More and more often I read about news websites shutting down their commenting sections. Just today it was TheWeek.com, whose explanation cited this gem of a reason for getting rid of news site comments: And so today, the smartest, most thoughtful, and most spirited conversations are being driven not by pseudonymous avatars in the comments… Continue reading TheWeek.com closing its comment section
Tag: commenting
Court orders compelling some U.S. papers to “out” anonymous commenters
Responding to a court order, a newspaper in Redding, Calif., will release contact information for an anonymous commenter on its website who may have witnessed a crime. The Record Searchlight reports that [attorneys for a man accused of attempted murder after a 2011 shootout with police have subpoenaed the commenter’s information](http://www.redding.com/news/2013/jan/30/record-searchlight-subpoenaed-for-commenters-id). The commenter posted to… Continue reading Court orders compelling some U.S. papers to “out” anonymous commenters
Wilcoxson’s moving on from Facebook flap
Wilcoxson’s, the Livingston-based ice cream company whose president drew the fury of the Internet a few weeks ago over an insensitive comment on its Facebook page, has told its online fans that it’s done talking about the matter. On the company’s restored Facebook page, it writes that while Wilcoxson’s has allowed discussion of the Sept.… Continue reading Wilcoxson’s moving on from Facebook flap
Fracking ban
A fun one from the Romenesko blog today: [The Stamford Advocate in Connecticut has banned the word “fracking” in its comment section](http://jimromenesko.com/2012/10/17/hearst-site-bans-the-word-fracking-in-comments/), citing how it’s often used as a replacement for certain versatile curse word that starts with an F. Upset is Sharon Wilson, a Texas advocate for people negatively affected by [hydraulic fracturing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing), aka… Continue reading Fracking ban
A counterfeit presentment…
I spoke this morning with a man who claimed someone had used his email address to register an account with the Chronicle website and post comments.
YouTube hopes real names will help defeat nasty comments
YouTube is trying to get people who post comments on the video sharing site to use their real names, [according to the official YouTube blog](http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2012/06/choosing-how-youre-seen-on-youtube.html). Starting back on June 29, the site gave users the choice of how their identity should appear. Users can pull information from their Google ID and even from their Google… Continue reading YouTube hopes real names will help defeat nasty comments
A license to print money
More people continue to disagree with the Chronicle’s decision to begin charging customers for access to its website, asserting in our comments that they know just how to fix the newspaper industry’s online advertising revenue problems.
Why we allow anonymous comments
A reader recently wrote in asking why the Chronicle allows anonymous or pseudonymous comments on its website while requiring that letter writers verify their names and addresses before their letters are printed.
How does this story make you feel?
I followed a link on Twitter this afternoon to a poorly written story (actually a piece of commentary from a community news site operator, as it turns out) about a baby being born in the parking lot of a Fort Worth, Texas, strip club after the father was pulled over for speeding on the way to… Continue reading How does this story make you feel?
Pro-tip: Comments get deleted
Should websites provide users with informal rules as to how their comments will be moderated and reviewed?