The right to comment on our pa

The right to comment on our page, or a privilege? Well, yes and no to both

The ability to comment online has, especially in the last week, been subjected to increasing scrutiny and The South African is no exception; so here’s our two pennies worth.

The right to comment on our pa

Now look, no one is saying that you’re not supposed to voice your opinion online; in fact, much of what is published online is heavily influenced by readers and their opinions. This, however, is not what we’re here to debate.

What has become increasingly apparent to many online publications is the emergence of an almost factionist trend in the way in which people comment on both online platforms and social media. This, you will agree, is not the purpose of what we do, neither is it our intention to attract opinions that would be considered offensive in civilised conversation.

So, we find ourselves at an impasse, which is why we hope you’re reading this and that you’d take it into account next time you leave a comment on someone’s social media page or an online article.

For the sake of this piece, we’ll be looking at Facebook; its rules and the issues faced by many who publish online.

Under no circumstances are we allowed to swear on Facebook. Comments containing swear words (this includes the word ‘shit’) are immediately taken down, but therein lies a loophole. Memes with cuss words are not picked up by the social network’s algorithms.

This is where we come in. Our page administrators have to sift through comments so as to spot offensive memes and pictures. Easy enough and although it becomes quite a production when a post has hundreds of comments.

So, in as prosaic a manner as we can manage, here are the core criteria we will be focusing on when deciding whether or not to remove a user from The South African’s Facebook page.

  • Swearing – you know who you are, so don’t do it again.
  • Racism – this, in all its forms, is unacceptable and detracts from constructive discourse.
  • Sexism – emancipation is hard-won and we cannot allow a few members to chip away at equality between men and women.
  • Bigotry… just don’t, please.
  • Intentional and divisive trolling – if you’re unsure of what trolling is, here’s a neat little definition from our mates over at UrbanDictionary: Being a prick on the internet because you can. Typically unleashing one or more cynical or sarcastic remarks on an innocent by-stander, because it’s the internet and, hey, you can. You are well within your rights to disagree with the subject matter and even the manner in which an article has been written; that said, our Facebook page is not a forum for attacking others who have left their comments in an effort to join the conversation.
  • Advertising – if you’re going to advertise your miracle hair-growth cream we will have to remove you; opportunism at the expense of conversation is not cool.

The South African is a page for all those who are keen on joining conversations on everything relating to South Africa and the world at large. While the nature of the beast is that quite often you will see topics that don’t sit well with you, it is your right to bring your opinion to the table in a manner that adds to the conversation.

If it’s in the news – and you’ll always find a link to the original source of the pieces we publish – we will have a look at it and most likely do something on it.

We are not a free-for-all for those with a chip on the shoulder.

Cover Image: PureHealthCoach