Introducing Comments on Vocal

Over the last 5 years, creators on Vocal have shared nearly one million stories that have attracted, inspired, and entertained hundreds of millions of readers around the world. In response, readers have provided creators with valuable insights and feedback via Likes, Tips, and Pledges to show their support.

Many of your stories have also sparked important conversations that happened off-platform, in Facebook Groups, Twitter Threads, and Instagram DMs. Admittedly, we were hesitant to introduce a way for creators and readers to communicate to mitigate toxic trollers and spammers. Our moderation team and community curators have worked tirelessly to prevent Vocal from turning into a dumpster fire, and to ensure it remains a safe space for creators and readers.

But in order for the Communities to continue to grow, we must open the conversation to allow both creators and readers the ability to be vocal. As part of a broader effort to reimagine how readers connect with creators and each other, we're excited to introduce Comments on Vocal.

Comments are the most direct form of engagement between a creator and their audience. We encourage creators to invite and engage their readers to enter into conversations on Vocal. As a creator, you have the ability to control how you engage with others on Vocal. Comments can be globally enabled or disabled via Settings, as well as on an individual story.

Why do we allow comments to be turned off? Some of us just want to share our stories without the expectation of responding to comments. Also, sometimes the Internet can be a toxic place, and certain stories can invoke hurtful responses. Vocal has always been a safe space for diverse opinions and viewpoints, but we believe the creator should have control over how they receive feedback. Additionally, to ensure continued platform safety, we will actively moderate comments in compliance with our Community Guidelines.

With the introduction of Comments, our aspiration is to foster deeper connections, ideas, and conversations on Vocal. We know this has been a long time coming, and we are thankful for your continued support.

We are excited about the many planned upgrades on the roadmap, including the ability to mention other creators, a notification feed, a new in-app currency, and the Vocal app which we are to launch this summer.

We're excited for you to join the conversation and let us know what you think in the comments below.