When my site was small, it wasn’t such a big deal. Now that my readership is in the tens of thousands, the tone of the comments is shifting. I make it a practice now to guide things along. I brush off criticism against me (though sometimes I shoot a barb back. Very immature), but the true test of being a good moderator is jumping on flame wars before they start and prodding them into more thoughtful discussion. A lot of times it requires playing devil’s advocate – but overall I think it makes for a more welcoming experience and drives even more traffic.

I just gave a quick look at the comments on her Salon article. I didn’t go through every one, but it appears she never tried to jump into the conversation. I think this is a big problem journalists have – they don’t realize that writing for online isn’t “just like writing for print.” There’s a level of interactivity, and the wisest way for them to tell the story is to be involved with the discussion afterwards. Usually when people see you’re paying attention, they’re more respectful.

My two shekels.