Journalists spend/waste an enormous amount of time debating the merits of comments attached to their stories and blogs.

But rarely do you stumble upon a case study quite as visceral as the vitriol that has accompanied a new Guardian travel blog written by Max Gogarty, a 19-year old student who is heading off on a gap-year sojourn through India and southeast Asia.

Perhaps not the most scintillating or original idea to begin with. However the damning comments on the blog erupted into life once the bloggers worked out that young Max is actually the son of a Guardian travel section contributor (and PR consultant) Paul Gogarty.

Never mind the whiff of nepotism, check out the accountability and reality check the Guardian is receiving from its readers as a result of its very laudable approach to social conversation.

The Guardian moderators pulled the plug on reader comments after about 50 or so but you can read the whole messy exchange here.

In the meantime, here’s one choice comment that sort of says it all:

This blog manages to be both disheartening and heartening in equal
measures. Disheartening because the Guardian would allow this dross to
pollute their website. Heartening because the comment thread has some
of the funniest entries I’ve ever read.

Who said modern journalism lacked life?

- Matthew