One comment per story would be nice.
This would help stop the childish argueing.

Why not just not allow comments at all? Just run Jay Hill's weekly BS piece.

Sounds like Jimmy Pattison bought Opinion 250. What is your name OPINION 250. So what do you really want people to say?

(1) No. Having phone numbers, addresses, and names, only opens up another avenue of problems etc;. If people want to expess their opinion with their name etc; they can do so in the local papers any day of the week. Major papers like the Vancouver Sun, CBC, Toronto Star, etc; do not publish the names, addresses, or phone numbers. Thousands of people who have strong feelings on different issues, like, Schools, Universities, Pulp Mills, the Forest Industry, City Hall, etc; etc; would not make a comment if their name was published because of the repercussions of their employers, etc;

(2) Opinion 250 could pre approve comments, however unless they are totally out of line why would you do that??? There is always the risk that you would not approve those articles that you do not agree with, and therefore become nothing more than a censor.

(3) One comment on a story usually leads to other comments, and the story is usually fleshed out by various opinions etc; One might have trouble exprssing their opinions on a story if they are restricted to one comment. Ie; In my opinion it would reduce the interest level. Quite often the comments on the story are more interesting than the story itself.

(4) Not sure what you mean by abusing the comments section. If you feel that some people are abusing the comments section, then you could pull their comment, and send them an email stating why you pulled them. You could also advise them that if they continue they will not be allowed to post.

Although Opinion 250 has 6267 people registered to make comments, it would appear that on any given day less than 100 actually do so. One can assume that a large number of these people may read the comments, but not actually comment themselves.

The beauty of Opinion 250 is that one gets the story relatively fast, and can make a comment while the story, or issue is still **hot** .

In my opinion it is the free wheeling exchange of comments between those making comments, that makes the site interesting. If you dumb down the comments to a certain level I suspect that you will lose a lot of commentators.

To 250 Views,

"Commenting on Opinion250 is a privilege, not some God given right."

It's not a god given right to have an audience, either.

(note, small g, because small g's annoy big c christians).

It's the people who make any online site worth reading. Without the comments and user involvement, sites like digg, fark, etc... wouldn't have nearly as many regulars. The viewers actually submit stories to those forums as active participants, maybe opinion250 should investigate this model.

Everyone who participates here knows it's not their site, but there is reciprocity expected in that opinions will be free to be expressed.

If this place changes to a mandatory telephone number/address scheme, people will just register under fake information from the phone book or google maps, since I doubt there is anyone there with the time or inclination to verify each and every registered user, or they will just stop using it.

If you lock it up tight so people feel like they're under a microscope for commenting, this place will be irrelevant overnight.

It would be a huge step back to lock down on your users, but feel free to do it. Someone will come along and replace this site's viewership with a facebook group or some other page.

{In my opinion it is the free wheeling exchange of comments between those making comments, that makes the site interesting. If you dumb down the comments to a certain level I suspect that you will lose a lot of commentators.}

I don't know what the answer is but I do agree with the above statement by Palopu.

I do love opinion250, but really wish it was in more of a forum format. Where you can follow stories and post to your interests, such as Castanet. We don't have something like that in the North, and the north would cover a huge area.(Say 100 mile, Pr. George, to Pr. Rupert, to white horse) Of coarse it would take dedication from various people (volunteer moderators) to make that happen, but I think it would be a great asset to the site and draw many more visitors, increasing sales leads for advertisers.

If Opinion 250 has suspended privileges for a few offenders then they should continue to do so. We shouldn't be punished for the antics of a few malcontents.

I just started reading peoples comments, I find it very interesting what people really think when they can say what they really mean without worrying about what they say or who is going to get mad or get sued for having their own opinion. ithink you should leave things as they are, those people who are offended need not read opion250

I would think that being required to provide a propper name, phone number and address is reasonable as long as people can continue to use an online name.

Real names and contact information can help the publishers deal with site bullies without taking away some people sense of security of expressing their opinions without fear of retribution.

I have seen some pretty scary commenters on here, not people that I would want to know my name and could look me up in the phone book or track me down at work.

I see a lot of crying here. Perhaps just shutting down comments all together would be appropriate.

I like things the way they are.

Cut privileges if need be.

Don't restrict posts to one comment�sometimes a rebuttal is needed, or a position may need defending with added information.

Don't pre approve
posts. The spontaneity on this site is what makes it worth visiting. If you want to collect proper names and numbers do so, but to what end?

If you are asking...a little bashing doesn't bother me. I take it with a grain of salt. Certain posters are outlandish and preposterous, that's life, I can deal.
If the faint of heart can't abide negative comments from other posters they needn't read them, IMHO.

And most of all KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK and thank you for maintaining this site, despite the obvious problems of managing pseudo-intellectuals, trolls, cranks, freaks, neanderthals and the rest of the great unwashed that frequent Opinion 250 most of us do appreciate the site and the community spirit that pervades it.

Me likey!

I feel that if anyone wants to criticise somebody by mentioning that persons name then it is only fair that they sign the post with their name, first and last. This includes if you want to criticise the politicians, high profile persons etc. The exception would be the criminals. I am not a computer whiz, but I have heard that there may be a way to identify persons who use anonymous names.

Another suggestion is what CBC has on its comment section, able to click "agree" or "disagree" on each comment made. Will show all of us if people agree or not with the comments posted.

About the real name and phone numbers, this info is fine but, as another commentor said, should be kepted private and only the internet name used. The info can be used if a comment threatens someone physically or whatever, becomes a police issue. Then the private info can be used to deal with the situation.

1. Require a phone number address and proper name? No way.

2. Pre approve the comments? OK, but make sure there is very wide latitude for what's allowed, and make the criteria public in advance.

3. Restrict comments to one per story? That defeats the purpose of the site.

4. Identify abusers? That's certainly unethical (maybe illegal?) if you've promised anonymity.

I say if it's not illegal (ie libel, slander, hate speech or threats) then it should be allowed.

My two cents.

I like the CBC concept of a thumbs up or down count for individual posts. As well the CBC use to have the ability to click on a posters name and see their posting history, so as to get a better judgment of the merits of their opinion if they’re a crank or making well thought out points... why they removed that puzzles me and I think it was because they became more censored on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and removing posters history fogged the debate on important issues.

I think the perception of censorship would greatly diminish the web site, I'd rather be called names than see that happen.

I do however agree that those that abuse their comments should be identified... as in their history of posting being available, and having noted all and any deleted posts in their profile, so as to inform other readers of the individuals past, as well as protecting the site from any accusation of posts being removed as a political filter. Even the cranks would I believe respect this type of censorship and also in addition to greater respect for the site they would also be subject to greater shame and public accountability for their behavior… correcting the behavior in ways censorship never will.

I think the anonymity of the posters is important especially in regards to legitimate debate and opinions on public officials, public institutions, and matters of public interest. If we were however voting, or anything related to direct public policy, then of course anonymity would not be acceptable, but that is not the case in what is essentially akin on this web site to a brain storming session of ideas... ideas that should they be taken past the idea stage would then require a level of identification of the advocate and critics alike.

I think to date 250 does a great job providing content and providing and open opportunity for people to participate in discussions. I would hope they can carry on this tradition dispite the no doubt difficult situtaitions from time to time.

I can appreciate the dilemma, and somehow there needs to be a balance; while 250 does a great job in bringing the news fast, some of the inane comments reduce the site's credibility in a lot of ways. I think the approach you've taken, to remove the privileges of repeat offenders, is probably the best one, and to keep reminding all contributors that there are some basic rules and there will be consequences if those kinds of comments continue. Put the responsibility on the few that abuse, not on all of us.

(1) Should we require a phone number address and proper name before allowing comments?

(2) Should Opinion250 , pre approve the comments?

(3) Should comments be restricted to one comment per story?

(4) Should those people who abuse the comments section be identified
1) no phone numbers, names or addresses.
2) pre approve if you must.
3) No, comments should not be restricted to one comment per story.
4) People who abuse the comments section should not be identified, but certainly rights to comment should be removed.

In my Opinion.. I would not like to lose the right to comment. this is a great news site, with current information... Often commenter's do get carried away with some other peoples' Opinions..thats just life thou.. we may not like other's Opinion but they are intitled to it.. We don't know who the person doing the commenting but sometimes its entertaining to read and try to figure out how some people think?? I also like the idea some have mentioned about the thumbs up or down.. But that is only my Opinion.

People can still lie about their phone numbers, addresses, and even names online. They can pretty much fill in the blanks with anythnig they want. So the requirement to provide this information to gain the right to comment is useless.

Restricting comments to one comment per story does not allow for adequate debate. There have been some great debates on this site and that's one of the highlights of coming back here.

Preapproving comments is not a good idea as it would prove to be very time consuming for the Opinion250 staff. I wouldn't recommend it. Actually if it was my site this is the one thing I'd try to avoid altogether.

The problem on this site starts when people get rude and resort to name calling or throwing around insults that are uncalled for, among other things.

Identifying people would only make Opinion250 seem childish. Kinda like running to mommy and being a taddle-tale.

In my opinion the best solution would be to warn people once with a sort of standard warning email so that they are aware their comments are not within the regulations of this site. Then if the behaviour continues simply ban them from accessing the site. It's a simple solution that would not be time consuming to the Opinion250 staff yet at the same time it also provides an oppotunity for the poster to clean up their act.

1) No
2) No
3) No
4) No
Why change it?
Who is complaining?
Are your advertisers unhappy?
My advice (since you asked us) CARRY ON.
metalman.

No comments means I'll read the news elsewhere; it's the comments that I really come to read. I like to see a little perspective from the common man (and/or woman).

Pre-moderation ruins the flow of the discourse and, of course, leads to cries of censorship. So does post-moderation but at least some of us get to read the comments before deletion.

Phone number, real name and address? To easy to fake unless someone at opinion250 is going to take the time to contact and verify the information? That would be a massive undertaking and you'd probably lose half to three-quarters of the readers who prefer anonymity.

One comment per story? Naw. As was pointed out, sometimes a rebuttal is required. And sometimes someone says something that is so asinine that a second comment is required. It's difficult to have a meaningful conversation if you're limited to one comment.

Name the offenders? That's kind of pointless. Hey all, JoeBlow has been banned from the site! OK, he'll be back tomorrow if he really wants to.

I think moderation after commenting is the way to go and the only comments that should be removed are those that slander or libel someone; ie posts that could end up causing legal headaches for the good folks at opinion250.

I moderate a couple of high traffic sites and I'll admit it takes a lot of work in the beginning but once the repeat offenders recognize the boundaries things get a lot easier.

Be excellent to each other and . . . Party on Dudes!

Names phone numbers addresses can be false but what most people forget is that when you sign on here your IP address is recordered. It does take some doing and proably software that the average Joe dosn't have but offenders can be tracked down.
If you want to, police the site and those commenters who repeatly abuse this site should be banned and those who promote breaking the law reported to the proper authorties. Some comments I have read on this site are racist and should not be tolarated.

i come to the site largely for the comments.

if those at opinion 250 change things, i beleive they will lose hits to the site.
lets be honest folks, there are some people on here with clear agendas, people with their heads shoved up dark places, but thats the entertainment part of the site. that is the part that makes the site good to review, is to examine the cross section of the public at large's thoughts...or lack thereof. most people know that a few bad apples spoil the bunch, but who cares? if you get offended by what someone anonomously ((sp) thats probably going to piss some of the posters off, "oh my god, a typo!!") posts, then you need to get a little dose of reality and grow up.

i come to the site largely for the comments.

if those at opinion 250 change things, i beleive they will lose hits to the site.
lets be honest folks, there are some people on here with clear agendas, people with their heads shoved up dark places, but thats the entertainment part of the site. that is the part that makes the site good to review, is to examine the cross section of the public at large's thoughts...or lack thereof. most people know that a few bad apples spoil the bunch, but who cares? if you get offended by what someone anonomously ((sp) thats probably going to piss some of the posters off, "oh my god, a typo!!") posts, then you need to get a little dose of reality and grow up.

Further, I think it would be nice if the poster was notified (email works nicely) when a post is deleted.

I had one deleted this morning and I was wondering why? It's not as though I corrected their spelling and grammar, I merely posted a link.

I think that it is ultimately the people at O - 250 who have to determine if someone's comments have crossed the line. I realize that once posted, the comment is there for all to see and the damage has been done, but if you try to regulate and pre-approve all postings, you will lose the attraction of this site.

I do believe that those people posting inappropriate comments (as determined solely by O - 250) should have their priviliges suspended.

I agree with Palopu and Faxman. What is the point of the stories without comments, that is the main reason I am here, plus the local news. If a thumbs up or down can be added to a comment, that would be great.

Monitor the site and the comments as you always do, but if it isn't broken, don't fix it.

Thank you for all of your comments and suggestions. You can be assured that your feelings will form the basis of any changes that we might make. Please continue to make your thoughts known.

I just conduct myself accordingly on this site. If I don't I get an email putting me in my place. It works for a while. I smarten up until next time. Works for me. Again as I believe, political correctness takes away from my freedom of speech. I notice the lack of letters to the editor in our Citizen (with their topic and quality) has diminished since Opinion 250 came along. Leave well enough alone. Don't let a few wreck it for all as in every other aspect of life (airports). Status quo, steady as she goes, captain.

I use this site for local news. There are however times there are those who need a reminder that we who use this site are not morons and need feed back.

Im ok with giving my name and even my address but phone numbers could lead to harassment which Im sure some would do.
Cheers
Kim Reynolds

I would say, don't change anything, but be a little tougher on the people who abuse the comments section. There have been a couple of examples where some users have put in some pretty abusive comments and weren't dealt with quickly.

I think much of the problem is that some people need to have a little bit thicker skins. Some people get all worked up when someone disagrees with them or expresses an opinion which might not be what they want to read. Get over it.

Be aware that if you decide to pre-approve all comments, it will take a lot more of your time and people will comment less. Maybe that's not a bad thing depending on who you're talking about.

And to Ben and Elaine, thanks for the site.

Peter Godfrey, past editor of the Citizen newspaper once told me years ago that "some people feel threatened by other peoples opinions". Looking back, the man was right.

I dislike reading racist comments but I would rather have them make them in public. The racist comments become dangerous when they are underground and no can respond to them.

Gadzooks! Seems Friday free for all diskapeared. Too many names being bandied about, methinks. But then again, ya gotta be careful. The woods are full of lawyers.

This is a great site just the way it is.
Whatever contents or whoever wrote them that have caused their removal seems to be working well.

It just strikes me that "opinion" 250 being strictly censored is an oxymoron.

The ability to respond to what people say is also a great feature of this site.

Sometimes its good that when members of society speak their mind honestly and openly (as offensive to others that may be) that society can respond back to these people about their thoughts. Maybe this wide open democratic dialogue is what actually helps center society.

I learn many things from these posts and nothing but a site like this could provolk the debate about the local news, the newsmakers and the media including this media.

Thanks for the great site and keep up the good work.

It would seem to me that the biggest issue I have personally is when a poster addresses another poster directly.
It is one thing to agree or disagree with what someone says,but we should not be using a posters name directly(even if it is a pen name) and ridiculing their opinion when we DO NOT agree.
Comment yes,but harrass another for their opinion,no.
So how about no more direct use of names if it is for something negative?

CBC pre-approves and it sucks. It takes a day sometimes for a post to show up. If you are willing to pay for someone to sit and just do that then I guess it would work if that is what you really want to do. I like this place just how it is. I like speaking up about my feelings on things and love reading other people thoughts as well. The one post only thing is ridiculous because there are times when you need to correct yourself, apologise or even elaborate on what you have said. Thank you for having the site, it rocks!

You can do what ever you want. It is your site. People have an option ,If want ToXes.TwHO CARE'S ABOUT ANY OMY THEY CAREWSO BE RULED.yOU WILL NEVER KMOW WHAT IS HAPPRING WITHIN

I ALWAYS WAITING OUT THE BACK DOOR BUT NOBODY COMES. pLEAESE DON'T TAKE HAMMY XERIOUSLY

Maybe 250 has to become a bit wiser about the internet nation?

These are nothing more than message boards. You dont think that 5 million other message boards have had the same problems?

Its simple.

Moderate.

Set out a simple set of rules, if the rules are broken you delete the message. Its that simple.

I like what Andyfreeze says. I think it’s important from the perspective of a brainstorming session where it’s about the ideas and not the person.

Also I too think the CBC is a flawed opinion board. CBC is heavily politically managed through the pre-approval system they have in place. Test it if you don't believe me... I have.

The way CBC works is the first dozen or so posts of the day when a story is posted will always have the highest approval ratings, thereby give the impression that those opinions are the ones shared by most Canadians. Most people have their setting to see the most approved comments, and so the first ones they read are the most approved and after a page or two of those it falls right off on viewership.

The way CBC politically manages the site is to hold back comments on a new story until sufficient 'politically correct' to CBC perspective stories have been posted... and then release the pre-approved comments not of the correct political persuasion once they can be sufficiently buried. I have written a response the minute the story was posted and yet it was delayed nearly 6-hours before being posted, meanwhile hundreds of others were posted in the time it took to vet mine by the censors.

Typical CBC topics heavily censored for the pre approved comments include anything that involves bashing the conservatives (they like that), commenting on Global Warming, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and any of the 'ism' stories of the leftist life style promotion. They can then manage the perception of public opinion by when the comments are released. I find it disingenuous how they justify the interference.

The CBC also removed the ability to click a username to get their profile information (voluntary info) and more importantly a small list of the usernames most recent comments. I found this very useful in ascertaining the motives of an interesting poster, as well as being able to read more of a posters comments that for what ever reason I found interesting. With out that ability I find you get a lot of gorilla commenting by 'new posters' many of which are foreign in their origin and use their lack of a track record to aid in their ability to misinform others. I don't know why the CBC allows that and removed the checks and balances for the public, but obviously once again it was a political decision because there is no other reason in which I can fathom.

I find it wrong that the CBC can do what they do interfering politically like they do. The CBC is tax payer owned and not privately owned like 250 is (not that I accuse 250 of political interference). I once complained, but the government is ignorant of the importance of what the CBC 'moderators' are doing, so it falls on deaf ears.

Time Will Tell

What many don't realize is that 'free speech' is a myth. If you make a comment on a website, the administrators are well within their right to remove your comment for whatever reason they want. Don't like it? Start your own website and make whatever rules you feel are appropriate.

Moderating an internet site takes manpower. Manpower = money.

(1)The Citizen just had to deal with a letter writer who used a false name and phone number. Easy to fake. Can't control it other than to phone each person who gets registerd.

(2)Pre approving takes time = money. It is the most certain to solve potential problems. Filtering for words can be automated. Filtering for opinions takes live bodies.

(3)If the one comment allowed would be on the article, that would be fine. The problem is that the one comment could be on a totally different topic or a response to someone's comment. The site would still have to be monitored to make sure that the rules around this are followed.

(4)In order to identify an abuser, the abuser must be known. It is virtually impossible to identify abusers on the internet unless it is a police matter. IP adresses can be proxies. Proxies will identify posters as being from France or India or wherever.

Keep it the way this is. That is the way most sites these days work as far as I can tell.

It would be nice to have a voting feature. The Citizen has that. Surpisingly few people vote compared to the number of "views" of an article.

I think that this site is just fine the way it is. Whatever changes O250 decides to make is their call.
Some of us, myself included, have voiced strong opinions on certain issues. That is the beauty of this site. We have been given the opportunity to voice what we really think/feel about something without fear of retribution. Personally, I don't have a problem with someone singling out my comments in disagreement. It keeps life interesting and challenges me to figure out what they are thinking.
I too enjoy reading the various comments. Sometimes I feel like a good debate, sometimes I just want to post my two cents as it were.
If a poster wants to name call I think they should be allowed to do so IF they say why they feel that way. Heck, I've been known to be human from time to time and once in a while it feels great to call someone a moron. We aren't perfect.
Keep things as they are please.

more people put opinions on this site than the PG citizen. Shows the quality that this site offers.

It isn't broke, leave it alone

For those that abuse the site, cut them off, if they keep coming back, tell everyone who they are.
For the rest of us, leave everything the same, you don’t need to change the rules of the game because of a few players, just change those players.

I would like to say ditto to Eagleone's comment about the CBC and their monitoring of their website comments. The CBC is so far left they are falling over. If yer not falling over with them, your opinion does not count. So much for the billions of our tax dollars over these many years.