Understanding Spectrum’s New Commenting Policy
Today (Monday, August 10), Spectrum implements its new commenting policy, approved by the Spectrum / Adventist Forum Board. Here is the explanation of the commenting guidelines that now accompanies each new article posted on the Spectrum Website:
If you respond to this article, please:
Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. Comments that fail to meet these criteria will be removed.
The biggest change is asking commenters to limit themselves to one comment per article.
When the policy was announced a few days ago, several regular commenters voiced their dismay with this provision. What has become abundantly clear is that there are two distinct categories of readers who visit this website: those who come here for the articles–the news, analysis and commentary Spectrum provides, and those who come specifically for the discussion that has up til this point taken place in the public comments section.
I’ve likened Spectrum’s Website and public comments section to a crowded train car in which a small group is having a fairly lively and loud conversation. Because of the volume of their conversation and the close proximity, everyone in the train car becomes a participant in the small group’s conversation–unavoidably. We (meaning members of Spectrum’s Board and Web Team) have received a lot of feedback, some of it pretty strident feedback, over several years now, from people who have said they do not want to be obliged to overhear everything the people in the train car have to say.
So what if we were to provide something for both those who are just on the train for the ride–who just want to get to a specific destination, and for those whose reason for riding the train is the lively conversation itself? This new commenting policy is an attempt to do that. Here’s how:
By asking commenters to limit themselves to one comment per article, the hope is that people will take advantage of the opportunity to provide substantive, quality responses to the topics at hand, as presented in the articles. The emphasis is on quality rather than on quantity.
The commenting software Spectrum uses–Discourse, it’s called–has a feature built in that we are leveraging to its full potential to give the back-and-forth conversation lovers a place to keep the conversation going in a separate train car on a parallel track: the Spectrum Lounge.
The Lounge is a feature of Discourse software intended for the frequent fliers (to mix metaphors a little bit) to be able to meet privately off the public comments section. There are close to 100 registered users already eligible for and participating in discussion in the Lounge. Essentially, the Lounge functions like a private web board or chat room, where commenting is basically self-moderated and unlimited. Lounge users can comment as often as they want with no limitation on the number of comments per topic.
I’m encouraging people who would like more information about using the Lounge to email me at wrightj@spectrummagazine.org. I am doing my best to approve all users who would like to take advantage of the conversations happening in that space.
Will providing these parallel tracks create a more welcoming place for those who come for the banter and those who come to read articles alike? We’ll see. We’re initiating a 30-day trial period for the new commenting policy, starting today. At the end of 30 days, the Board will assess the efficacy of the changes and decide whether to make them permanent or to make additional adjustments. During the trial period, specific feedback is welcome.
One final note: Because Discourse software does not have a built-in mechanism for limiting the number of times a person comments, we are relying on readers’ respectful compliance with the commenting policy and their self-limiting. We have a small group of moderators who will be reading and helping to ensure that commenters abide by the guidelines as well. We hope that commenters will not violate the policy deliberately, but in the unlikely case that someone does, we are prepared to suspend accounts temporarily.
Ultimately, we want the Spectrum Website to continue to be a place for outstanding news, analysis and commentary, and a place for lively conversation for those who want to participate.
With thanks to all the contributors, readers and commenters who make the Spectrum Website the great place it is,
Jared Wright
Managing Editor
Spectrum Magazine
If you respond to this article, please:
Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. Comments that fail to meet these criteria will be removed.
