Many mainline news organizations and other sites are removing the "Comments" section from their websites since they are being abused. Here are a few thoughts on how to remedy this. In fact, this could work for social media sites like Facebook as well.
- Filter all comments and separate those who are from anonymous senders. The one negative to this is that some anonymous senders are legitimate in the sense they might feel at risk if they bring out what they feel is an injustice at work, school, other places in society. Given that a large number of anonymous comments are abusive it does make sense to put such comments in a section on there own. To be clear, they are still allowed to make comments, however readers are not forced to wade through comments to find those made by people who are willing to be accountable for their comments.
- Make it mandatory for everyone to self assess their own comments before it is accepted using the following ratings: Pro, Neutral, Con
- Also make it mandatory for everyone to self assess their own comments before it is accepted using the following ratings: Respectful, Mostly Respectful, Somewhat Abusive, Abusive
- Then set it up so that others can rate each of these self ratings using the following scale: Accurate, So-So, Not Accurate
- Allow readers to sort comments by these filters.
Then readers could easily avoid comments that are abusive. They could also avoid comments by those who have a poor accuracy rating on the abusive scale.
For the sake of freedom of speech, anonymous and disrespectful comments would be still allowed, but people would also have the freedom to choose not to be consumers of such media. As it stands now, it is almost impossible to avoid. A process such as the above would facilitate that freedom to avoid disrespectful and abusive media or at the very least to consume it in a manner in which one has some control.
For the sake of freedom of speech, anonymous and disrespectful comments would be still allowed, but people would also have the freedom to choose not to be consumers of such media. As it stands now, it is almost impossible to avoid. A process such as the above would facilitate that freedom to avoid disrespectful and abusive media or at the very least to consume it in a manner in which one has some control.
If these Accuracy ratings could be attached to the commenter and be available to any comment they make in any comment section or on any social media, like a badge of honour or dishonour as it may be, then the system would soon become self selecting.
The Long View:
Of course, in the long run, the solution is to develop a culture of respect. This is a cultural change which can actually start with our youth. As an adult, I am ashamed and apologize for the culture of disrespect that has developed all around you, our youth. You see in the media, with politicians, in schools, on the Internet, and in just about every aspect of our society including religion. It is no wonder that you, our youth, pick up on it too. The youth of the world, you have more capability to change things than you may realize. You can start a "revolution of respect".
Of course, in the long run, the solution is to develop a culture of respect. This is a cultural change which can actually start with our youth. As an adult, I am ashamed and apologize for the culture of disrespect that has developed all around you, our youth. You see in the media, with politicians, in schools, on the Internet, and in just about every aspect of our society including religion. It is no wonder that you, our youth, pick up on it too. The youth of the world, you have more capability to change things than you may realize. You can start a "revolution of respect".
