I didn’t want to have to do this, but my hand has been forced, so prepare for some changes here on SCVTalk.com.

There have literally been hundreds of comments on the last several stories, and while most were constructive, informative and interesting, a large number devolved into personal attacks, name calling and other shenanigans. I will not tolerate that on SCVTalk.com

Effective immediately, I’ve disabled the easy anonymous commenting feature. This feature, which lasted since SCVTalk.com 2.0 debuted in January, allowed anyone and everyone to participate without the hassle of having to register. But thanks to the abuse of some, I’m closing it for now.Now if you want to comment on a story, you must register with the website. That involves choosing a user name and having an authentic email address. You can find links to registration form at the bottom of posts.

I was tempted to turn off commenting all together at least until this election cycle is over. But that would take the Talk out of SCVTalk, and I want to encourage good dialog and not punish the contributors who do add to the discussion. It remains an option however, and I hope I won’t have to do it.

It’s worthwhile at this point to review the ground rules for commenting on SCVTalk:

• No Personal Attacks/Ad Hominem Attacks: Criticize the ideas, not the people. An ad hominem attack is a logical fallacy describing the attempt to discredit an argument by merely attacking the credibility of the arguer. Excessive flaming will not be tolerated. Users who verbally assault the character or person of other posters on a regular basis will be banned.
• No Name Calling: Self explanatory, goes with the rule above.
• Respect the privacy of others. Do not post other’s private phone numbers, addresses, pictures, etc., without their express permission.
• No trolling. Don’t make posts that are inflammatory just to get people riled up. Substance is a key to not being labeled a troll, but substance alone cannot prevent you from being considered a troll. Substance with a dash of personal attacks will get you labeled as a troll.
• No blatantly juvenile toilet humor. Simple rule. Moderator’s judgment applies here.

Consider these rules to be in effect at all times on the main website. Repeated violators will be banned from visiting this site.
Other places to discuss:

I have no desire to limit passionate, intense discussion about important Santa Clarita topics. But some of the comments and discussions we’ve seen on the site in recent days are better suited to a discussion forum environment. There have been several hundred interesting comments on SCVTalk stories that eventually just fall off the front page of the website. In a discussion forum, active and popular threads stay at the top.

It just so happens I have a discussion forum on my website named SCVTalkers.

SCVTalkers is an open forum for anyone. The ground rules are similar to above, but what you discuss is up to you. Anyone can create a topic on just about any subject; it’s not just limited to Santa Clarita. You do have to register for SCVTalkers and it’s a separate registration from the main site, but it’s available to you, free of charge if you want to start your own discussion thread on anything from city politics to sports to hilarious pet videos.

I moderate the forum, and I think if you ask most of the users there, they’ll tell you it’s a night and day difference from the way The Signal ran its “Tell It” forum. Over three thousand posts have been made in just a few months of operation, and more members are joining everyday.

Feel free to check it out.

Conclusion

That’s all I have to say for now except that I’d like to remind you that the readers of this website aren’t just bits and bytes out there on the internet. They are your Santa Clarita neighbors, the people who share the same streets, stores, parks, and fine recreational amenities you do. Everyone who visits this website does so because they care about what’s going on in this town, and that counts for something because so many of our neighbors don’t care and aren’t engaged.

So check the hostility, lighten up, and let’s all have some good, informed, and occasionally humorous discussions!

Thank you.

Jeff Wilson