Dear reader, we're closing comments (IOL)

DJ... said:
Not much of a conspiracy. It's simply what's been going on behind the scenes from a political angle for a while.

I can't disclose much about this other than to say that the closure of these "comments" sections, which are akin to this forum's sections, was not a voluntary choice made by the publications who have chosen to do so. There has been building pressure for some time. MyBB has a slight issue with respect to moderating posts where the offending post in question has been amended by someone representing MyBB. This is part of what Paul was trying to warn MyBB about, and is why he lost his cool and targeted a few individuals with which to point out to MyBB the risk. It did however devolve into something completely different, as it does with this sort of thing.

I don't sanction nor agree with his methods, but I certainly understand what he was trying to do, and it was with the best of intentions...
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Then this site needs to move away from being a Current affairs site.
 
Not unexpected, they have been exposed as an ANC mouthpiece. Now to silence the voices of dissent when they publish their 'news' pieces.

Independent Online, or IOL is a news and information website based in South Africa. It was owned by the Independent News & Media organisation, which is the largest publisher of print material in South Africa but was bought out by Sekunjalo Investments in 2013 who now own the company.

Sekunjalo Independent Media owns 55% of the company, the Public Investment Corporation of South Africa owns 25%, and two Chinese State Owned Enterprises (China International Television Corporation and the China Africa Development Fund) own the remaining 20% of the newspaper.
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On 6 December 2013, the Cape Times led with a front-page article on the Public Protector's report highlighting irregularities in the awarding of the Sekunjalo Marine Services Consortium tender. The same day, the newspaper's editor, Alide Dasnois, was dismissed from her post by Iqbal Survé, executive chairman of Sekunjalo Investments.
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Clearly not the place to get your news from.
 
JStrike said:
Government censorship I have a problem. Private companies no longer supplying a platform for ignorant or hateful comments, I have no problem with. Don't like it? Go start your own blog. No one is stopping you
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Might be an idea for a browser addon actually (though it probably already exists) - add a comments section to any website!
 
JStrike said:
Government censorship I have a problem. Private companies no longer supplying a platform for ignorant or hateful comments, I have no problem with. Don't like it? Go start your own blog. No one is stopping you
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Exactly. Any company should stand by the content they publish, and who in their right mind would want to do that with internet comments?
 
I think I have a solution to this problem/issue.

Yes there are people who are intolerant and hate speech should never be tolerated. I am however against censorship.

Messages on apps like snapchat disappear after a few seconds.

Why cant news sites automatically delete comments after 24 hours?

You have 24 hours to debate and voice your opinion. It would be too much effort to get a court order if comments are deleted after 24 hours.

This system makes sense to me on a current affairs site, as content is changing daily.
 
Not only news 24 and IOL, also BDLive, Business Day stopped their comments section 5 or 6 weeks ago.
Although the trolls and hate speech are a nuisance, I always found the comments on more civilized sites interesting, and found a lot of interesting views and info between them.
But inserting a more balanced, better informed view between silly, empty and bigoted comments hardly made any sense.
To get the comments section correct, I guess is not easy, but to give in to the trolls and the bullies, is also not a real option IMHO.
 
The only solution is to employ a full time moderator who pre filters / selects comments for publication
 
arr0w said:
I think I have a solution to this problem/issue.

Yes there are people who are intolerant and hate speech should never be tolerated. I am however against censorship.

Messages on apps like snapchat disappear after a few seconds.

Why cant news sites automatically delete comments after 24 hours?

You have 24 hours to debate and voice your opinion. It would be too much effort to get a court order if comments are deleted after 24 hours.

This system makes sense to me on a current affairs site, as content is changing daily.
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Good idea, but I would go further. I would have a ranking system on the comments, and each registered user gets to upvote one comment. Then you take the 20 or so highest rated comments and publish them to the article as: "What our readers said:". If the comment contains hate speech, you put a warning label on it so people can be aware of what they are reading then you publish it.
 
Great news!!!

It's funny how people say new South Africa this and that and its been 20+ years apartheid free, yet we can't even have online comments section. The comments sections expose the reality in our country. It's just hidden in real life. News24 was really eye opening and changed my outlook on life in this country.
 
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fragtion said:
Fun to have no voice? Idio.... In the interest of mybb keeping comments open, I won't complete the word.
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No one is taking away your voice...

They are protecting themselves from people who don't know when to keep their racist, sexist and so on mouths shut. Referring to someone as an idiot because they actually see the reasoning behind it just highlights the irony of your post ;)
 
ambroseg1 said:
Sadly I have to agree.
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That is why I want a comment section.

We South Africans have always kept it real.

Pretending racism doesnt exist hasnt worked for America, why would it work for us?

I dont condone racism but I am against living under a nanny state.They are trying to take away all control from us.

I understand that racism, sexism and negative comments based on sexuality are deemed hate speech.

Should we not voice our opinions about eskom, corruption and the issues we south africans face every day?

I enjoyed the comment section. It gave me insight into what people are thinking.
 
fragtion said:
Fun to have no voice? Idio.... In the interest of mybb keeping comments open, I won't complete the word.
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No voice? Go open a blog somewhere and say your piece. Why should some other company provide a platform for you?
 
If lets say a site like news24 run an article about childhood obesity, will the following be regarded as hate speech?

Sally : " I blame the parents. If the parents are a slob the kids will be little slobs aswell. Fat people are disgusting"
 
JStrike said:
No voice? Go open a blog somewhere and say your piece. Why should some other company provide a platform for you?
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CONTEXT. Do you know the meaning of this word? Yes, No voice. When I read an article I should be able to respond to it directly, or else there is room for controlled bias/propaganda and bigotry and similar unethical agendas. Yes, Bigotry.. isn't that Ironic? Nobody is going to find my random blog. That is the most absurd proposition I've ever heard, and only goes to show how uninformed you are about censorship and its implications. I stand by my initial comment. Here's the last letter of the word: t.
 
MickZA said:
Damn, that means the IOL trolls will be looking for a new home - hopefully not here ...
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prepare-yourselves-the-flood-is-coming-thumb.jpg
 
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