Debating the news
(Read this as if I were whispering.)
We have started a new blog called Debatables to create a place for people to talk about specific news stories. I'm whispering because this is a soft launch to work out the kinks.
Normally, we would do what many other Web sites do and enable comments on each story. Unfortunately, our Web publishing system doesn't allow it right now. We created a work around at one point, but it wasn't the most elegant of processes and not many people used it.
Our blog software provides an easier forum. I'm picking stories that may engender some discussion and some disagreement and posting them first thing in the morning. Most will be local, but not all. Most will be news oriented, but not all. We're looking for a public forum on issues of the day. We'll see how it goes.
If you've read this blog for any length of time, you will know that I want the debate to be civil and not to slide into personal attacks by anonymous commenters. There are plenty of sites that permit that; Debatables isn't the place for it and I'll be policing it there. One advantage of selecting the stories is that I can avoid those that have caused vicious and offensive comments on other sites. But, as I say, we'll see how it goes.
Suggestions welcome.