As I’m sure everyone has noticed, politics these days can be incredibly polarizing. No matter what your beliefs are, there’s going to be someone on the Internet willing to anonymously insult you for it.
Thus, when I went to view comments on a friend’s letter to the editor on LimaOhio.com recently, I wasn’t expecting the discussion there to be very civil. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that none of the comments were cruel (although the letter was a bit controversial). That’s when I noticed something new: The Lima News online now has a comment policy!
This policy, which seems to be new, mentions the golden rule and includes the statement that “sexist, racist, misogynistic, homophobic and broad, offensive generalizations about groups of people are simply not allowed. Comments or discussions written intentionally to provoke will also be removed.”
It also states that The Lima News has the right to remove comments that they believe violate the policy, and even ban users from commenting on the site altogether if need be. Although the staff can’t review every single comment, users can flag comments for review, which I assume means someone on staff will be looking it over.
As a Lima News letter writer and reader, I would like to commend the staff for instituting this policy on their website. It has provided for me a needed breath of fresh air in a political climate that is increasingly bogged down with anger and bitterness.
Kerry Bush
Bluffton
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
