• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, May 28, 2010

Interesting post on NPR, which validates my opinion on the rise of importance on moderator tools. The post discusses derogatory comments on blogs and news sites where the conversation can quickly stray from civil discourse to scathing personal attacks, even when the post is a spoof on a heated topic, similar to TurnHere's sales person who seems to have no problem attacking people publicly. For years, many Web sites just let users go at it, and free speech reigned. But now editors are rethinking just how open their sites should be.

Update: It appears that Jill Simon, who once worked at TurnHere as a sales person, left in January, though her MediaPost profile still identifies her as working for the company. A TurnHere spokesperson told MediaPost the company has social media rules.

"Be a respectful member of the online community. Don't use ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity, or engage in conduct that would not be permissible at TurnHere's office. You should also be respectful of other's privacy, and topics that are considered sensitive by many including religion and politics."