The Montana Standard is changing its online commenting policy.
As of Jan. 1, 2016, comments on mtstandard.com will no longer appear attributed to the writers’ user names, but rather to their actual names.
We have encountered consistent difficulty with posts that exceed the bounds of civil discourse – as have many sites where comments from anonymous posters are allowed. We believe that mtstandard.com is and should be a central gathering place where Southwest Montana readers can make their feelings known about the issues of the day. But we have heard from many readers that abusive comments have discouraged them from participation in online discussions.
At the time of the conversion to the new system Jan. 1, all previous comments on the site will be reattributed to the authors’ real names rather than usernames. Those who do not want their names attached to their previous comments must email comments@mtstandard.com by Dec. 26 and request that their comments be removed.
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Belief in free speech is fundamental to our profession and to the values of The Standard – as is belief in transparency.
The use of actual names should be no impediment to normal give and take on the issues, and it should prevent many of the offensive comments.
The site will still be moderated for abusive comments, and we will do our best to confirm that commenters are registered under their real names.
We appreciate your patience and invite you to join the conversation.
