AnnArbor.com launches new commenting system; let us know what you think

By Stefanie Murray Real-time Engagement Officer

Posted on Tue, Jan 18, 2011 : 12:30 a.m.

After months of planning and reader feedback, we've launched a new commenting system on AnnArbor.com.

The new system makes commenting a more interactive experience and offers some functions our readers have consistently asked for. We now allow comment replies and comment voting. Readers have the ability to hide commenters and sort the order in which comments appear on their screen.

We've also added a feature that displays the three most popular comments on a story above all other comments. We hope this will highlight good conversation on the site and motivate our readers to make insightful, constructive comments.

There are many less noticeable changes, too. We've instituted a character limit and have a word filter. The comment submission tool will let you know when your comment is too long or when you've used a word we don't allow.

Our new system will automatically place a marker in the comment thread when a comment is removed by our moderation team. We've restructured the design of comments to place the name and time of the comment above the actual comment to improve the reading experience.

We can't wait to hear your feedback and see how you like using the new commenting system. Please let us know by making a comment below or e-mailing us at moderator@annarbor.com. In addition, we'll run a live chat today on AnnArbor.com from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Join our chat to ask questions or give us feedback in real-time.

For more information on how to use the new system, be sure to read our FAQs.

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