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The above is from the online addition of yesterday’s Globe and Mail. It is in response to comments to a story of a convenience store owner who bilked 4 people out of a $5.75 million Lotto 6/49 jackpot in 2004. He was sentenced to a mere year in jail. The punishment does not seem to fit the crime, but that’s another story.

It seems like a sound policy and a good way to douse a flame war. But it got me to thinking about the comments I see on local media websites – particularly the Telegram's. I tend to avoid reading comments, as they inevitably lead to partisan mudslinging and turn personal really fast. The story may be about something as pedestrian as a town council meeting on rezoning land in Joe Batt’s Arm, but quickly morphs into a "so’s-your-mudder" hate in. And inevitably, it’s Danny Williams’ fault. Either that or he’s the second coming.

But things have really gotten out of hand. Is the Tely - or any online forum for that matter - that desperate for readers? Where has civility gone? And to make matters worse, most online forums allow anonymous comments. People are not responsible for what they write. But that may be changing.

One thing that pisses me off is that people write letters to the editor and have to sign their name. Yet the Telegram - among many others - allows anonymous cowards to take shots at them. Seems like a double standard to me. The Telegram should shit or get off the pot. Either disable comments - similar to the policy of the Globe - or require people to log in using their real names. (I know, something difficult to police.) But it’s unfair to have it both ways. Regardless, moderation of the site should increase. For those who insist people have a right to say what they want, it's a free country - bullshit. We don't have a right to slander or defame.

And really, how does “buddy your (sic) an asshole” or “SHUT UP JOHN YOU IDIOT” add to constructive debate?