It has the power to unify or divide a community: debate.
In past weeks, we’ve had readers ask us – both in print and in person – why we don’t moderate our online comments more aggressively.
As journalists, the thought of censoring anyone’s comments makes us a little nervous. However, we are often frustrated with how disorderly online commenting can become. This is most recently evident with debate over the school and its campus repairs.
When we are questioning the appropriateness of a comment stream, we turn to our company-wide policy on online commenting:
“Sound Publishing encourages a free and open exchange of ideas in a climate of mutual respect. Any action by a user that infringes on another user’s right to use and enjoy Sound Publishing is prohibited. Sound Publishing reserves the right, but does not assume any obligation, to monitor your online conduct to enforce these Terms of Use. Without limitation, Sound Publishing reserves the right to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us in our sole discretion and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We reserve the right to permanently block any user who violates these terms and conditions.”
The bottom line is that unless a comment is any of the above adjectives, it stays. You may disagree with how an argument is presented, but it’s not our job to police a reader’s opinion unless he/she veers into unlawful or inappropriate territory.
The anonymous nature of virtual discussions gives birth to a broader range of questions. Will the capabilities of new media and technology strip a person of those basic, ingrained values that most of us share about playing fair, being courteous, and interacting politely? We urge our online commenters to use their real names and keep their opinions civil.
One reader told us, “I see the Sounder’s online commenting capability as a remarkable resource for expanding community dialogue and understanding of critical issues. But it can only reach this potential if the commenters are held accountable.”
We have the power, as a community, to shape how we interact with one another. We ask you to use the same standards of decorum and decency when posting on our Web site as when you debate issues in a real forum, like a town meeting. As monitors of our news site, we will do our best to weed out the truly inappropriate comments. Otherwise, it is up to you to keep it clean.
