Posting comments on stories is not a right, it’s a gift

For several months now the staff at the Frontiersman has been discussing how to bring some civility back to the news conversation. Until we come up with guidelines to take the subjectivity out of deciding which comments to attach to stories, we are going to be more severe in what is posted online.

To start with, no cussing. Not even * @.

If you can’t make your point without rude language you won’t be heard. More than one comment wasn’t posted because after making a good point, the writer cursed. One needless word silenced you. We are going to be much more aware of those kinds of posts.

Don’t make it personal.

The recent football season brought out the worst in some of you. Name calling, Monday morning quarterbacking and even suggesting who should play where. These are kids. Leave them out of the complaining.

Typically, elected officials are fair game, but calling them criminals when no charges have been filed is out of the question. Words such as “pervert” or “retard” will not be published.

Disagreeing with someone’s idea is OK, but it’s not OK to call them a moron.

After you’ve written a comment, let it rest for an hour before hitting the send button. Allowing a comment simmer for a few minutes might save you from writing something you regret later. Or send it to a friend or relative you trust to get their input before firing off an offensive comment.

Comments should be on topic. Making a statement about the president when the story is about street construction doesn’t make sense.

It’s become so bad we are considering requiring a registration of some kind so if someone is consistently writing inappropriately, we will simply ban him or her from the comments board.

We hope to have some rules in place soon, so if you have suggestions about how to make the comments on stories better, we would like to hear them. You can do that by posting on this story on our Web site at www.frontiersman.com.

Of course, if you call the editor or publisher a moron or pervert, nobody will see it.

We truly do want to have a discussion about the news of the day, an opinion column, letter to the editor or anything that sparks an interest. Just be civil when doing so.