Glad the paper made this difficult decision. It was getting real ugly.

This is human nature at its ugliest, but you are not without options. You can and probably should block IP addresses, filter language, require registration for comments, and screen comments before posting.

Whatever you choose, don't give up on your community.

Another sign that media coverage is out of whack with ordinary people's concerns and beliefs. This happened on Boston.com, a lot of discussions turned to racial issues, no doubt to the horror of editors.

When comments cease being civil, they cease to have value. They actually hurt democracy instead of promoting democracy. It's unfortunate that this has happened almost everywhere it's been attempted. Good luck with finding a better solution.

I kind of don't agree with the above statement regarding the civility of comments - "they cease to have value" when they're not civil. As people, we are allowed to hate other people, we just aren't allowed to hurt them. There is a difference. I agree with the paper's decision to stop running the comments because, it seems, the comments were becoming hurtful. However, expressing our hate verbally - and not physically - is our right as individuals and human beings. We aren't going to get anywhere if everything is "pc." It's when we recognize that we "hate" and that we shouldn't that we can make the progress that leads to meaningful change.

Under what circumstances should the media provide anonymity? If the media will be true to their journalistic standards, the answer to that question is rarely if ever. Why should the Internet be an exception to the rule?

"...We know that much of that is triggered by talk radio and its incessant blaming of societal problems on race."

This is a blanket statement which ought to be reported on itself before becoming gospel. If true, it would seem to make a great topic for a newspaper story of its own: what's on talk radio in Ventura County? Is it homegrown talent or imported? And how are local people reacting to what they learn on the radio and applying it to their daily lives and their broader worldview?

Another good idea torpedoed by cretins. On to the next!

As someone watching from afar and a great fan of what you're attempting to do with the 'net, I wish you luck. Hang in there.

whatever happened to freedom of speech, or you want to play big brother, cant you just disclaim the opinions in comments are not affilaited with the company, filtered comments are not made by the user, it is the company

It's sad that because of a little disagreement between a few bad apples you terminate cool functionality for everyone. Sorry that you're taking the easy way out rather than fixing the problem by tightening the belts on your program and making it harder for people to be hateful and retain their anonymity. People above have mentioned IP blocking and filtering explitives, required registration, etc. This site works off of a database, right? Databases live to do that sort of stuff! Bring this back the right way with registration and checks and balances and not only will it mean a better user experience, it should mean revenue in the long run.

"Sorry that you're taking the easy way out rather than fixing the problem by tightening the belts on your program and making it harder for people to be hateful and retain their anonymity."

They're taking the easy way out for now, which buys them time to find a way that works.

Another possibility is allowing user "flagging" of questionable content, like Craigslist does - you might talk to Craig about what (secret) algorithm they use to determine when to hide/delete a post. This lets you use trusted users to do your monitoring for you (and lets you engage in engage in continual calibration of said users).

I left a collection of at least marginally relevant "comments-and-civility" links over at John Robinson's blog - http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/archives/2005/05/civil_discourse.html - assuming the janitor doesn't mistake them for trash they might still be there...
Please don't lose your determination to find a solution that works.

(what's worse - wordpress that throws away comments, or this comment form that throws away whitespace?...)

Perhaps our comments are being enlightened by our role models - the politicians and sports heroes of the day.

It's pretty easy, really. You require people to register, use an Email address attached to an ISP, not hotmail or webmail type accounts, and you track IP addresses.

It can still be free, and you can still allow members to use a different Email address in public. But behind the scenes administrators can then track the constant troublemakers via their IP, and keep them out of the community.

You sold out. This was the best feature of your otherwise dull, boring online version of your rag. Sure it got nasty but it was real! A lot of discussion took place over many issues, not just the tiger. The teen killings and the gang injunction generated a lot of discussion and allowed people to vent with words, not bullets.

Shame on you.

My concern has always been, as newspapers moved into anonymous postings in print and on line, that the writers escape their responsibilities by hiding behind their anonymity. Perhaps Ventura County is "different" from the rest of us, but, sad to say, I don't think it is. Remember that one of the current debates about printed newspapers is their usage of anonymous sources and what that does to lower their credibility. ID would be better.

Ventura County Star's "Comments" program is on the leading edge of journalism. Other community sites have overcome similar problems by giving each participant the power to "rate" other contributions. At Dailykos.com, widely regarded as the most popular political web site on the Internet, "community policing" is a most effective and most democratic process.

This is such a perfect example of the non-existent "Freedom of the Press" in the 'Kwa. Step outside the "pap-zone" of touchy-feely, propasphere-approved lies about race, or the war in Iraq, or the environment, or crime -- and this is what you get: a patronizing disclaimer about non-'civil' discourse.

The day is coming when the internet will provide the distribution network for the real American Press. When that day comes, soviet-functionary propaganda-organs such as the 'Ventura County Star' will realize that political censorship is not just evil, but unprofitable as well.

"...We know that much of that is triggered by talk radio and its incessant blaming of societal problems on race."
This has the ring of a Soviet-style denunciation. Have the courage to provide some examples of what you are referring to.

Very sad, but not at all surprising. What else can be expected from "major news media?"
I live in Cleveland, Ohio, where the 'local' newspaper is owned and operated by out of state "tribesmen." It's been twenty-five years since I canceled my subscription to the "Cleveland Plain Dealer" after they cut a column I enjoyed: the author had made a few humorous but rather non-PC comments about Michael Jackson's silly song, "We Are the World" (of all things). To this day, the paper's phone-room workers call multiple times each week, attempting to sell subscriptions. I always tell them "no thanks," and then I take time to tell them why, mainly because I sympathize with the phone workers and hope they are not planning their retirement around a dying institution.

Though I never purchase The Cleveland Plain Dealer, I'll occasionally examine a friend's copy. It's astonishing how rarely I find anything worth reading. Their web site, cleveland.com, isn't much better, nor are the websites of most major media 'players' (there's really not a better term for you). But fear not! Since its inception, I've averaged at least two hours per day reading newsworthy information on the worldwide web. I know where all the bodies are buried and I know 'who done it.' So do many others. You news-fakers are going to receive a rude awakening someday soon. No, I'm not predicting your lynching (as much as you may deserve one); I'm predicting your absence from the market place. This will probably occur when your advertisers realize their money is wasted because circulation is nil. Actually, one could make a good case that the only 'real' information to be found in the major media are the ads, which although not exactly true, do describe things tat really exist, but I digress...

I further the sentiment that the major media in America will fractionalize along the growing balkanization and tribalization of America. Groups like the one I proudly represent, not only welcome this trend, we promote it! Arya Raj

It sounds like you need some kind of moderation. Although it is a hobby site, check out the forums at http://www.qrz.com

They use volunteer moderators to remove questionable content.

As with everything else it seems that 5% of the people cause 95% of the problem.

I hope you can resolve this as online posting and blogging enables voices that would never be heard otherwise.

George