Before opening comments, publish a short policy saying what is welcome and what will be removed, hold first comments and claims about named people for approval, and decide who answers complaints and how fast.

A month of comments

A community magazine publishes local features, restaurant openings and profiles of residents. In May it opened comments under every article, hoping for conversation.

Most comments were friendly or useful. Then a profile of a long-time shop owner drew a thread that turned personal, with two readers trading insults and a third claiming the shop had cheated him on a repair.

The shop owner phoned the editor the next morning. Nobody at the magazine had read the thread, and nobody was sure whose job it was.

Comments are part of your page

A comment appears on a page the publisher hosts, under the publisher's name and design. To a reader, it is part of what the magazine published, whoever wrote it.

In Canada, a site owner who is told about a comment that may be defamatory and leaves it up can be treated as having published it. Acting promptly on a complaint is the safer course.

This is general information about the risk, not legal advice; a lawyer can look at a particular comment or complaint.

What a short policy says

A comment policy needs no legal language. A short page, linked beside every comment box, can cover what matters:

Write it in the magazine's own voice and say plainly that the editor decides. A policy readers can see makes removals look fair rather than arbitrary.

Which comments to hold

Holding every comment until someone reads it is the safest choice and the slowest. A middle path holds only the comments most likely to cause trouble.

WordPress, for example, can hold comments from anyone without an earlier approved comment, comments with more than one or two links, and comments containing words from a list you choose.

That list can include the names of people and businesses that appear in articles, so a comment naming them waits for a person. Holding first-time commenters also keeps most spam off the page.

Comments can also close automatically after a few weeks, when an article has few readers and gets little attention from staff.

A worked example

A film festival in a small city screens about forty films over a week each spring and publishes a short review of each one on its website, with comments open.

This spring, a thread under the review of a locally made feature filled with insults aimed at the director and at other commenters.

One comment claimed that a camera shop sponsoring the short film prize had sold the writer a used lens as new. Comments were appearing instantly, with no policy, while volunteers ran screenings.

When the shop's owner called, the festival removed that comment within the hour and the insults the same day, then posted one line in the thread saying comments had been removed under its new policy.

The policy page is now written. First comments, and any naming a sponsor or venue, wait for approval; a named volunteer reads the queue morning and evening; comments close two weeks after the festival.

Anything that names a sponsor now reaches a person before the public, and someone is plainly responsible for reading it.

When someone complains

Reply to a complaint the same day, even if only to say you are looking at it. Hold or unpublish the comment while you decide; it can be restored if the complaint turns out to be unfounded.

Decide against the policy, not against how upset either side is. Then tell the person who complained what you did.

Keep a short record of each case: the comment, the complaint, the date and the decision. If questions come later, the record answers them.

Editing versus removing

Do not edit a comment to change its meaning. A reader quoted as saying something softer than they wrote has a fair complaint of their own.

Remove it or leave it. If a single detail is the problem, such as a phone number, remove the comment and invite the writer to post again without it.

Who reads the queue

A policy is only as good as the person applying it. Name one person, with a backup for weekends and holidays, and set a time each day when the queue is read.

If nobody can read comments for a stretch, such as a week when the office is closed, close comments for that week. An unattended thread is where trouble starts.

One line from the editor

When comments come out, one line from the editor saying so, with a link to the policy, tells readers the thread is watched. Explaining each removal in detail restarts the argument.

Answer factual questions about an article now and then, and thank readers who add something useful. The publisher's voice in the comments sets the tone better than any rule.

The counter-case

A magazine that draws a handful of comments a month, all from regular readers, may never see a thread like this, and a written policy can feel like more ceremony than the comments need.

Some publishers decide comments are not worth the supervision and point readers to their Facebook Page instead. That is a fair choice, though the same questions follow the conversation there.

But the policy takes an afternoon to write, and it matters most on the day a thread goes wrong, which is no day to be drafting it.

A policy and a hold queue

  1. Write a one-page policy in plain words.
  2. Link it beside every comment box.
  3. Hold first comments and those with several links.
  4. Add the names of people and businesses to the hold list.
  5. Name the person who reads the queue, and a backup.
  6. Publish a complaints address with a response time.
  7. Close comments on articles after a few weeks.

Step four would have caught the camera shop claim. A comment that names someone is the kind most likely to hurt them, and the kind a person should read first.

Readers who rush in to defend you or your subjects need a different approach, which regular customers who argue with your critics describes.

Frequently asked questions

Does a small site need a comment policy?

Yes, a short one. It takes an afternoon, tells readers what will be removed, and gives you something fair to point to on the day a thread goes wrong.

Is a publisher responsible for readers' comments?

Comments appear on your page. If you are told about one that may be defamatory and leave it up, you can be treated as having published it, so act promptly.

Which comments should wait for approval?

Comments from first-time commenters, those with more than one or two links, and any that mention the people or businesses your articles cover.

What should I do when someone complains about a comment?

Reply the same day, hold the comment while you decide, apply your policy, tell the person who complained what you did, and keep a short record.

Can I edit a reader's comment?

Avoid editing that changes its meaning. Remove the comment or leave it as written, and if one detail is the problem, invite the writer to post again without it.

Should comments stay open forever?

No. Close them automatically after a few weeks, when an article has fewer readers and less supervision, and close them whenever nobody can read the queue.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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