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Online comments, part two
After my recent blog about the voices that online comments bring to our Web site, I have an addendum: This phenomenon takes some getting used to.
Last Friday, I was updating our Web site in the absence of our online editor and I posted the story about the woman being hit by the train, then updated it when we learned that she had died of her injuries, then updated it again when police told us her identity.
In the meantime, Web cruisers were commenting on the story at a rate of two to three comments for every line of news. The comments portion took on a life of its own with readers challenging each other on their education, vocabulary and how they spend their time. The tragedy of the woman's death was lost in the war of words.
I have said before that I don't understand how people can have entire relationships based on text messages or what motivates others on the Web to have so much to say about things that have nothing to do with their lives. You could say some people just like to hear themselves talk, but no one is talking -- just speed-typing and sending.
During the same afternoon that I was dealing with the story of the train tragedy, I was getting "comment abuse" reports from a story also posted on our Web site about a rape trial in which the suspect was acquitted. The jury's ruling was not enough for readers, apparently, as they weighed in on the victim, the suspect and everything about the court case. As the comments became increasingly personal and bordered on hate, I decided to exercise the option to block all story comments. And, that upset some people who voiced their concern that they were being "censored."
This is new territory for some of us, and I will never be completely comfortable with free-wheeling anonymous comments on any topic. But on sensitive topics -- criminal cases, sexual abuse, domestic assault, accidental deaths -- I think the bar of caution needs to be raised higher and restrictions enacted.
The comments on our Web site tell stories all their own, and they bring a new dimension to storytelling. But, it's a dimension that can easily get out of control.
We will be watching.
Last Friday, I was updating our Web site in the absence of our online editor and I posted the story about the woman being hit by the train, then updated it when we learned that she had died of her injuries, then updated it again when police told us her identity.
In the meantime, Web cruisers were commenting on the story at a rate of two to three comments for every line of news. The comments portion took on a life of its own with readers challenging each other on their education, vocabulary and how they spend their time. The tragedy of the woman's death was lost in the war of words.
I have said before that I don't understand how people can have entire relationships based on text messages or what motivates others on the Web to have so much to say about things that have nothing to do with their lives. You could say some people just like to hear themselves talk, but no one is talking -- just speed-typing and sending.
During the same afternoon that I was dealing with the story of the train tragedy, I was getting "comment abuse" reports from a story also posted on our Web site about a rape trial in which the suspect was acquitted. The jury's ruling was not enough for readers, apparently, as they weighed in on the victim, the suspect and everything about the court case. As the comments became increasingly personal and bordered on hate, I decided to exercise the option to block all story comments. And, that upset some people who voiced their concern that they were being "censored."
This is new territory for some of us, and I will never be completely comfortable with free-wheeling anonymous comments on any topic. But on sensitive topics -- criminal cases, sexual abuse, domestic assault, accidental deaths -- I think the bar of caution needs to be raised higher and restrictions enacted.
The comments on our Web site tell stories all their own, and they bring a new dimension to storytelling. But, it's a dimension that can easily get out of control.
We will be watching.
posted by Nancy March at
2:52 PM
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