A faceless account can easily turn any 12-year-old or suburban middle-aged-man
into an expert on any and every topic. And although there may well be constructive
discussions, there’s always without fail that one post that hammers another tiny
nail into that coffin holding your faith in humanity.
The most logical solution to dealing with these negative Nancy’s would
be to delete or block users running their mouth and causing a stir, right? Well that's debatable and brings us to the real issue at hand, comment moderation.
Comment moderation is a somewhat controversial topic. After all, we’re all
opinionated and we finally have the means to share those thoughts across the globe.
Unsurprisingly, limitations don’t sit well with some and seeing the comment you
spent 10 minutes triple checking be denied hits right in the freedom of speech.
However when you’re a news media website posting about a racial attack
on a train or a mass shooting in the US, there’s bound to be a few bad eggs in
the comments section.
For the average Joe news site, comment moderation has become common and guidelines are generally the same in regards to language and tolerance. For example Crikey’s moderation guideline is simply that people stay on topic, don’t swear, take their comparisons of public figures to animals to one of many other radical websites and complain about comment moderation to someone who cares.
However some might argue that any kind of moderation hinders discussion.
For the average Joe news site, comment moderation has become common and guidelines are generally the same in regards to language and tolerance. For example Crikey’s moderation guideline is simply that people stay on topic, don’t swear, take their comparisons of public figures to animals to one of many other radical websites and complain about comment moderation to someone who cares.
However some might argue that any kind of moderation hinders discussion.
Digital editor for Australian Regional Media, Mark Furler, expressed his
view on comment moderation in a recent lecture at QUT.
“My view as an online editor is it’s better to have a debate in open
space where other views can come in and counter the views that have been
expressed,” he says.
This point is definitely valid. The best opportunity anyone has to spread their beliefs online, without their own social media following, is through a comment section or forum. However this does work both ways and hateful commentators probably share their thoughts with similar intentions.
Comment moderation really doesn't impact discussion over the entirety of the internet. There are plenty of websites and spaces where people can share their opinions, no matter what they are. But the question is, does the news media need to moderate comments?
When you get down to it, although the news media is the main communicator of information it's not always necessary to communicate the thoughts of a disgruntled few.
So I can understand the need for comment moderation by news media organisations as well as the need for people to openly express themselves without censorship. But honestly, what's truly going to be accomplished with a crude online comment? Probably nothing but hurt feelings so you do your thing media.
This point is definitely valid. The best opportunity anyone has to spread their beliefs online, without their own social media following, is through a comment section or forum. However this does work both ways and hateful commentators probably share their thoughts with similar intentions.
Comment moderation really doesn't impact discussion over the entirety of the internet. There are plenty of websites and spaces where people can share their opinions, no matter what they are. But the question is, does the news media need to moderate comments?
When you get down to it, although the news media is the main communicator of information it's not always necessary to communicate the thoughts of a disgruntled few.
So I can understand the need for comment moderation by news media organisations as well as the need for people to openly express themselves without censorship. But honestly, what's truly going to be accomplished with a crude online comment? Probably nothing but hurt feelings so you do your thing media.
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