HeraldNet posts an article "Feed the trolls or let them starve?" and wow, how offensive. They sit there and act as publishing tolls themselves.
"Lurking can be fun, and part of the website’s mission is to entertain." What is this? No, you are wrong. I cannot believe what I just read. The website's mission is NOT to entertain, it is to INFORM. If I want to be entertained I will go to ESPN or an entertainment website. The news is NOT entertainment, it is NEWS, INFORMATION.
How lost is the media?
Jack - 8 years ago
Well I see the Herald editorial board (could Lydia be one of them?) has voted up a storm since yesterday.
Lydia - 8 years ago
"Freedom of Speech" only applies to the US government. Private parties can set standards and select what it wants to or not on its pages, paper or digital.
Lydia - 8 years ago
The "flame wars" that pass for comments on news sites are horrible. Its not censorship when the publishers take down the comments. The threads just turn into jabs and insults. Totally pointless waste of bandwidth.
Jack - 8 years ago
I guess the Herald censors/editorial board are going to leave this poll up until they have voted "better without them enough" to justify their decision to eliminate comments.
Ed Stephens - 8 years ago
So the Herald is going the way of censoring? Ever heard of the 1st Amendment? There's no right not to be offended. So now it's control the message or comments that may or may not march in lock step with administrators and columnists who promote their often one-sided and factually challenged views? Pretty dogmatic and intolerant of other views if you ask me. The Herald seems to be getting closer to Orwell's newspeak where they can put out their 'news' in an echo chamber. It's no wonder that newspapers are going the way of the Dodo.
As for those who don't like comments; gee now that's pretty easy, don't read them. The same thing goes for TV, if it's a program you don't want to see, change the channel. If either of those options are too difficult for your sensitive mind, then you're probably not someone who can function in society and need to check yourself into a place that caters to those hyper-sensitive to 'trigger alerts'.
NeverJetHot - 8 years ago
I used to enjoy reading and posting comments at KOMO before they took them out.
I know the media business is tough, and if pulling the comments section pencils out better than leaving them in, fine. I would hope that you would get a lot more clicks and ad revenue by leaving them in. Or maybe have an online only subscriber tier that includes permission to comment? Resources have to be devoted to policing the comments section, that costs money.
Let's not pretend this is about offensive comments or censorship... It's a business.
Francine - 8 years ago
Wow. Can't believe they actually took the comments down...S-E-N-S-I-T-I-V-E. Lol, pat yourselves on the back Herald staff, Smdh.
Jake - 8 years ago
I think comments should come back. We get a really good picture of the county -- and the paper's readership -- through the comments section. While they are a little "lowest common denominator" in terms of quality, the paper itself really doesn't show the whole story without comments to draw from as well.
Jim D. - 8 years ago
Many of the comments here further validate why they are no longer needed.
"3rd Reich"..... please...
T - 8 years ago
Suppress the voice of the people... Sounds like something the 3rd Reich would have done. I thought we lived in America where there is a freedom of speech. I guess only in the case of mutual agreement on the subject. Sad, polarized times we are living in.
Wa-Fix - 8 years ago
Bring them back. I noticed I barley visit this site now that the comments are gone. If removed I am absolutely canceling my subscription, along with having my family, and emailing their sponsors about this. Totally wrong to silence those opinions they don't agree with n
David Brooks - 8 years ago
To say the Everett Herald is a little left leaning would be a complete understatement. I agree with Kenneth Weigel's statement that "the Heralds editorial staff is rabidly left wing".
If the Herald will not allow comments to their "Stories" then everyone should take this news paper for what it is a 'Story report paper" not a news paper. News is based on facts.... Not opinions.
I think people using their real names would not hurt! I have always used my real name to post on the Herald.
Jim D. - 8 years ago
Unless heavily moderated and active banning of the offenders keep them turned off. I have not seen many constructive comments posted in years.
greta - 8 years ago
In a time where being PC is being shoved down our throats, and you "writers" are taking offense to the little people's opinions? ...Sure if someone is harassing and being annoying, block them. But it's very communist of The Herald to block ALL comments. Get over being butt hurt.
David Kramer - 8 years ago
People voicing their opinions is a great thing. The wise cracks and inflammatory rhetoric is not useful or helpful. Making assumptions about and insulting people in the news seems counter productive to sharing different points of view .
To those who think that the paper is too biased left, let me remind you that many of the readers feel the paper is too biased right. A discussion is much better than yelling and ranting. We will probably never change each others mind.
I don't have an easy answer, but I would like to see comments come back if the trolls and wiseguys can be held at bay. Maybe eliminating the anonymous postings would help .
I very much want the comments to come back. Your readers have a combined wealth of knowledge and experience that no reporter, or editorial staff, could possibly match. The readers can add content that is much more important than someone's feelings getting hurt.
If some reader does not like the comments, they can just ignore them and not read them. What is so difficult about that?
Finally, your whole editorial staff is rabidly left wing. You do not balance your editorials by allowing anyone with opposing views to be published. If you do not bring comments back, you are intellectually obligated to start publishing opposing views to your editorials.
Steven - 8 years ago
Bring back the comments, please. If someone is habitually abusive, you can block them from posting in the comments sections. Plus, it's easy enough to just scroll right past anything a person might find offensive. If the comments sections causes a person so much angst that they would support closing them permanently, I would suggest they simply avert their eyes. There's no good reason to bar the rest of us from the fun of watching Web trolls self-implode.
jake - 8 years ago
Is this the 'new' college campus where speech is scary?
Brenda Stonecipher - 8 years ago
Only allow comments from people who use their own name. You could accomplish this by linking the commenting privilege to a subscriber account, presumably with a name of which you have verification. Without anonymity, commenters will be on much better behavior.
Nigel - 8 years ago
The comments are the most interesting part! Bring them back!!
PhilB - 8 years ago
Comments can add important information to news stories. They can also challenge story writers to include missing important information such as the 116th I-5 bridge expansion which cited the need due to increased traffic to the casino and outlet stores. Missing was any reference to one of the states busiest truck stops (Dona's) located next to the bridge/exits. Heavy truck traffic has the biggest impact on the bridge. Such a lack of information made me wonder if the reporter ever visited the project..
Cindy Howard - 8 years ago
Freedom of Speech !
Ursula - 8 years ago
Bring the comments back. People that don't like them, don't have to read them. People that do, can. Everybody gets what they want.
Jack Sandeds - 8 years ago
Anonymous writers taking cheap and vulgar shots at others is just plain wrong. Leave the writing to the professionals who sign their names to their "work"
Jack - 8 years ago
Bring back the comments, dump Sid Swab.
Gary - 8 years ago
I'm with Godschild, bring back the comments. Heck a big reason I even subscribe is to read good articles and then comment my take on them.
Godschild - 8 years ago
Whats wrong with comments ? Every person I know has an opinion and that's all it is , is an opinion and since everyone has one why would anyone care if there were a section open for comments ? Just because everyone does not agree with one another your going to stop comments ? Now that is real Communism there my fellow Americans true to the nature !
HeraldNet posts an article "Feed the trolls or let them starve?" and wow, how offensive. They sit there and act as publishing tolls themselves.
"Lurking can be fun, and part of the website’s mission is to entertain." What is this? No, you are wrong. I cannot believe what I just read. The website's mission is NOT to entertain, it is to INFORM. If I want to be entertained I will go to ESPN or an entertainment website. The news is NOT entertainment, it is NEWS, INFORMATION.
How lost is the media?
Well I see the Herald editorial board (could Lydia be one of them?) has voted up a storm since yesterday.
"Freedom of Speech" only applies to the US government. Private parties can set standards and select what it wants to or not on its pages, paper or digital.
The "flame wars" that pass for comments on news sites are horrible. Its not censorship when the publishers take down the comments. The threads just turn into jabs and insults. Totally pointless waste of bandwidth.
I guess the Herald censors/editorial board are going to leave this poll up until they have voted "better without them enough" to justify their decision to eliminate comments.
So the Herald is going the way of censoring? Ever heard of the 1st Amendment? There's no right not to be offended. So now it's control the message or comments that may or may not march in lock step with administrators and columnists who promote their often one-sided and factually challenged views? Pretty dogmatic and intolerant of other views if you ask me. The Herald seems to be getting closer to Orwell's newspeak where they can put out their 'news' in an echo chamber. It's no wonder that newspapers are going the way of the Dodo.
As for those who don't like comments; gee now that's pretty easy, don't read them. The same thing goes for TV, if it's a program you don't want to see, change the channel. If either of those options are too difficult for your sensitive mind, then you're probably not someone who can function in society and need to check yourself into a place that caters to those hyper-sensitive to 'trigger alerts'.
I used to enjoy reading and posting comments at KOMO before they took them out.
I know the media business is tough, and if pulling the comments section pencils out better than leaving them in, fine. I would hope that you would get a lot more clicks and ad revenue by leaving them in. Or maybe have an online only subscriber tier that includes permission to comment? Resources have to be devoted to policing the comments section, that costs money.
Let's not pretend this is about offensive comments or censorship... It's a business.
Wow. Can't believe they actually took the comments down...S-E-N-S-I-T-I-V-E. Lol, pat yourselves on the back Herald staff, Smdh.
I think comments should come back. We get a really good picture of the county -- and the paper's readership -- through the comments section. While they are a little "lowest common denominator" in terms of quality, the paper itself really doesn't show the whole story without comments to draw from as well.
Many of the comments here further validate why they are no longer needed.
"3rd Reich"..... please...
Suppress the voice of the people... Sounds like something the 3rd Reich would have done. I thought we lived in America where there is a freedom of speech. I guess only in the case of mutual agreement on the subject. Sad, polarized times we are living in.
Bring them back. I noticed I barley visit this site now that the comments are gone. If removed I am absolutely canceling my subscription, along with having my family, and emailing their sponsors about this. Totally wrong to silence those opinions they don't agree with n
To say the Everett Herald is a little left leaning would be a complete understatement. I agree with Kenneth Weigel's statement that "the Heralds editorial staff is rabidly left wing".
If the Herald will not allow comments to their "Stories" then everyone should take this news paper for what it is a 'Story report paper" not a news paper. News is based on facts.... Not opinions.
I think people using their real names would not hurt! I have always used my real name to post on the Herald.
Unless heavily moderated and active banning of the offenders keep them turned off. I have not seen many constructive comments posted in years.
In a time where being PC is being shoved down our throats, and you "writers" are taking offense to the little people's opinions? ...Sure if someone is harassing and being annoying, block them. But it's very communist of The Herald to block ALL comments. Get over being butt hurt.
People voicing their opinions is a great thing. The wise cracks and inflammatory rhetoric is not useful or helpful. Making assumptions about and insulting people in the news seems counter productive to sharing different points of view .
To those who think that the paper is too biased left, let me remind you that many of the readers feel the paper is too biased right. A discussion is much better than yelling and ranting. We will probably never change each others mind.
I don't have an easy answer, but I would like to see comments come back if the trolls and wiseguys can be held at bay. Maybe eliminating the anonymous postings would help .
I very much want the comments to come back. Your readers have a combined wealth of knowledge and experience that no reporter, or editorial staff, could possibly match. The readers can add content that is much more important than someone's feelings getting hurt.
If some reader does not like the comments, they can just ignore them and not read them. What is so difficult about that?
Finally, your whole editorial staff is rabidly left wing. You do not balance your editorials by allowing anyone with opposing views to be published. If you do not bring comments back, you are intellectually obligated to start publishing opposing views to your editorials.
Bring back the comments, please. If someone is habitually abusive, you can block them from posting in the comments sections. Plus, it's easy enough to just scroll right past anything a person might find offensive. If the comments sections causes a person so much angst that they would support closing them permanently, I would suggest they simply avert their eyes. There's no good reason to bar the rest of us from the fun of watching Web trolls self-implode.
Is this the 'new' college campus where speech is scary?
Only allow comments from people who use their own name. You could accomplish this by linking the commenting privilege to a subscriber account, presumably with a name of which you have verification. Without anonymity, commenters will be on much better behavior.
The comments are the most interesting part! Bring them back!!
Comments can add important information to news stories. They can also challenge story writers to include missing important information such as the 116th I-5 bridge expansion which cited the need due to increased traffic to the casino and outlet stores. Missing was any reference to one of the states busiest truck stops (Dona's) located next to the bridge/exits. Heavy truck traffic has the biggest impact on the bridge. Such a lack of information made me wonder if the reporter ever visited the project..
Freedom of Speech !
Bring the comments back. People that don't like them, don't have to read them. People that do, can. Everybody gets what they want.
Anonymous writers taking cheap and vulgar shots at others is just plain wrong. Leave the writing to the professionals who sign their names to their "work"
Bring back the comments, dump Sid Swab.
I'm with Godschild, bring back the comments. Heck a big reason I even subscribe is to read good articles and then comment my take on them.
Whats wrong with comments ? Every person I know has an opinion and that's all it is , is an opinion and since everyone has one why would anyone care if there were a section open for comments ? Just because everyone does not agree with one another your going to stop comments ? Now that is real Communism there my fellow Americans true to the nature !