This week we are launching a new commenting platform to improve the experience for readers who want to comment on articles.
The new system powered by Viafoura will make it easier for all visitors to follow articles that are trending with the community, follow your favorite commenters and be alerted by email when someone replies to a post you’ve made. Ad-free premium subscribers won’t see ads between comments.
“We’re pleased to be able to provide this new and improved commenting platform to our readers,” said Executive Editor Frank Pine. “Our readers will now find it much easier to navigate and keep track of the discussions in which they are participating, and we now have better moderation to keep the public discourse family-friendly.”
The system will automatically disable comments that include profanity and includes the ability for users to flag comments they believe violate our commenting rules. Those rules prohibit the use of vulgar language, personal name-calling or attacks, impersonating another commenter and publishing personal information or spammy links or content. Commenters must treat each other with respect and stay on point. Those who violate the rules will be banned from commenting.
Clicking on the notification bell will allow you to see a feed of your commenting activity, adjust your profile details and see who’s following you.
The switch means that readers will need to log in again if they want to comment. You can do that by logging on with your Facebook, Google or Twitter account, or signing up with your email address. Comments made on our articles prior to the switchover to Viafoura will no longer appear at the bottom of articles.
Coming soon, you will be able to associate your login credentials with your subscription account. Subscribers and ad-free premium tier subscribers will soon get a badge signifying their status.
We hope that you enjoy this new feature and that it improves your commenting experience. To provide feedback, comment below or email us.
