For years, the online version of The Dispatch has included a feature that allowed readers to comment on the stories we publish.
It was our intention that allowing readers to comment would give them another way to participate in the discussions about the news of the day. Newspapers have a long tradition of welcoming Letters to the Editor in our print edition. Prior to publishing signed letters, we edit them, make sure they address an important topic and verify the identity of the letter writer. The comment section was supposed to be the online equivalent to those letters.
But as civil discourse in our society continues to deteriorate, so, too, has the tone and nature of the online comments we see. What was intended to be a forum for conversation has become a venue for mean-spirited personal insults and ad hominem attacks that add little to nothing meaningful to the discussion.
While constructive comments are occasionally posted, those are the exception.
Much more often, the worthless comments detract from important journalism. Last week The Dispatch reported the city of Columbus is on pace to run out of cash within six months — obviously a major dilemma deserving of civic engagement. Of nine comments on that story, only one rose above the level of sarcasm. Part of our mission is to promote dialogue, but we want to make sure it is productive dialogue.
This unfortunate situation is not confined to The Dispatch. Online news outlets everywhere have been confronted with this problem.
Some outlets choose to heavily monitor online comments, which creates its own set of issues. Others have chosen to remove the comment feature altogether. Still others require that commentators must be verified, often through social media accounts such as Facebook. The hope in this approach is that by requiring commenters to use their real names, the conversation will be more civil.
It has become obvious to us that the one thing we cannot do is to continue to allow our comment section to be so badly abused. As it stands now, the comments we see routinely provide no benefit to our readers and our community.
For that reason, beginning Saturday night, The Dispatch will disable the comments feature on our online edition as we consider how — and if — the comment section can be modified to serve its original purpose.
The Dispatch welcomes feedback and opinion from our readers and, as always, encourages readers to share their thoughts by submitting Letters to the Editor that identify the writer by name. That hasn’t changed and will not change.
But until we can find a way to ensure online comments meet the basic standards of civil discourse and actually add to the conversation, we believe it is in everyone’s best interest to disable that option.
Letters to the editor can be mailed to PO Box 511, Columbus, MS 39703-0511 or emailed to [email protected]. Please include your name, hometown and phone number in the letters so we can verify your identity.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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