As for flames, it actually doesn’t happen here super-often as far as I’ve seen, but it happened once (for the first time) to me just before this registration change happened. Ironically, the person who flamed me – if he still feels like flaming other users, he probably either didn’t register or might find his behavior under more scrutiny.

As for death threats, I’ve never seen that happen here. But I don’t think it could NEVER happen, as I’ve seen it on other sites with some more extreme ranges of users, and it remains a realistic possibility considering that this is a gay news site. 365gay is actually relatively tame, though not without its user abuse.

In my own experiences, the Salt Lake Tribune’s (sltrib.com) comment forums are the most extreme I’ve ever seen for a mainstream news source (a very liberal newspaper in one of the nation’s most liberal cities that happens to be the capital of one of the reddest states in the United States – it’s 365powderkeg), and have defined for me just how bad it can really get, on multiple extreme sides. Just imagine a user base that includes not only staunch liberals and a thriving openly gay community, but also some of the most staunchly far-right minds you might ever encounter in the United States. There are times it feels like Jerry Springer, just short of people throwing furniture at each other. Since the Tribune overall is very liberal, it carries a LOT of gay news articles – a lot more than you might expect, but Salt Lake City actually has a pretty significant gay and lesbian community. But the comment forums are rarely ever civil, with a great deal of open hate and intolerance from both the left and the less numerous far right. They have to be policed by moderators night and day (with moderators alerted by “report abuse” buttons located next to every comment) as not much time elapses before someone says some of the most shocking things that would make many 365gay users cringe. Many people are just too extremely different to respect each other’s existence, much less their right to difference of opinion. (Though the left is largely non-Mormon and/or gay and the right is largely Mormon, this is not the universal split, as a minority of Mormons are on the left and the minority of non-Mormons are on the right. You really do encounter all kinds of people and ranges and combinations of opinion, and varying levels of politeness to rudeness to abusiveness.)

What makes 365gay an easier place? I suppose it’s that it’s primarily a site of news that is relevant to gay people, and not so much so to straight people. So while some straight people may come here to see gay people’s opinions, for a large part the straight people may feel this site doesn’t really concern them unless they are personally obsessed with gay issues. (I notice that on PinkNews too – when someone who’s very obviously not gay-friendly comments, one of the first things people ask is why they’re on a gay news site to begin with.) So here at 365gay, it seems to me that the more likely source of inter-user discord is different sense of (sometimes emotional) opinion between all those users who are already gay. Most will be somewhere on the left, but there’s also far-left, moderate or even conservative. There’s also gay people who are secular, agnostic, atheist, semi-religious, pluralist or devoutly religious, and sometimes cannot respect the opinions of other people who are not completely like them. In my experience most people here are respectful even if their opinions differ greatly. (I have almost nothing in common with, say, Chris Sullivan, but as far as I recall, he’s only ever treated me with respect.) But a few are not. Some issues are particularly divisive and emotionally-charged enough to cause some users to completely lose their cool. Since people are human beings and sometimes make lapses of judgment, these are times when we really need a mechanism in place to help us break up flame wars between users, to help keep the commentary civil and mutually respectful.

Someone else pointed out that this is a privately run site, not a public venue for any kind of “free” speech one feels the need to engage in. That’s technically true, but as this site is available to the general public (no entry restrictions when you click on any link to enter any portion of this site), general standards of decency must apply. Putting limits on the type of hate any commenter is allowed to spew is essentially a form of self preservation. I’m not opposed to anyone voicing their dissent, but threatening another person’s life crosses the line.

But I am curious about the severity of the trolls and sockpuppets. Other users have indicated that they do not see this as a severe enough problem to warrant a new type of registration. I am wondering whether the authors on 365 are using this as an excuse or if they genuinely feel that way. Like I said, I’m not opposed to registration; I see it as a safety measure for both users and administrators of any given site.

By the way, dissent does not automatically make one a troll or hate-speaker. Having right-wing opinions/beliefs or not identifying oneself as a GLBT person does not mean that one should be prohibited from participating in discussions on this or any other website. This site might be 365 Gay News, but that doesn’t make it a GLBT only club. I don’t know about the rest of you, but my GLBT status is only ONE facet of who I am, only one factor in my decision-making process. I have no interest in further separating myself from society, I have no interest in self-segregation, and I think it’s shameful that anyone who is fighting for legal and social equality would want to do that. We live in a pluralistic society, we live in a country with many different opinions and ideas about the way things should work. The democratic process, while most definitely flawed, is a process of compromise. We cannot expect to be treated as equals in any capacity if we are not willing to behave as equals. We cannot demand to be heard while simultaneously demanding that others silence themselves. Yeah, it hurts when someone says that we’re sick or degenerate, but those things are opinions, not statements of a desire for ill things to come to pass. We need to learn the difference between dissent, disagreement, and an active desire to hurt other people.

Oh- and Jennifer- I just read your piece on gay fairy tales- your same-sex cinderella story that I got from Independent Gay Forum- and I have so many virtually obscene things to say to you I’m sure they won’t get published here.

But here’s one.

The reason half of all hetero ‘marriages’ fail is because the two people involved are basing their relationship on a fairy tale belief structure. The parties involved haven’t grown up yet.

It’s a fairy tale. We ADULT HOMOSEXUALS need to get beyond the stupid fairy tale scenario- not hope for one of our own.

Oh- but that’s right- you’re an emotionally-based girl.

We will not mass email anyone without permission. I do occasionally personally email users after reading their posts, to comment privately.

Thanks for these great comments! I think being able to flag abuse is a great idea. I’ll bring that suggestion to our tech team. I’ll also find out from them how to remove registration from our databases.

If you would LIKE to remove registration, would you email me with your real name and username, and I’ll remove you as soon as possible? Jennifer.Vanasco [at] logostaff.com.

Also, I want you to know that I hear your worries about 365 taking down offensive posts. I’m the only staff member, and there are way too many comments to police. I tend, instead, to rely on users. There will be no micromanaging here. As you know from the past year, I tend to err on the side of leaving posts up, instead of taking them down.

That said, I think it’s a good idea to put up a TOS explaining that we are a community, and these boards are here for thoughtful, even heated, discussion – but not gratuitous personal attacks or incitements to violence. I can’t imagine installing anything like a blanket ban on criticism of religion – or a blanket ban on anything, really, as all journalists believe fiercely in the freedom of speech – but I think it IS useful to remember that LGBT’s have many religious allies, and religions include many LGBTs.

Warmly,

Jay Vanasco