Filtering comments

Posted Nov 20, 2004 10:07 UTC (Sat) by mdekkers (guest, #85) [Link]

I too would hate to see non-subscriber comments go the way of the dodo. This approach is very, very, heavy handed - especially in the light of the amount of really bad posts we have had here (almost none).

I would much prefer an "abuse" button attached to non-subscribers' posts, where the really bad posts can be flagged up, looked at by the editors, and hidden if so required. But who is to say what comments are acceptable, and what comments are not? Who decides what opinions are palatable?

However, any form of censorship abhors me. It is not technological measures or "exclusive voices" that are responsible for the quality of LWN, it is the quality of the editorials, articles and news that draw me here. If LWN is going to start censorship on one level (non-subscribers), the next level would surely be to edit out those that do not conform to "groupthink". Censorship is wrong.

Yes, some of the comments that have attracted or fanned this discussion have been outright trolls, but I personally do believe that some (most?) have simply been strong opinions voiced in a unfortunate manner, or opinions from people who truly do not "get" it. In all of those cases I have been surprised and dissapointed in the reactions of the (mainly) subscribers - rather then educate, or attempt to discuss the merits or lack of merits of a particular point of view, there is condemnation and mock outrage. In my mind, in many cases (although not all) it was the quality of the responses that gave the discussions in questions a "slashdot" feel, not the original comment.

If this is going to turn into a community where dissenting voices are not allowed, I would no longer be interested in partaking in that community. If censorship (especially censorship based on "are you a paid up member of our little club" criteria) finds its way to LWN, I will probably just let my LWN subscription lapse, and will no longer visit, as much as it would pain me to do so. At the end of the day, if I were a troll, I would happily plonk down a few bucks just to annoy those overly sensitive souls who cannot bear to see someone saying something they do not agree with.