For years, readers have been vexed by the commenting system on The Kansas City Star’s Web site, KansasCity.com. A reader put it succinctly last summer: “What is wrong with people?”
She was referring specifically to several posts anonymous users had made on a story about a teenage girl who had died in a car accident. The comments were almost literally unbelievable, including rank speculation about the cause of the wreck and even ad hominem attacks on the girl’s personal character.
“Why does The Star allow things like this to show up on the newspaper’s own Web site?” asked a typical caller last month. “I believe that this kind of conduct reflects very badly on The Kansas City Star, and also on the entire Kansas City readership as a whole. I think you need to find a way to fix it.”
So it’s not surprising that I’ve been hearing thanks ever since KansasCity.com’s recent redesign, which included a new feature that requires users to register before posting comments. Before, anyone could leave a remark using any name they wished and without registration. Users now have to create a free account connected to a valid e-mail address.
Obviously, it’s still easy for people to create false identities, but other Web sites long ago discovered that the extra level of verification cuts down the Internet “trolls” drastically.
As with the old system, users can flag potentially offensive comments for a Web editor to consider for deletion. Those reviewers have a pretty high bar, and rightly so. After all, free speech is a core right in this nation, and nobody benefits from it more than journalists. But that doesn’t mean that The Star, a private business, doesn’t serve the reader community by occasionally removing some of the moronic and racist nonsense that a small minority posts.
There’s also a feature that lets others “recommend” a comment. That’s a good way for the community to reward insightful posts. It would also be great to let users “ignore” individuals, or sort replies by most-recommended first. I’d also like to see a personal “ignore” button to make bothersome posters invisible. The commenting software comes from an outside company, so The Star can’t simply flip a switch to institute these features but they might be possible in the future.
User-generated content is a great addition to traditional journalism. Obviously, readers keep me busy with an impressive array of error catches and thoughtful observations about fairness. I’m glad the new commenting system is cutting down on a constant annoyance to KansasCity.com’s most thoughtful users.
