Austin, Texas (CNN) -- In the early days of the Internet, there was hope that the unprecedented tool for global communication would lead to thoughtful sharing and discussion on its most popular sites. A decade and a half later, the very idea is laughable, says Gawker Media founder Nick Denton. "It didn't happen," said Denton, whose properties include the blogs Gawker, Jezebel, Gizmodo, io9 and Lifehacker. "It's a promise that has so not happened that people don't even have that ambition anymore. "The idea of capturing the intelligence of the readership -- that's a joke." Denton was speaking at South by Southwest Interactive, the annual festival here devoted to Web and digital culture.
@highlight
Gawker chief: Idea of positive online comments has become a joke
@highlight
Nick Denton speaks at the South by Southwest Interactive festival
@highlight
He said the bigger a site is, the harder it is to curate comment sections
@highlight
One idea? Making certain stories only open to a few select commenters
When he took questions, @placeholder had to do a little answering about the responsibility the tone of a site itself has in guiding its comments section.