Commenting on Comments

Our website, www.starnewsgroup.com, allows subscribers to comment openly on the many articles we post online each week. Usually the feedback is productive, however, this is not always the case. Occasionally, when we've hit a nerve or broached a hot topic, the comments get pretty graphic and crude, blurring the line between productive banter and plain bad manners.

There have been a number of suicides this year in our readership area. As the local paper, we covered the stories, trying to bring our readers the best information available to keep them informed. Many of our readers have responded with the intelligence, introspect and raw emotion of decent human beings. Others, however, have stooped to crude remarks and insults. 

As the watchdogs, if you will, of our site, my supervisor and I often find ourselves caught between a rock and a hard place regarding some of our readers' comments. Do we allow unhindered free speech and open discussion or do we draw the line at basic decency?

It is not always possible to do both.

For better or for worse, this is America - Land of the free, home of the big-mouthed and opinionated. It is in this light that we respect the individual's right to say what he or she wants.  But, as a news organization, we reserve our own right to remove comments that do not contribute to a healthy discussion. 

If you have something constructive to say, we want to hear it. If you write a rant suitable for the third-grade playground, don't be surprised when we remove it.