Website Makes Users Read Articles Before Commenting on Them

Norwegian website about technology, NRKbeta, introduces a new moderation system, which makes Internet users read articles before commenting on them, Gizmodo writes. Now every reader who wants to submit their opinion on the topic of the article will have to answer several questions on its content — and will be given access to commenting only after that.

“when we share our articles on the home page, they attract a lot of readers not familiar with the topics,” Marius Arnesen, the editor of NRKbeta, says in his interview to CNN. “They just read the headline, assume certain things and race to the comment field. The aim is to make people take 30 seconds before they comment, to take the edge off.”

According to Ståle Grut, NRKbeta journalist, they try to make the question as easy and neutral as possible. “If we could make sure people at least had read the story before lashing out, the comments might become a bit more valuable for everybody,” he adds.