Thenews.pl admin - We just thought we would consult our readers/listeners on the best way going forward with the web site and particularly what to do with unwanted trolls.

In the next few weeks you will be seeing quite a radical redesign of the Polish Radio External Service web pages. We hope you like what we come up with.

So it is a good opportunity to discuss various issues connected to the web site, particularly the comment box under the articles.

As you know if you have been following us for a while, a few months ago we introduced a moderating system, to weed out offensive comments and the like. That moderation system will stay in place.

I just want to reiterate that the moderating system is not there to stop free speech - it is just that not all free speech is worth listening to, particularly if it is racist or offensive to particular groups of people.

One commentator said that the moderation seemed “arbitrary”. It is, I admit, sometimes difficult to decide whether a comment is racist, for example, or not, so apologies if we get it wrong sometimes.

Recently, however, we have been deleting comments that are simply trolling - being offensive to others who add comments to the site just for the sake of it. Some might think trolling is fun. But we delete because it is very boring for others to have to read “Tommy can’t even write in English”….or “Antifa is a f***ed up s**t head…” etc, etc, etc… You get the picture.

So, just to make it clear - comments that simply insult other commentators will not be published - so save yourself the bother and go troll somewhere else.

The comment box is there to debate the issue that the article raises. It’s also there for you to tell us if we got something wrong - and we appreciate your comments very highly when they are succinct and to the point.

Some have suggested a registration system, which maybe could work if the username was tied to an email address. I promise to ask our techie guys if this is possible and it would be very useful to have some email addresses so we can send you a newsletter detailing coming events, competitions etc, if you so wish.

If you have any suggestions on this or other matters then put them in the comment box below.

For example - what new features would you like to see on the web site? 

This is also an oppotunity for you to ask any questions about the web site, Polish Radio, whatever, and I will answer them as best I can. But no trolling, OK?

Cheers!

Peter Gentle (online editor)

See conclusions to article here.