Open Thread Mondays: Comment Policy

I’m considering requiring people to either register for the site in order to comment, or to at least provide a verified e-mail address.

Why? The tone of the comments has changed significantly over the past few months, especially as we’ve grown and attracted new readers. For the most part, things are good and I’m very proud of the discussions that have emerged between civil and thoughtful readers of the site. However, I’ve noticed a few, er, disorderly personalities leaving rude and distasteful comments.

The common characteristic of these readers appears to be their use of one-time handles and fake e-mail addresses. Having registration or requiring, at the least, a verified e-mail address seems like an effective way of combating that without needing to moderate every comment.

So – your thoughts? I’ll be making my decision by next Monday.