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iBerkshires Adds Facebook Commenting System
iBerkshires readers will notice a change at the bottom of our stories (and soon to be at the bottom of our blog posts) to the use of Facebook for comments.While we encourage vigorous debate, too often lately our comment sections have been taken over by readers who seem more eager to grind personal axes than engage in civil discourse.
In the old days, people would have to provide their name, address and contact number. We're hoping that using Facebook will keep people on if not their best, at least their better behavior. We also think it will make it easier for people to share articles and information.
We've also made it easier to share through sites like Pinterest and Linked-In. There's been a lot of concern about copyright infringement over posting things on Pinterest. We at iBerkshires have no problem with you sharing articles or photos that interest you on Pinterest or any other social site as long as you don't remove or cover our bylines or image watermarks. Our images and stories also won't disappear behind a paywall. So share away!
We do recognize that posters may be wary of posting with their real names. The old anonymous system is still there — you just have to click on "comments." If you use that system, remember that your comments are not automatically posted. There may be a delay of several hours, up to 24 on a weekend, before someone approves your words.
That system, too, will be changing. It's taking us longer than planned, but we will be moving to a registration system for the entire iBerkshires network, just like we've implemented on our hyperlocals. You'll still be able to have a username for posting but you'll have to let us know who you are.
Registered commenters will be able to post letters, photos, events on our calendar, poems, videos, etc. We're hoping that will create more engaged and active users in the iBerkshires community.
You can post any concerns or questions here or email me at tdaniels@iberkshires.com.
