ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ

Goodbye, Facebook comments.

Hello, Civil Comments.

(no relationship to Civil Beat) is a new commenting platform created by a Portland, Oregon, startup called Civil. The system is designed to encourage peer review and regulation of comments, and allows users to decide what is civil and appropriate, not necessarily what the editors of Civil Beat think should be blocked.

Over the past six years Civil Beat has developed a robust community of commenters. We’ve managed to keep a pretty good grip on name-calling, racist remarks and the spreading of inaccurate and false information.

But there’s no question that sometimes things can get downright uncivil on certain issues. And that’s been discouraging people from contributing who have constructive advice and interesting points to make. We regularly get emails from readers who want to talk about a story but just don’t feel like getting publicly slammed in the face by someone who disagrees with them or stalked on Facebook by a reader who feels passionately about an issue. And yes, that does happen.

Civil Comments requires commenters to rate themselves and each other before they can post. Combined with filters already designed to cut down on incivility (bad language and name calling, for instance) the rating system informs an algorithm that allows civil comments to rise to the top.

Here’s how it works, and for more detail read or .

Set up an account. Before you can post, you’ll be asked to rate other posts for quality and civility. Is this comment good? You may think it’s terrible because you disagree with it. But is this comment civil? People can disagree on an issue but accept that the comment itself is civil.

As the users guide says: “‘Civil’ does not mean necessarily mean ‘nice.’ Comments, particularly on challenging topics, need room for disagreement and debate; even passionate debate. We don’t all have to agree, but we must be able to disagree without personal insults, harassment, and abuse.”

If five people rate your comment as uncivil it won’t be published. But it will be flagged for the moderators here at Civil Beat to have a look and decide if overriding is warranted.

The more you comment, the more you earn the trust — or the wrath — of the community. Once you’ve gained the trust, other users will no longer be asked to review your comments.

You’ll no longer be required to use a Facebook account to post a comment. But you can set up a Civil Comments account with Facebook or Twitter, or just use your email.

Here’s something else that’s new for us: You no longer have to use your real name.

We hope you will use your name, especially those of you who have been commenting so long and so prolifically that we feel like we know you.

But the people at Civil have convinced us that research shows a marked rise in commenting and engagement when users no longer fear getting trashed by trolls or other commenters with a different opinion. Women in particular have been subject to abuse when commenting online.

You will need to create what Civil calls a “persistent pseudonym.” That’s a handle that you will use whenever you comment on Civil Beat.

Stories that were published prior to the switch will still have Facebook comments at the bottom. And if you want to comment on those, you’ll still need to use your Facebook account.

A lot of news organizations have simply been turning off comments. But several have switched from Facebook comments to Civil Comments in the last few months and are and the elimination of spam.

´¡Âá²¹ÌýBogdanoff is the founder and CEO of Civil. She is also the co-developer of the platform.

Bogdanoff said in an email that it is disheartening to see how many news sites are doing away with comments.

“That’s a real loss,” she said, “both for the sites and for their audiences. Public discussion is crucial to online spaces; we don’t want to see it disappear.”

Allowing the community to moderate the comments keeps users vested in the concept of civil discourse.

“The communities have really come together to help keep things on track, and it’s made for comments that are much more interesting to read and participate in,” Bogdanoff said. “We’re seeing passionate, honest debates and discussions on a variety of topics, including challenging topics, without the trolling and abuse you’re used to seeing in online comments.” 

So give it a try. And let us know what you think. In fact, why not practice your new commenting style on this post?