CAROLA LILLIE HARTLEY
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editorial
From the beginnings of journalism history, newspapers have included a way to let their readers comment on articles and announcements they publish. In the early days this was done through the Letters To The Editor section of the paper. Things began to change with the birth of the internet, and news services, newspapers and blogs began to appear online. In today’s world readers can comment on the world wide web and be seen not only in local areas, but across the globe. Sometimes this creates conflict between parties and, in some cases, can even present danger to others.
There is debate going on now about whether news organizations, both large and small operations, should allow comments on what they report. One side of the issue says publish all comments without any moderation. The other side says publish no comments at all. Some organizations have chosen instead to compromise on the issue, they do not allow comments on their newspaper website, but do allow comments on their social media pages and groups, with moderation. This is the case with St. Landry Now.
Our on-line newspaper encourages our readers to express their feelings and ideas regarding what we publish. However, we do have rules and guidelines readers are asked to follow. And we do monitor the comments to make sure those rules and guidelines are followed. When they are not followed, comments are removed.
Please follow these Rules and Guidelines to Comment on St. Landry Now Articles
- No hate speech or bullying – Make sure everyone feels safe. Bullying of any kind and degrading comments toward others are also not acceptable.
- Comments about things like politics, religion, race, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity will not be tolerated.
- Be kind and courteous – We’re all in this together to create a Welcoming environment. Let’s treat everyone with respect. Healthy debates are natural, but kindness is required.
- Advertisements, self-promotion, spam and irrelevant links aren’t allowed.
- No shared videos are allowed.
- No live social media events are allowed.
If these rules and guidelines are not followed by all who want to express their feelings about a local issue on our social media page and group, those comments will be removed. In some cases, the person making the comment(s) may be banned from the site. Please consider that before you make your comments.
We appreciate our readers and encourage you to share with us your feelings about our reporting on local area news and activities. We welcome your comments but ask that you please keep them civil. That kind of discussion makes for a more educational and enjoyable read.
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