Art by Allie Seide
Audio By Carbonatix
Don’t make us regret this. I’m joking! I’m joking! (But seriously.) We want our site to be a place that cultivates community and thoughtful discussion. So we are testing the return of article page reader comments.
If you’re a longtime reader, you might remember that years ago, readers could leave comments on our articles. But due to limited staff resources, we turned the feature off.
Well, it’s 2026. The tech has evolved, and we’re hopeful we can make this work a second time around. We’re working with product partner Arena, and with the technology’s help, we can more easily monitor comments to help ensure a safe, respectful, welcoming space for all.
We hope readers will enjoy chatting about local issues in the comments, and we see it as another place where you can engage directly with us to share both praise and constructive feedback.
Comment Policy
It doesn’t mean you can’t get spicy in some good discussions with each other or toward us. But there is a comment policy. Comments are monitored using Arena’s moderation platform, including automated filtering and human review. Users violating these guidelines may have their comments removed or be banned from further participation.
- Respectful Engagement
- No Hate Speech or Harassment: Any comments containing offensive, abusive, or threatening language, including slurs, discrimination, or personal attacks, will be removed.
- Be Civil & Constructive: Engage in discussions with respect, even in disagreement. No excessive trolling, name-calling, or inflammatory remarks.
- Stay On-Topic
- Comments should be relevant to the article, topic, or discussion at hand.
- No Illegal or Harmful Content
- Do not share or promote illegal activities, violence, or dangerous misinformation.
- Content that violates copyright laws or intellectual property rights will be removed.
- No Spam or Self-Promotion
- Avoid repetitive comments, excessive linking, or promotional material.
- Advertisements, solicitations, and irrelevant links will be flagged as spam.
How Article Comments Work
If you’d like to leave comments and use this tool, it’s fairly easy. Scroll to the bottom of an article, click “Login” (located on the right side), choose a sign-in method, enter your email and display name, and start commenting.
We won’t use your personal data from this for anything (here’s our privacy policy), but your comments may be used in Reader Response articles or cited in future reporting. Do not share personal information (yours or others), including addresses, phone numbers, or financial details. Protect your privacy and respect others’ confidentiality.
This is a trial run, so if we find that this isn’t building community and being used to platform hate that we cannot manage, like Thanos, we’ll snap our fingers and turn it back off. But I know we won’t need to do that.
Thank you for reading, and as always, please feel free to reach out to chat, say hi, or share any feedback about our sites, social media, newsletters, or journalism with me (chelsey.dequaine@voicemediagroup.com).
