News24 comments get a makeover
2011-10-13 18:35
Jannie Momberg
News24 and the rest of our network have switched to the Facebook comments system.
Effectively, it means you'll only be able to comment on articles, old or new, using your Facebook account. In short, if you aren’t an FB account-holder you will not be able to leave comments.
Over the past few years we’ve experimented with a variety of formats in our commenting facility. At first we used a 100% moderated system, but this stifled comments and user engagement - one of our main priorities at News24.
In 2010 we switched to a community moderation system, requiring that all users log in with a social network or our own 24.com log in.
The reason for the switch is two-fold – we believe using this system will improve the quality of user-interaction, and secondly, to weed out internet trolls.
As online users we know the trolls as those angry and usually anonymous users that frequent our and other websites’ commenting sections with the main aim of shocking and annoying other users.
Abusive comments on news websites are a worldwide issue and in the South African context, with our troubled history, the problem is exacerbated.
News24, being the largest local news portal, bears the brunt of the trolls. Our current system does not do enough to rid us of this issue.
The overwhelming majority of people on Facebook use their real identity and hopefully this exposure will lead to a greater level of engagement across our platforms.
If you have not already been prompted to migrate your account to our Facebook-only system, please click here to do so. You can read more about how to make sure your Facebook profile is private on Facebook here.
Let us know what you think of the new system. Comment on this post below (using your Facebook account, mind...) or click here to mail us.
- Jannie Momberg is the editor of News24. Send him feedback on Twitter.
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