Ever since I made the switch to online journalism nearly 20 years ago (how time flies!), I’ve constantly wrestled with how to handle reader comments.
The immediacy and engagement can be beneficial components to building a thriving audience for community news.
And yet the instant availability of digital technology to cause mayhem and spread toxic messages often overwhelms those more noble aspirations.
Even before the age of blogs, social media and smartphones, online communication was an open sewer for mischief, threats, insults and worse.
If you remember the “alt” message boards of the late 1980s-early 1990s, you know what I’m talking about. Compared to today’s performative Twitter mobs, they truly resembled the Wild Wild West.
There were no moderators, almost everyone was anonymous and good luck getting anything taken down that was truly distasteful or even slanderous.
Perhaps I’ve become a bit numb, and even jaded, by what I read online to understand how this atmosphere can strike a nerve with readers today.
Our post last week on a proposed change to how Cobb County regulates trash services—to the point of designating a single hauler for a specific area—got record traffic.
At more than 27K pageviews and counting, it’s the most visited post on East Cobb News in our 5+ years of publication.
Stories like that tend to generate plenty of reader comments, and this one certainly did.
For the most part, readers were civil, if irate.
Then somebody hit the CAPS LOCK BUTTON and didn’t turn it off for a good while.
That was a response to another reader complaining about having fled a “police state” in Cobb County that’s led by “Commie Democrats.”
And so on it went like this for a brief sequence, running a bit afoul of our Comments Policy.
Another reader noticed all this, and e-mailed me. He said he appreciates reading about local news and issues at East Cobb News, but “I’m not sure what benefit your comment section brings to your news organization. It’s kind of a dumpster fire and I’ve never seen a productive conversation happen on it. Literally just people calling each other ‘commie’ and other names.”
He makes good points, and I replied that for the most part, readers here don’t get that far off the chains. We’ve had a fairly respectful environment for community conversation in spite of the limitations on online platforms, not just on the site but our social media channels as well.
Shortly after our exchange, I shut off reader comments for that post, linked to our policy and revised it to include the following:
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Before posting a comment, ask yourself this: Would I say this to someone in person or over the phone? Also, read through your comments for spelling, grammar, etc.;
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In other words, behave like an adult on this platform.
When I was an online editor at the AJC, I had to moderate comments during the sordid saga of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, as he faced charges of being involved in a dogfighting ring.
For weeks before and then after he was hauled off to federal prison, his football career destroyed, I waded through some nauseating comments, chucking more into the “unapproved” bin than I ever imagined.
What Vick copped to was indeed reprehensible, but after my moderating shift was over, I felt like I needed to take a shower.
We all need a place to vent and rant, but online forums unfortunately have become havens for increasingly vile, putrid expressions.
Frankly, I expected East Cobb News coverage of the Tokyo Valentino adult store and the controversy at Mt. Bethel Church to generate some red-flag comments (sex and religion!).
While they certainly prompted some racy reactions to the former and some biblically-inspired pronouncements to the latter, it was nothing that couldn’t be managed.
It is possible to express strong views without boiling over.
In our increasingly overheated times, many media outlets have decided to dispense with allowing comments at all, and not just major corporations.
Another local independent online news publisher here in Cobb County just switched the off button, for many of the same reasons others have.
For the time being, I’m going to leave them on and keep them going. I still think there’s an opportunity to have civil exchanges on important topics.
Most of you do that; it’s always a small handful that ruins it for everyone else.
I may come to regret this, and there likely are trolls out there waiting to lick their chops.
Please, before you comment on this site, or Facebook, or our other channels, read through and abide by our very reasonable Reader Comments Policy.
East Cobb News is meant to be a community forum, so treat it like that. Don’t call people Commies. Don’t tell them to move to Somalia.
Most of all, DON’T TYPE IN ALL CAPS!
Stick to the topic and communicate with people as you would in real life.
Is that really so hard?
As my Cobb compatriot noted, “editing is hard enough without taking on the job of referee.”
Trust me, you don’t want me to blow the whistle on your misbehavior.
Related:
- Editor’s Note: East Cobb News is Alive at Five and primed for more
- Editor’s Note: Community and the East Cobb Cityhood saga
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I think all of us Wendy really appreciate the stories you’re able to bring to light that many of us would never hear otherwise. The current fiasco around trash pickup is one great example. I’m really happy that with the things you post and also happy to see a bit of commonsense ask of your readership. We can disagree without name calling. And we can certainly avoid shouting via caps lock. Thanks again.
A few of the comments are exceptional and add to my understand of the issue or article.
Any comment on a non-political story that goes political shuts me down from reading further. I’m not interested in biased political opinions or regurgitation of points from talking heads on paid TV.
For those claiming “freedom of speech”, they need to learn a bit more US law. East Cobb News is NOT a govt agency. When we post here, we are guests of this business. There is no freedom of speech on privately owned internet websites. The owners of these websites have both the right and duty to perform editorial control – in any way they seem fit. Period. That’s a good thing.
For people who want to say anything online, for $0.25 a month and $10/yr for domain registration, you can have a website and say anything you like. It is yours to control and you can become the editorial censor there. Go crazy. Have fun.
Ron Smith ,
You make a great point . For example, Amazon refuses to sell my book, that’s Amazon’s choice . I can simply sell it myself.
Private companies can do what they like . But you leave out the most important part .
A small , well funded , well connected, Marxist pressure group, called the Anti Defamation League are calling all the shots.
Not very American.
Who died at put the ADL in charge of acceptable public discourse?
I appreciate your comment.
God bless
Commies suck.
Wendy ,
Thank you .
Apologies for the “communist democrats,” crack . That’s just my glib and dark sense of humor. I only meant to differentiate between the indigenous segregationist Democrats of Cobb County, vs . The New progressive Democratic Party of Cobb County .
Entirely different animals .
Sometimes my knowledge of Cobb history , combined with my dry sense of humor can appear offensive.
Apologies to anyone offended.
On the other hand, are we not adults in a free country?
God bless
Wendy, I have been a follower and reader of ECN for quite some time and I just finished reading your attempt to justify keeping the comments portion of East Cobb News in tact. Having spent an entire career in technology, I have been part of the infrastructure development that set the foundation for most all social media platforms over the past forty years. As an early user, I quickly saw the good the bad and the ugly of most all the applications. Based on my experience, I chose to opt out of most for the same reason you are now trying to justify allowing comments. Requesting civility shouldn’t be necessary. Reading the many responses that are posted on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and even NextDoor alone is quite eye-opening as to the current state of our city, county, state and country. “When freedom of speech is allowed though, there are no boundaries.” Personally I don’t believe our forefathers would have ever expected the vulgarity, the insensitive nature of comments and at times, the threatening aspect of so many responses. But, as you well know, when there is no accountability based on anonymity, there is no filter. That said, I do follow most of the news via various outlets and one outlet is your ECN. I enjoy the brevity, the community content and the coverage of most articles plus the simplicity of your letters approach knowing that offering up such a newsletter, for free, remains a great deal of work and is accomplished with a small staff. So first let me say thanks for your continued efforts and your desire to “do the right thing” by leaving the Comments section intact and I wish you the best. But, as we all see the delicate balance of civility challenged in every aspect of our daily lives these days, I believe you may have a rough road ahead of you. As the quote goes,”With Freedom Comes Responsibility. Freedom Without Responsibility Leads to Evil. Responsibility Without Freedom Leads to Slavery. Communion of Both is Necessary”
Chuck ,
My friend.
I’m not sure where you studied US history? Please kindly let me know.
Who are you quoting there ?
Freedom of speech is the very first amendment for good reason.
This is the new town square. If cap locks and commie talk are offensive, you and Wendy may want to consider living in a different country?
Talking about freedom of speech , civility, and “ freedom of speech, is freedom of reach “ is communist code for censorship.
I’ve been removed from many platforms and I’m one of the most civil folks around.
God bless
Thank you for keeping comments open. Just keep in mind the old adage, “No good deed goes unpunished.”