It's Called "Moderating"

[talon]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web/07/19/commenting.on.news.sites/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Print editions of newspapers have long had editors who select which of the many letters to the editor make it into print.

When the newspapers went online, the ability to comment quickly and on practically every story was a plus, but the newspapers forgot they had editors on their side, where they could monitor and moderate those comments so they didn't get trolls and spammers.

I long ago stopped reading newspaper comments because it lacked any kind of moderation or control. I didn't want to read pages of trollish and spamming comments to find the few people who actually said something about the topic, the article to which they were supposedly responding.

The spammers and trolls have other venues in which to present their views - I recommend blogs - and newspapers are not the place.

I'm glad the editors are finally awakening to that.

I am not comfortable with them demanding phone numbers and credit card numbers - the print edition only ever asked for name and city and would only publish first name and city. I dislike putting full name and city in because, as some people commented, they fear someone disagreeing with them and hunting them up for a face-to-face confrontation - or delving into their online presence and invading their privacy or hacking their accounts. These are valid fears.

The "soft registration" works for me, along with a keyword recognition software that would flag inappropriate comments so a person could read it and determine if it should be posted or reported as spam or deleted. The journalist who wrote the story would moderate the flagged comments on it, and perhaps all the comments. It might even make them better journalists because they'd get that immediate feedback and could participate in the comments.

The trolls quickly learn which sites won't let them comment and they leave. But if they find a site where they can comment unimpeded, they seem to collect there - and newspaper comments have long been a favorite forum of trolls.

I'm not too fond of the "badge" system, either, because those who earn the "badges" sometimes bully new commenters, but apparently it works in some venues.

Now that newspapers are aware they have control over the comments sections, I'm sure they'll try a variety of methods until they find the one(s) that work best for them and their reader/commenters.