Thursday, March 15, 2007

OC Register Staff in Need of Internet 101


Way back when, before the Internet, I ran a bulletin board system, and I was quick to learn you can not allow users free reign when it comes to leaving comments. Users are quick to point out faults of others when they feel no one can contact them or throw barbs back their way via e-mail.

The Orange County Register found this out when it ran a story about an obese women giving birth to a baby, only problem, because of her weight she was unaware she was pregnant.

Comments were allowed on this story, and they ranged from down right mean spirited to kindness. I was always under the assumption writers and editors had experience when it comes to the online community, was I ever wrong.

This simple pressman knows more about online user habits than people running online newspapers, isn’t that something?

Jesse and myself moderate all of the comments directed at posts on this blog, otherwise you would see many negative comments about our beloved vice-presidents of production at the Los Angeles Times.

The Orange County Register, and all online newspapers, needs to implement a registration system for users leaving comments. One that inserts their e-mail addresses when leaving comments. You would be surprised at how quickly the anonymous comments will disappear, and users act as if someone was watching them.



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