Feb. 19, 2017 Staff Report
The comment section of the Astoria Post is likely to change following an increase in the number of mean-spirited responses in recent times.
The Astoria Post’s comment section has rarely been moderated and that was largely because of the belief of “free speech,” as well as the sheer volume of them on a day-to-day basis. Between the Astoria Post and the other sites that are part of the Queens Post, more than 100 comments come in per day.
A new comment system is likely to be put in place by March 1. Before that is done we would like your feedback.
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There hasn’t been a change of improvement in the commentary section here since I’ve started viewing these articles. As a long time reader of the queens/astoria post, there’s always someone out there that won’t enforce certain rules. Then again, it’s like everything else out there: always a bad seed in a group of apples grown from a tree for no reason at all. This is one of the major reasons why anonymous posters (like me and others) are forced to keep their names hidden so there’s no identity tracking, nor moderators warning you of controversial posts that aren’t part of the subject. EIther way, it’s a lose/lose situation. And plus, I prefer to keep my anonymity this way until either things change for the better, or keep things as is until someone says something that crosses over the line of commentary…
I think people are making up accounts so that they can stay anonymous.
Agreed
I’d recommend having people register to leave comments, so they’re held accountable for anything they write. People could always hide behind an anonymous comment (such as this one — hi!). Or, people who really, really want to troll could just create a fake username/email address associated with it and post things — but if they go through the extra steps, then so be it. But, people who just want to leave a quick, dumb comment to troll won’t make the effort — but if they do make the effort, the comment better damn well be funny.
I have often been stunned by the number of overt racist comments, which I do not believe reflect the mainstream Astoria community. Like other online forums, Astoriapost has lately been beset by trolling more than before. Not sure how realistic it is to moderate them all though. Perhaps either real name registration or flagging of the obvious racist/misogynist garbage. However, I think that simply contentious dialogue should not be screened out.
Astoriapost….How do you account for the moderator’s own bias? What would be the criteria for deleting posts???? Too much subjectivity.
Swearing is not subjective . They could go after low hanging fruit . But there nothing wrong with being subjective . No one has a rite to post here . If you have kids , is your comment showing the type of respect you except them to use when speaking to a teacher ? Then that’s how people should speak here.
Harassing , name-calling , threatening and/or racist comments should not get approved. There’s no reason people can’t discuss things professionally .
I’m in agreement with ivan beacco. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…
mmmhhh, slippery slope…you start filtering comments because they are mean, next thing you know you’ll “moderate” comments that are less agreeable and in no time you’ll have full blown censorship…..not a fan
The majority of the comments left on Astoria Post articles are anonymous complaints from people who are completely devoid of any joy or happiness in their lives. Maybe filtering the comments a bit will encourage them to go outside and get some much needed air/sun.