I was reading an article in Washington Post and started posting some comments which were automatically added without moderation. Then in one my comments I said “sorry ass” and it wouldn’t appear! So I took out the “sorry ass” and then re-submitted the comment and it magically appeared! They also have a 3000 word limit on comments.
Then I noticed there was a statement and a new link above where I’d post comments. It was Read about the changes to comment thread appearance, moderation which I thought was an interesting policy and process.
The users of i.com are mostly 40s – 60s year olds who come here to post and engage. There have been so much discussion about the comment section policy that I for one do not care anymore and think of the promises of changes are coming as just hollow promises. Years are going by and nothing has changed yet discussions and promises are as we say in Farsi seven folds!
We have users, trolls really, who are blocked multiple times and come back and carry on with the same “sorry ass” attitude that got them blocked in the first place and accuse others of “inciting emotional responses to disrupt conversations” as Washington Post calls it. What is worst is that as a result of the “sorry ass” behaviors of these trolls the blog of the original author is often closed and shut down from further comments.
I know we can have a better policy and a more encouraging place for Iranians of all ages to come and post freely (comment control) without the fear of being picked on or harrassed. But again since no one cares and the Editor is on permanent all year long vacations around the world I don’t expect any changes but it’s good to know what others are doing to improve and increase participation by 142%.
Anyway, since I know many of you won’t bother to click the link I’ll copy the policy for you. Some of it I think are really good and encouarging.
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Since we installed a new comments system during our redesign last March, we’ve seen a 142 percent rise in comment submissions. As more and more people stay on The Post’s Web site to talk about the debates, the latest primary, the D.C. food scene and many, many other topics, we want to ensure that we’re constantly improving the experience — both by making the comment threads easier to use and by fostering smarter, livelier and more civil conversations.
Today we’re making a number of changes and moderation updates to our commenting platform. The moderation changes are listed below, and it’s important to note that all decisions on comments still will be made at the discretion of our moderators.
(Note: Some of the cosmetic changes we made won’t take full effect until your browser’s cache has been cleared. You can wait for your browser to do it on its own, or you can do it yourself by following these instructions.)
Starting today, we will:
• Award more badges to users who regularly post quality comments, using the value a commenter adds to the community and the number of “Recommends” his or her comments receive as key criteria.
• Be more aggressive in banning users who don’t regularly post quality comments as well as those with a high percentage of deleted comments.
• Delete all comments that direct name-calling and insults at other commenters.
• Add words to our list of terms that call for automatic deletion of a comment.
• Be more aggressive in our efforts to eliminate “trolling” — generally defined as posting comments that serve more to incite emotional responses and disrupt conversations.
• Increase the number of Post staffers who post and reply to questions in the comments. (In recent weeks, we have had more than 40 reporters post in comment streams, and that number will continue to grow.)
Also, the staffers who manage our comment threads are now available by e-mail at comments@washingtonpost.com.
Our efforts to improve the comment threads will be an ongoing process, and we want — actually we need — your help. If you’re interested in giving detailed feedback on our comments, their moderation and changes that we are considering for the future, I encourage you to fill out this form. We’ll get back to you soon to get your input.
Photo caption: Siah-bisheh checkpoint outpost to inspect forestry goods in the mountains of Caspian near Chaloos.
