz/kommentar&datei=index.php&email=auto-online@sueddeutsche.de&ressort=auto&urlalt=auto/service/64133&dateialt=index.php>
  52. sz.de. 2007. “Videoüberwachung Erste Erfolge Der Virtuellen Streife.” June 18, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070618140929/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/,ra10l1/muenchen/artikel/456/108348/.
  53. sz.de. 2015. “Frankreich: Wehe, Wenn Der Schmerz Nachlässt.” 2015. <https://web.archive.org/web/20150110205411/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/frankreich-nach-dem-anschlag-auf-charlie-hebdo-wehe-wenn-der-schmerz-nachlaesst-1.2295265>
  54. sz.de. 2022. “Warum gestaltet die SZ ihre Kommentarfunktion um?” Süddeutsche.de. 2022. <https://www.sueddeutsche.de/projekte/artikel/service/sz-transparenz-blog-e120891/>
  55. Werber, Niels, Daniel Stein, Jörg Döring, Veronika Albrecht-Birkner, Carolin Gerlitz, Thomas Hecken, Johannes Paßmann, Jörgen Schäfer, Cornelius Schubert, and Jochen Venus. 2023. “Getting Noticed by Many: On the Transformations of the Popular“. Arts 12 (1): 15–36. DOI: 10.3390/arts12010039
  56. Wüllner, Daniel. 2015. “Lassen Sie uns diskutieren.” Süddeutsche.de. January 21, 2015. <https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kolumne/ihre-sz-lassen-sie-uns-diskutieren-1.2095271>
  57. zeit.de. 1999. “Debatte.” April 29, 1999. https://web.archive.org/web/19990429121439/http://www.debatte.zeit.de/.
  58. zeit.de. 2005. “Halte Was Du Hast, Dass Niemand Deine Krone Nehme.” November 6, 2005. <https://web.archive.org/web/20051106094428/http://www.zeit.de/leben/leben_hat_uns/simon_23>
  59. zeit.de. 2006. “Sieben Für Deutschland.” July 26, 2006.< https://web.archive.org/web/20060726122422/http://www.zeit.de/online/2006/22/Netzwerk_Abgeordnete>
  60. zeit.de. 2009. “In Eigener Sache: Die Neuerungen Im Kommentarbereich.” September 9, 2009. <https://web.archive.org/web/20090909142221/http://community.zeit.de/user/die-redaktion/beitrag/2009/09/05/eigener-sache-die-neuerungen-im-kommentarbereich>
PDF
  • Publication Year: 2024
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
  • © 2024 Author(s)

XML
  • Publication Year: 2024
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
  • © 2024 Author(s)

Chapter Information

Chapter Title

Do user comments belong to journalistic articles? A brief visual history of user interaction on selected German and American news websites 1996–2024

Authors

Johannes Paßmann, Martina Schories, Paul Heinicker

Language

English

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0413-2.20

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2024

Copyright Information

© 2024 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

Exploring the Archived Web during a Highly Transformative Age

Book Subtitle

Proceedings of the 5th international RESAW conference, Marseille, June 2023

Editors

Sophie Gebeil, Jean-Christophe Peyssard

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

362

Publication Year

2024

Copyright Information

© 2024 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0413-2

ISBN Print

979-12-215-0412-5

eISBN (pdf)

979-12-215-0413-2

eISBN (xml)

979-12-215-0414-9

Series Title

Proceedings e report

Series ISSN

2704-601X

Series E-ISSN

2704-5846

71

Fulltext
downloads

126

Views

Export Citation

1,359

Open Access Books

in the Catalogue

2,362

Book Chapters

3,870,371

Fulltext
downloads

4,519

Authors

from 938 Research Institutions

of 66 Nations

67

scientific boards

from 357 Research Institutions

of 43 Nations

1,249

Referees

from 381 Research Institutions

of 38 Nations