BEEN WAITING FOR THIS CHANGE! Having some editorial control does not make someone a sort of book-burning Nazi. This site is, in it’s byline, by and for anarchists. There is no reason we should have to put up with the worst forms of vitriol and ignorance when we’re trying to discuss something — whether it be profound or superficial. And yes… it is sad to think how many people may have already been turned off by the endless stream of trolling comments — I get enough of that on the anarchist subreddit!

And that brings me to my second point — the voting system (which others have proposed) can easily be manipulated to make this site worthless or defanged. I, for one, trust the admin of this site to continue presenting quality content while giving a lot of leeway to discussion. The fact that so much trolling was allowed for so long should speak volumes in that regard. Comments presenting opposing positions have been presented (Zerzan has been here debating, as have the workerists), and that, too, speaks in favor of the editor being up to the task of remaining fairly neutral. And have no question about it… I think some projects, like this one, should have an editor-in-chief. It’s not like the admin/editor has any real power over anyone and other forums are out there if this one displeases you. It’s not unethical to tell someone to read something else if the works presented here do not please them. Sorry, that’s life. Providing an option such as this one does not make one an authoritarian because that’s what this site is — an option. If you don’t like it, if your nutter conspiracies or bigotry aren’t getting play here… too bad, go somewhere else! Anarchists do not have to allow everyone to have influence in their circles of communication. I’m going to repeat that — Anarchists do not have to allow everyone to have influence in their circles of communication. That’s true in the real world as well as in online forums like this one. And this particular site is not, and shouldn’t be, the only place anyone gets their info! Some sites may want or demand looser editorial control for every troll, dick, and hairy, but it’s not a prerequisite for having a site which presents good information on a regular basis. As I’ve said, if that’s what you want, go check out those sites — in addition to this one (or exclusively). Again… I’d suggest checking out the anarchism subreddit.

I think that any success this site has had is because of the editorial discretion shown by the articles presented — and I think that’s always been the strength of this site. And if it ain’t broke… don’t fix it. The trolling comments should obviously be seen as a negative though and I trust that some basic common sense in regard to moderating the forums will go a long way (insomuch as that won’t even be as necessary in the future if done right). If you do somehow end up feeling unjustly censored then let everybody know about it in the other forums (or through other means of communication) and then we can decide for ourselves if it was just or not. But the point is that we’re not talking about sectarian debates, we’re talking about the most inane and insulting bigotry that takes place in the comments section. If you are a sincere and thoughtful person then you probably won’t be effected.

At first I expect the number of comments will fall, but if the trolls go away we may start to see more people willing to sift through the comments and contribute themselves — see how that works?

Anyway… yeah, I’m happy about this change. Keep up the good work and don’t let the anarcho-bureaucrats guilt you about maintaining some editorial control — it’s working, often necessary, and very appreciated by at least one reader.

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