the readers editor on closing comments below the line | stephen pritchard /

Published at 2016-03-27 03:04:01

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Sometimes there is so much rage that a mature debate is impossibleHolocaust denial,rampant misogyny and deeply questionable attitudes to underage sex all made brief, unwelcome appearances on our website final Sunday morning in comments posted below the line. Despite valiant efforts by the moderators to repel the bigots, and threads on three separate opinion pieces had to be closed after barely two hours. The bullies had won.
In January,I
wrote approximately unusual efforts to keep the party polite online as comment numbers were ballooning up to 65000 a day. Subjects such as race, immigration and Islam too often attracted toxic commentary, or so henceforth they would only enjoy comments open if a moderated,positive debate were deemed possible – one without racism, abuse of vulnerable subjects, or author abuse or trolling.
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Source: theguardian.com

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