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# How to comment online (without being a jerk)
- URL: https://interhacktives.mymagic.page/how-to-comment-online-without-being-a-jerk/
- Published: 2014-12-31T09:27:43.000Z
- Updated: 2014-12-31T09:27:43.000Z
- Author: Douglas Bolton
- Tags: How-To, #Migrated-1793717950415, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-11-03 14:59

I recently finished a couple weeks' worth of shifts at The Times, working on the digital team as a community manager. My duties included posting articles to social media and compiling reports on site analytics, but the job that I spent most of my time on (and found the most entertaining by far) was moderating the comments.

We're all familiar with comments sections on the internet, for better or worse, but my time spent moderating was an interesting look into comments from the other side of the fence.

I went through slightly over 6,000 comments during my time there, and built up a pretty good understanding of how commenters behave online and what sort of comments don't make it through the moderation process.

I've compiled these bits and pieces into a list that should be essential reading for anyone thinking of laying down some opinions in a comments section in the near future.

![Comments like this rarely get published, weirdly.](http://www.interhacktives.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2comment.jpg)

Comments like this rarely get published, weirdly.

## Bozoing is a thing

So you've just read an article about the latest Taliban attack in Pakistan and you feel like doing a bit of trolling. You write a lengthy diatribe in which you call Islam a 'death cult' and demand it be outlawed (yeah, someone actually posted this).

Expecting to get 100 recommendations in five minutes and lots of angry replies from looney lefties, you get nothing. No stars. No replies. No-one seems very bothered about your brave, incisive opinion**.**

You bottle up your impotent rage and save it for another comment. Either you're not as clever as you think you are, or you've just been bozo'd.

The bozo is a third option for comments, after approve and delete. Basically, to the commenter it looks like their comment has been approved. In fact, no-one else can see it. It's a way to trash comments without giving trolls the satisfaction of a warning or a ban. It's something of a trade secret though, so keep it under your hat, yeah?

## Sports fans, you're alright

When I started (at 11PM on a Sunday night, eesh), I presumed the worst comments by far would be about football. I thought I'd have to be like an internet riot cop, clobbering hooligans with a truncheon while dodging flares and molotovs.

I couldn't have been more wrong. The sports comments are always polite, interesting and friendly. More than any other section, commenters know each other, and chat with each other like they're talking about last week's conversation at the pub.

Naturally, things get heated sometimes, but everyone knows it's just the passion that sport inflames. When even the most innocuous, inoffensive, 'also in the news' story can provoke a huge flame war, it's surprising that arguments about sports are so lovely.

![Internet trolls are usually less cute and less annoying than this lil' guy. (Pic: Valerie Everett via Flickr)](http://www.interhacktives.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/5115614168_a32fecef89_b.jpg)

Internet trolls are usually less cute and less annoying than this lil' guy. (Pic: Valerie Everett via Flickr)

## If the sports section still isn't friendly enough, go to the member's area

For you plebs who don't have a Times subscription, there's an area on the site called the Member's Area. It's a place for subscribers to share feedback about the latest Times+ offers, like restaurant discounts or free cinema tickets, but it's mostly used as a place for subscribers to chat about what they've been up to.

I'm fairly sure it's the nicest place on the internet. There's no flaming, no anger, no 100-comment argument threads. Just people sharing the details of their lovely trip to the pictures, or the tasty meal they just had with their husband.

It's very peculiar when you see a few of these same users commenting on news stories, spouting unacceptable opinions and insulting other users. If you ever get tired of the Wild West that online political arguments can sometimes be, head to the Member's Area to recharge your batteries.

## Your comment didn't get trashed because I disagree with you.

Yes, I may be a young, liberal, East London dwelling vegetarian, but that's not the reason your comment got trashed. We have a list of moderation guidelines that have been tried and tested through a number of revisions and generally work at making the comments section a decent place for debate and discussion to take place.

If your comment still doesn't appear an hour after you posted it, it's because you broke the rules, not because the moderators want to silence you or because I'm a member of the left-wing London media elite (although I hope to be one day).

![My favourite comment ever - left under a video of a man being eaten by an anaconda.](http://www.interhacktives.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/anaconda.png)

My favourite comment ever - left under an article where a man describes being eaten alive by an anaconda.

## People are generally good

I'm well aware of the bile that comments sections online are often dripping with, and honestly I was expecting my two weeks of moderating to be a fairly harrowing experience.

Fortunately, you guys are alright, really. I don't know if it's something to do with the fact that The Times is a paywalled site, but by and large, 95% of you are respectful, rule-abiding, and most importantly, interesting in what you comment.

And even if there is a bit of a fight in a comments section, a quick reminder from me to keep things polite solves the problem pretty much every time.

## Moderators are people too, and we need to be loved

I think most commeneters would be surprised to hear there's actually a human moderator reading all the comments. The process can be automated to an extent, but to ensure the community's managed properly, you really need a person sat at a desk.

But I'm not your enemy. I spend my time trying to make sure that you can go the comments section and have decent debates with people without getting insulted or derailed or spammed.

I put my jeans on one leg at a time. I work because I need money to pay rent and buy food and beer. My bus is sometimes late.

So please, when I give you a warning because you've libelled someone with your comment, relax for a minute and think of me sitting in a lonely office half way through a nightshift and a bit sweaty from my fifth cup of coffee, before you send me a furious email in which you call me a “jumped-up little c\*\*\*.” Cheers.

**Bloggers, site-owners or community managers of the internet, have you got anything to add? Something you wish your commenters would understand a bit better? Sound off in the comments and let us know more.**