Reader comments: Great debate or heap of trouble?
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
One of the greatest differences between a traditional broadcast or print story and a story run online is the ability of readers to comment instantly on breaking news or a hot topic. At the beginning of the multimedia journalism bubble, many news sites were resistant to allowing open discussions on their online stories for fear of the internet "crazies." Now, all but a few holdouts see the benefit of a free flow of discussion to the local and global communities.
The problem is user comments are sometimes far from civil. Comment-enabled websites sometimes have to deal with overly passionate users insulting each other, foul language, and of course spam comments.
There are a couple of options that keep the comments section more Founding Fathers and less bar talk:
Just one word of advice: DON'T turn the comments off across the board. We're living in a Web 2.0 world where users expect to be able have their say about your content. Though the challenges of an open discussion may seem daunting, in the end the contribution to the story is well worth it.
The problem is user comments are sometimes far from civil. Comment-enabled websites sometimes have to deal with overly passionate users insulting each other, foul language, and of course spam comments.
There are a couple of options that keep the comments section more Founding Fathers and less bar talk:
- Moderate comments (requires a dedicated staffer which may or may not be in the budget)
- Necessitate that each comment be reviewed before it is posted (which hinders the immediacy of the conversation)
- Install a foul language filter like Devowelizer (WordPress)
- Require registration in order to comment (allows users to be tracked, and if necessary, be blocked)
- Install a spam blocker like Aksimet (WordPress)
Just one word of advice: DON'T turn the comments off across the board. We're living in a Web 2.0 world where users expect to be able have their say about your content. Though the challenges of an open discussion may seem daunting, in the end the contribution to the story is well worth it.
Labels: site management
2 Comments:
Oh boy. Don't get me started on this one. It's been a huge topic of debate at the N-J... Well, more like me whining about the insults, racism and profanity and asteriks that don't do much. But they've gotten better though. The argument is reader freedom of speech and real debate vs. what's simply inappropriate and how much the newspaper is responsible for what's said. It's a catch-22.
commented by 
Kari, 4:02 PM
Kari, 4:02 PM
Thanks for the nod to my Devowelizer (note the actual permalink URL). I am a staunch supporter of allowing free speech, even to the point of allowing reasonably insulting remarks (as seen on my highly debated and inflammatory Those Stupid Americans post). Unfortunately, there are boundaries that readers should never cross.
