Comments are as much a part of news websites as articles, photos and video. But, this content isn’t vetted, isn’t edited, and sometimes isn’t even read prior to publication. While many news organizations say they’re committed to giving the audience a voice, they find themselves struggling to do that while upholding their editorial standards.
The psychology of web trolling
What motivates someone to troll other readers in the online comments? There are several theories on this. PBS Digital Shift's Vanessa Hill produces a twice-monthly video podcast on YouTube -- and explores the issue using some of the vitriolic comments left on her videos.
What's a news org to do?
In April 2103, the Chicago Sun-Times chose to temporarily disable its comments functionality until it could find a way to elevate the level of discourse on the site. The goal: to eliminate the racist, hate speech that readers were posting to the site. As of the time of this program, the Sun-Times has not yet re-instated commenting functionality.
Craig Newman, Chicago Sun-Times: "Sick of internet comments? Us too -- Here's what we're doing about it"
Sabah Adil, The Chicago Monitor: “Chicago Sun-Times disables reader comments for now”
Sam Kirkland, Poynter: “Sun-Times kills comment section until it can fix ‘morass of negativity, racism, and hate speech”
Robert Feder, “Sun-Times turnoff: Keep your comments to yourself”
Huffington Postchanged its comment policy to require Facebook linking to verify users' identification. It meant that it rid the site of "trolls" -- but also lost some of a good deal of productive commenters, too. In June 2014, it eliminated all non-Facebook comments from the U.S. site and mobile apps. Was the second shift necessary or short-sighted?
Otto Toh, Huffington Post: “Moving the conversation to where we want to have it”
Joseph Lichterman, Nieman Lab: “Want to comment on a Huffington Post article? You’ll need to use Facebook now”
Sam Kirkland, Poynter: “HuffPostpolicy banishes trolls -- and drives away some frequentcommenters”
Damon Kiesow, Poynter: “LA Times, TechCrunch introduce Facebook comments, but it’s not for everyone”
Jason Kincaid, TechCrunch: “Facebook rolls out overhauled comments system (try them out on TechCrunch)”
Matt Burns, TechCrunch: “Commenters, we want you back”
Gregory Ferenstein, TechCrunch: “Study: Facebook comments are more civil than newspaper website comments”
Filter comments yourself: Resources to keep your favorite news sites clear of comments
There are limited apps for specific browsers that will filter hate speech, profanity and other offensive content from the comment sections on websites.
Shut Up Chrome extension: Blocks comments on websites by default and viewers can choose to enable comments per site.
Justin Pot, MakeUseOf: “Block Website Comments with One Click of a Button Using ‘Shut Up’ [Chrome]”
Herp Derp Chrome extension: Turns every comment into “herp” and “derp”
Tumblr: Never Read the Comments
Twitter: Don’t Read Comments
What's going on here?
What are the policies of our local media? The Columbia Missourian has long required users to register with the site using their first and last names before commenting on the site. The Columbia Daily Tribune allows commenters to post using a pseudonym. And, KOMU-TV allows viewers to comment using both their Facebook accounts and directly on their website. Each as their own set of ground rules for what constitutes appropriate language.
On this week's show we mischaracterized the Columbia Missourian's comment policy. You can read the full policy here. We regret this error.
Tom Warhover, Columbia Missourian: “DEAR READER: When you comments on a newspaper site, it’s public”
Tom Warhover, Columbia Missourian: “DEAR READER: Respectful constructive debate are cornerstones of comment policy”
Joy Mayer, Columbia Missourian: "DEAR READER: "We're tweaking our comment policy with clarity in mind"
Joy Mayer, Columbia Missourian: “DEAR READER: New Missourian commenting procedure hopes to remove spam”
Jen Lask and Dan Molloy, KOMU: “Your closer view at the KOMU 8 news comments policy”
To engage or not to engage?
There is still a lot of debate over best practices when it comes to commenting on online news sites. While some newspapers are offering reporters financial incentives for engaging with readers on the message boards, other journalists say their safety is put at risk for doing so.
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers: “Online comment moderation: Emerging Best Practices” (abstract; full study available through free PDF download)
Matt Ingram, Gigaom: "The New York Times, WaPo and Mozilla are building an open-source community platform to try and fix comments"
Matthew Ingram, Gigaom: "Its Kinja platform is the future of Gawker, but also a thorn in the side of its writers"
Aaron Mesh, Willamette Week: "With quotas, and incentive pay, The Oregonian is again reshaping its experience for readers"
Rick Edmonds, Poynter: “Advance defends bonuses for reporters who post frequently and join comment chains”
A Jonesboro, Arkansas police reporter has quit her job at the Jonesboro Sun after the city's police chief used Facebook comments to threaten her over reporting she'd done on his unapproved part-time job.
Max Brantley, Arkansas Times: “Jonesboro Sun reporter quits over tension with city police chief; his Facebook comments a factor”
Jim Romenesko: “Jonesboro Sun reporter resigns over vicious Facebook attacks by police chief”
Veronica Smith, KAIT-TV: “Jonesboro police chief resigns”
