10 ways to improve comments for the news site
Derek Povazhek (about whom they have already written on Habré) posted in his blog an article about organizing a commenting system on a news site. Meet
Here are 10 ways a news site can use to improve the quality of comments. (In fact, there are many more, but no editor will resist the temptation to create a list of the "10 most-most").
')
Anonymity is important in journalism, but not for comment.
There are many good reasons to allow anonymity, especially in the news. Sometimes the source needs to speak out against the employer or the government, without naming itself. Fine. But there is no reason, really no reason to allow people to write comments without registering for a start.
Simply entering the required registration, you will get rid of 80% of your problems with comments. If it is important to allow anonymous statements, you can give the user the opportunity to remove his name from individual comments, leaving the need to write from under the account. (In other words, the user must log in with his name so that the system can identify them, but he can comment as “Anonymous.” Anonymous comments are placed in a moderation queue to prevent abuse.
No one likes to learn about the rule after the violation. Write a set of community rules that the person understands ( Habr's rules are a great example ). Let users need to agree with them during the registration process, and leave a link to them in each comment form. In this case, if necessary, you can say "We warned you."
Then follow these rules. Delete bad comments and mark good ones. There is a common misconception that comment moderation is a big responsibility. This is not true. Managing your community does not usually mean a special additional burden for you.
If you can’t call a community manager, it’s probably you.
You would not allow a writer to publish his work without editorial editing - so why allow commentators to allow it? If you give people the opportunity to leave comments on your site, someone should check them. Think of them as editors in a publishing house.
You do not need to read every comment before posting it on the site, someone must delete those that violate the rules established in the community. Like graffiti in the space of a city, bad comments attract other similar commentators. But community moderators should be more than just policemen - they should be the connecting link between the project team and the participants. They should lead by example, participate in discussions and help newcomers, and also make a periodic “community weather forecast” for the team so that feedback from the participants can be used.
Although users can write their own comments, this does not mean that you cannot help them.
Once, at a time when we were submitting comments on the Fray website, we were constantly improving the behavior of the comment form. If you were trying to send something too long, she asked you to reformulate in short. If the comment was too small, you were asked to speak out more fully. If you wrote CAPITAL, we brought the sentences to a normal form (Flickr does this now). It is quite simple for a computer, and is of great importance for users.
If you think bad comments annoy you, they are twice as annoying as good commentators.
Yes, you can pay someone from the team and make it a community moderator. In addition, you can give the community the opportunity to act independently. Give each comment a “-” button. Then make for the manager a page where he could see the comments that collected the most votes against and take appropriate action.
Additionally, you can give each comment a “+” button so that users inform you of good comments. Remember that users are not enemies: they also want to keep the site clean.
The worst thing you can do is separate the comments from the content. This creates a “unofficial” channel where users may behave inadequately, because - why not? Anyway, they are "at the children's table."
So link stories and discussions as closely as possible. This will give the discussion a central theme.
The Internet does not write malicious letters to the editor, he definitely contributes to this. And this is normal - sometimes people need to blow off steam. Your job is to control the steam valve.
Comments to some news are so insane because the reader has no other way to respond. People are happy to talk with you one on one, if you give them that opportunity.
So create a form, using which a person can send a letter to editors, and leave a link to it in the form of adding a comment. Say, "If you want to send a private message, click here."
This way you can get some angry letters, but it's better to have them in your mail than on the site, where they will only add fuel to the fire.
Let your writers participate in the discussion. People quickly cool down when they understand that the author of the news reads their messages (and act much more decisively when they think that no one hears them). I know, writers may consider this an additional burden for the work, and most likely they will hate in advance such a duty. Very sorry. This is part of the evolution of journalism - either you're on board or not.
A good way to get writers involved in the discussion of their stories is to allow them to moderate comments on their own articles. They can do this in their blog, and they should have the same opportunity in their stories (under the supervision of the community manager, of course).
Well-intentioned participants are usually pleased when authors participate in discussions. Unfortunately, it can also attract trolls - users playing the game "gobble up as much of your time as possible."
Teach your authors online behavior. If someone tries to freak you out, don't give in. A good manager can help authors understand when and how to enter the discussion.
News sites are hierarchically organized communities, unlike the Internet. Get used to the fact that people on the network will not follow your instructions. In general, the only thing you can expect is surprises. When this happens, you will be judged by your further actions. Get ready for surprises.
Source: Mechanical World
Here are 10 ways a news site can use to improve the quality of comments. (In fact, there are many more, but no editor will resist the temptation to create a list of the "10 most-most").
1. Require registration
')
Anonymity is important in journalism, but not for comment.
There are many good reasons to allow anonymity, especially in the news. Sometimes the source needs to speak out against the employer or the government, without naming itself. Fine. But there is no reason, really no reason to allow people to write comments without registering for a start.
Simply entering the required registration, you will get rid of 80% of your problems with comments. If it is important to allow anonymous statements, you can give the user the opportunity to remove his name from individual comments, leaving the need to write from under the account. (In other words, the user must log in with his name so that the system can identify them, but he can comment as “Anonymous.” Anonymous comments are placed in a moderation queue to prevent abuse.
2. Set the rules and enforce them
No one likes to learn about the rule after the violation. Write a set of community rules that the person understands ( Habr's rules are a great example ). Let users need to agree with them during the registration process, and leave a link to them in each comment form. In this case, if necessary, you can say "We warned you."
Then follow these rules. Delete bad comments and mark good ones. There is a common misconception that comment moderation is a big responsibility. This is not true. Managing your community does not usually mean a special additional burden for you.
3. Appoint a community manager
If you can’t call a community manager, it’s probably you.
You would not allow a writer to publish his work without editorial editing - so why allow commentators to allow it? If you give people the opportunity to leave comments on your site, someone should check them. Think of them as editors in a publishing house.
You do not need to read every comment before posting it on the site, someone must delete those that violate the rules established in the community. Like graffiti in the space of a city, bad comments attract other similar commentators. But community moderators should be more than just policemen - they should be the connecting link between the project team and the participants. They should lead by example, participate in discussions and help newcomers, and also make a periodic “community weather forecast” for the team so that feedback from the participants can be used.
4. Manage input
Although users can write their own comments, this does not mean that you cannot help them.
Once, at a time when we were submitting comments on the Fray website, we were constantly improving the behavior of the comment form. If you were trying to send something too long, she asked you to reformulate in short. If the comment was too small, you were asked to speak out more fully. If you wrote CAPITAL, we brought the sentences to a normal form (Flickr does this now). It is quite simple for a computer, and is of great importance for users.
5. Let the community help you
If you think bad comments annoy you, they are twice as annoying as good commentators.
Yes, you can pay someone from the team and make it a community moderator. In addition, you can give the community the opportunity to act independently. Give each comment a “-” button. Then make for the manager a page where he could see the comments that collected the most votes against and take appropriate action.
Additionally, you can give each comment a “+” button so that users inform you of good comments. Remember that users are not enemies: they also want to keep the site clean.
6. Combine stories and comments
The worst thing you can do is separate the comments from the content. This creates a “unofficial” channel where users may behave inadequately, because - why not? Anyway, they are "at the children's table."
So link stories and discussions as closely as possible. This will give the discussion a central theme.
7. Allow private messages
The Internet does not write malicious letters to the editor, he definitely contributes to this. And this is normal - sometimes people need to blow off steam. Your job is to control the steam valve.
Comments to some news are so insane because the reader has no other way to respond. People are happy to talk with you one on one, if you give them that opportunity.
So create a form, using which a person can send a letter to editors, and leave a link to it in the form of adding a comment. Say, "If you want to send a private message, click here."
This way you can get some angry letters, but it's better to have them in your mail than on the site, where they will only add fuel to the fire.
8. Participate ...
Let your writers participate in the discussion. People quickly cool down when they understand that the author of the news reads their messages (and act much more decisively when they think that no one hears them). I know, writers may consider this an additional burden for the work, and most likely they will hate in advance such a duty. Very sorry. This is part of the evolution of journalism - either you're on board or not.
A good way to get writers involved in the discussion of their stories is to allow them to moderate comments on their own articles. They can do this in their blog, and they should have the same opportunity in their stories (under the supervision of the community manager, of course).
9. ... But do not feed the trolls
Well-intentioned participants are usually pleased when authors participate in discussions. Unfortunately, it can also attract trolls - users playing the game "gobble up as much of your time as possible."
Teach your authors online behavior. If someone tries to freak you out, don't give in. A good manager can help authors understand when and how to enter the discussion.
10. Release control
News sites are hierarchically organized communities, unlike the Internet. Get used to the fact that people on the network will not follow your instructions. In general, the only thing you can expect is surprises. When this happens, you will be judged by your further actions. Get ready for surprises.
Source: Mechanical World
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/31680/
All Articles