Arlene, nope, the vacation I mentioned was not a sun-drenched beach, but thanks for asking. I took a week off to do some birding and get some general R & R at Dan and Cathy Brown’s ranch in Christoval, Texas, south of San Angelo. They’re two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and their ranch makes for a quiet, peaceful vacation retreat. I didn’t even miss the sand and surf.
A couple readers have asked me if an actual human being sees user comments that are flagged for questionable content, or whether those posted comments are weeded out through automated filters.
Those comments do get reviewed by a real person, who decides whether they get deleted (if already posted) or they are allowed to post (if they’re on hold before posting).
Reader comment boards on Kansas.com are not routinely reviewed by our online staff. A couple of situations can cause a comment to be flagged for review. First, if a site user finds a posted comment offensive, he or she can report it as a violation under our terms of service. One of our staff members will review comments flagged as violations and determine whether they indeed are.
Another possibility is that a comment contains a questionable word and gets caught in a filter before it posts. Those comments are held for review before they post, and again, they’re reviewed by a real person.
Sometimes the review process happens immediately. If a comment is held up in the filter while the online staff is out of the office, say, at lunch, or in a meeting, it may be withheld for an hour or so awaiting review. In the overnight hours or on weekends, the delay might be longer.
We occasionally hear from site users angry at the “censorship” of their comments. We want robust and lively discussion on our comment boards, but when users flag offensive or abusive comments, we remove them. We’re first in line among advocates of free speech. But we also expect site users to respect the responsibility that comes with it.