I think newspapers take the easy road by claiming they are protecting their readers by once again exhibiting some editorial control over the comments. It shows a lack of understanding about two aspects of community building online:

1) create a system that is self-contained and self-monitoring;
and
2) you are a part of the community, not the community in total

Throughout the years, my aversion to EULAs and take-down policies have been rigid: I hate them; however, I always tried to make the argument that if you build the tools correctly for users, you shouldn’t need a take-down policy because the community will do that for you.

The end result is the same for the company, but the net gain for the community is they have a vested ownership in what is happening.

News companies believe that everything must be washed down, scrubbed and cleaned up for the masses — but in doing so, they have inadvertently (or maybe on purpose) treated their audience disrespectfully. They have said: We know better. Shut up and read.

They have arbitrarily removed themselves as the hub of their community.

Is it ugly at times? Yes. Does it make you wince? Absolutely.

But to paraphrase: show me the person who will defend the absolute right of someone they fundamentally disagree with to speak freely and I’ll show you someone who understands the First Amendment.

That’s the type of media outlet I want.

Brad King

And, as a side note, there is a great irony that the Enquirer touts its First Amendment desk as one of the grand traditions of the paper.