Lizzy Acker is no stranger to harassment in the comments section. As web editor at the alternative newspaper Willamette Week in Portland, Oregon, Acker used to spend untold hours breaking up vitriolic cyber-fights, censoring hateful comments and trying to moderate a digital trollosphere that never goes to sleep.
“There were certain people who spent more time on the site than me,” Acker said. “It could be really overwhelming.”
Enter Civil Comments, a new platform that aims to clean up the comments section by requiring users to rate submissions for civility and quality. Civil Co.’s platform launched at Willamette Week, its first partner, last month — and Acker says the tone of conversation on the newspaper’s website has already improved dramatically.
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