'Washington Post' to Implement Tiered Comment System

By: E&P Staff In order to deal with unruly commenters, The Washington Post is developing a tiered system in the hopes of better policing people's reactions to stories and other items.

Washingtonpost.com receives more than 300,000 comments, wrote Washington Post Ombudsman Andrew Alexander, and the site deletes more than 300 comments a day deemed unacceptable. Since many slip through the cracks, "the solution is in moderating -- not limiting -- comments," he wrote.

The idea is that commenters will be assigned to different levels based on their past behavior of following the Washington Post's guidelines, as well a willingness to use their real names. Readers will see only the comments from the "trusted" tier, according to Alexander.