WADR Online will not have comments sections on our articles. This is a deliberate decision. In full disclosure, comments were accidentally enabled when we launched, but this was never intentional, and no comments have been published. We are in agreement with the many reputable news and commentary sites that have removed them.
The comments section had a brief time in the sun. Before the advent of online newspapers and magazines, comment was restricted to letters to the editor, with only an edited selection published. One perceived benefit of moving online was the option to have comments from the audience in real time. However, only a matter of years later, they started to be removed, and many regard it as a failed experiment.
The resources taken to moderate comments are way beyond their value. Moreover, they have become a reputational and legal liability, seeming often to draw out the worst of humanity (and also bots). Rather than fostering constructive conversation, they often undermined it.
At the WADR Project, we are about fostering constructive conversation. We do not believe this usually happens on website comments sections, and we certainly do not have the resources to manage them well on this site.
We already have a well-established Facebook group which has a moderation team, and a set of rules for engagement which must be adhered to within the group. This is a better space for good, respectful communication. We invite you to join the group (as long as you agree to and keep the rules!).
MPJ and MJPdT
thewadrproject.com 