Over the last few years, as The Beachcomber’s website has garnered more attention, some readers have raised concerns about one issue in particular — the fact that we allow visitors to vashonbeachcomber.com to post anonymous comments.
The policy has led to some unpleasant and mean-spirited postings. It’s also put a spotlight on a seeming inconsistency at the paper: We don’t print anonymous letters, but we’ve allowed our website, vashonbeachcomber.com, to become a place where people can hide their identity while occasionally taking shots at one another.
Starting Nov. 17, that policy will change. People will be able to comment only by using their Facebook accounts, which means people’s names, often even their photographs, will now be linked to the statements they post.
The Beachcomber is not alone in making this shift. Several newspapers, equally troubled by this trend, are beginning to turn to Facebook to power their website commenting. The Los Angeles Times, for instance, recently began using Facebook Comments. According to a story about the shift on Poynter.org, a news industry website, the LA Times continues to see spirited discourse and disagreement among those who post comments. But the discourse is at a much higher level, and commentators are generally well-mannered and on-topic.
This new approach won’t be perfect. People who don’t have a Facebook account won’t be able to participate in online discussions. And some will likely find a way around our new policy, creating Facebook accounts using pseudonyms.
Still, we’re proud to be in the vanguard of this movement. It shows we’re listening to our readers and responding. It also places us more deeply and fully into the powerful world of social media and the force currently driving that world; by using Facebook Comments, we’re embracing a social medium that now has 800 million users worldwide.
And for those of you who have not chosen to create a Facebook account, remember that we will continue to run letters to the editor, a lively and robust part of our paper every week.
So please continue to be a part of the discussion. Whether online or in print, your comments are part of an important community dialogue that enlivens and enriches Vashon’s civic life.
Turn to vashonbeachcomber.com for election returns
Results from Tuesday’s all-mail election were posted too late to be included in the print edition of this week’s newspaper. So visit our website, vashonbeachcomber.com, today and the rest of this week to get the latest news on returns.
King County Elections posted the first returns Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. Updated results, as more ballots get counted, will be posted Wednesday and Thursday at 4:30 p.m. and every day next week at 4:30 p.m.
Visit kingcounty.gov/elections/elections/ to look up results or to track your ballot.
