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Sound Off ; Readers have their say on those Internet trolls [Florida Times Union](Florida Times Union Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Times-Union Editor Frank Denton received many comments on his column about the Internet trolls who hide behind pseudonyms and fake email addresses. He stated that the Times-Union is considering options on how to treat comments. Here is a sampling of the comments he received on his column. Have you considered permitting users to give the comments of other users a "Civility Rating", much the way Amazon rates books? How would it work? Well, next to a comment would be a five-star rating block and the phrase, "How civil is this comment?" Users would rate the comment's civility 1 through 5. The comments could be listed on the page based upon the commentator's cumulative "Civility Rating" instead of the chronological order in which the comments were received. This would permit a commentator to make an occasional comment which was uncivil, but comments from those who were consistently uncivil would be pushed to the bottom of the screen. Rod Sullivan, Associate Professor of Law, email A comment section can be made a LOT more self regulating using technology that the T-U seems to have retreated away from over the years. Adding thumbs up/down to comments and then adding a "respond to" button so a conversation can be followed. Then allowing people to filter by "best response" or "most commented." All this can help, but the best bet is to add a "flag user comment as offensive" button. This brings the true hard core trolls quickly to the surface and lets the editors decide what to do/not do about a user account. 2 cents. Steve D, online My problem with the comment section is that it poisons your journalism. After reading an online article, I tend to keep scrolling down despite having finished the article. Naturally, I find myself reading the first few comments out of the habit of scrolling down for more content. If most readers are like me, then thousands of your readers are also scrolling down to the comment section and reading them out of habit, despite how infrequently the comments add value to our lives. As a result, the "trolls" who comment first on a story are given as much influence over your readers' attention as that story's author, and often the first comments set the tone for overall reaction to that story. This is a tragedy in my opinion. ... My suggestion is to hide the comment section. ... Have a link that we must click on to see the comments. Obviously, far fewer people will read the comments this way. But that will mean the trolls' influence over your readers will greatly diminish, as will their twisted community. Ray Treadwell, email As a regular contributor to this forum, my anonymity is related to my profession and extensive contact with thousands of people. I can express views that might conflict with my public persona and defend and attack in what I think is aggressive but not crossing the line. (Whoever draws that.) I have been called everything, including my first "lunatic" recently. I defend my detractors' right to call me anything they want. A thick skin is part of the deal. The T-U can make whatever decision they want, but for me, if my anonymity is lost, then I will simply stop commenting. No big loss perhaps but there will be a radical change in the tone and demeanor of discussion. Max mutt, online I find the online comments boring and distasteful. I never see any meaningful dialog when I read them. I don't read any of them anymore - the trolls have chased me off. ... Too bad the comments couldn't be like what you find on Sojourners. There you can see thoughtful, respectful dialog. If you can't achieve that, get rid of them all together. Here are Sojourners rules: I will express myself with civility, courtesy, and respect for every member of the Sojourners online community, especially toward those with whom I disagree, even if I feel disrespected by them; I will express my disagreements with other community members' ideas without insulting, mocking, or slandering them personally; I will not exaggerate others' beliefs nor make unfounded prejudicial assumptions based on labels, categories, or stereotypes. I will always extend the benefit of the doubt; I will hold others accountable by clicking "report" on comments that violate these principles, based not on what ideas are expressed but on how they're expressed; I understand that comments reported as abusive are reviewed by Sojourners staff and are subject to removal. Repeat offenders will be blocked from making further comments. Bill Armstrong, Mandarin Times-Union, please shut down the commenting section. It really serves no purpose. If people want to comment, then they can do so in their personal lives with friends and family. It's a shame what people say on here, but they would never say this stuff to others in real life. Cowardice at its peak. Blessyourheart, online In response to your question, yes, trolls have driven me away from reading articles on Jacksonville.com for quite some time now. I am African American and have been increasingly angered and insulted by the racist undertones of several of the trolls I have encountered. To be fair, I can't just single the Times-Union out, because several of the television news sites here have the same problem on an even worse level. I understand that it takes a lot of staffing power to review comments, as you mentioned; however, as a Duval County native, many African Americans here feel that the Times- Union has portrayed us in a negative light and the comments only make matters worse. I am especially bothered when a situation happens on the Northside, where I live, and the comments turn quickly to how all of us on the Northside are on welfare, sell drugs, etc. I have lost family members to violence, and I wish the Times-Union would think about how families, friends, and loved ones of victims feel to lose someone, and then see the horrible comments made about the situation at the bottom of the articles. ... As a blogger, I definitely support freedom of speech online; however, hiding behind the Internet to spew hate and racism is not something that I can support. Alana Tutwiler, email The comments here have always been the best part of this site. They used to be a lot more lively than they are now. There is no way I'm disclosing my real name on these comments, although I registered here with my real name and real email address. There's too many crazies out there that I don't want to be able to find me. Go ahead and make another dumb business decision like this one, and I promise to cancel my Press Plus account. It's hardly worth $10/month as it is now. Stecker, online If the T-U decides to eliminate anonymous responses, please also refrain from publishing any articles derived from anonymous sources. curiousjustice, online As a fellow editor, I struggle with the same issues you deal with daily. ... Yes, disable reader comments altogether. All they do is make people ashamed of living in Jacksonville. They are for the most part racist, hateful, trolling garbage. ... Shut 'em off for the good of your paper. Also, if you can't get better letters to the editor, then stop publishing those as well. I'm really tired of being told in the pages of your newspaper that I am not a patriot, that I should be shipped off to a gulag, and so forth, simply because I support my president. ... D. Sosnoski, email I think what you're doing now is OK unless the legal aspect becomes more of a problem. Joe Lowrey, email Loved your article about the comments on the paper's website. I'm an all-access member and love the comments. It's my favorite part and always good for more thought or a chuckle. Hope you don't discontinue these. Anne George, email I'm 55, a native Floridian, a Democrat, a mostly liberal guy. I fish but I don't hunt. I want to believe I'm not a racist, or a sexist or any of the other things I shouldn't be. I'm self employed, upper middle class, with three kids in college. While I am registered at Jacksonville.com, I quit reading content there last year when the incident happened at River City. The stream of vitriol from all sides was mind-numbing; it saddened this old Florida Boy. The fact that the T-U continues to offer a platform for that kind of hatred just sort of makes me scratch my head. Spare me the First Amendment lecture, Frank, my morning starts with the NYT [New York Times] and has since college. I went to the website and read a sampling of the comments on your column, I was not surprised. Were you? I hope not. Free speech? By all means, the platform to air your views from the shadows of secrecy? Let's pass on that. Free speech isn't free if you're afraid to stand behind what you say. You can quote me anytime ... Scott R. Bergquist, via email Regarding possible changes to online commenting, I like the idea of confirming identities before commenting is allowed. Removing anonymity would tend to stifle commenting. ... I feel citizens need to provide oversight by questioning behavior even though, in my opinion, our current state attorney could care less about questionable police behavior. ... Within my profession, politics can make employment difficult. Thus again commenting using my real name is an option I would likely avoid. I hope you can make modifications to commenting that would preserve anonymity while giving the T-U the information needed in case there is another instance where an identity is subpoenaed. George Williams (pseudonym), email I would prefer to maintain a semblance of anonymity. I stopped posting comments on the Metro Jacksonville blog over two years ago, because of personal comments aimed at me that I found to be offensive. Dashing Dan, email One of the great ironies here is the editorials the T-U runs every day and the "endorsements" that are coming soon as part of the November elections. Those are for all intents and purposes anonymous. Does Denton write them? Does Mike Clark write them? Does an intern write them? Does someone way up at [Morris] write them? The answer is who freaking knows? The T-U wants to have its cake and eat it, too, with frosting and sprinkles and ice cream. nicky44, online Regarding comment identification, I offer the following suggestion and comment: For anonymous comments, "Name witheld by request." I make this suggestion because in today's age, for many reasons, it can be dangerous to have your name out there. ... E.D., email Thank you for your thoughtful column. The comments from trolls don't keep me away, but I usually skip over them. I am surprised by the amount of hatred and ignorance that some people spout. I think it is acceptable to require people to give their names, as it may make some more accountable for the comments they choose to post. Cecily Hardin, email I agree with Max [poster Max mutt] and others who enjoy posting comments and engaging in (sometimes) spirited debate with others who hold an opposing view. Yes, there are a few obvious trolls whose only purpose is to enrage and stir the pot, so to speak, but these are relatively few. I, too, will quit posting should the T-U decide to publish full names. avatar, onlineWANT TO TAKE PART?If you would like to be a member of the Times-Union/Jacksonville.com's Email Interactive Group, email our editorial page editor, Mike Clark, at [email protected] and he'll extend an invitation. Your opinions will be sought on a range of topics; we always want to know what you think. (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |