Anti-comments

Comments on a newspaper article are often just plain stupid. I mean the comments themselves, not the idea of comments.

How to weed out the stupid?

I first thought having people having to log into their Facebook accounts before commenting was a good idea. Who will make an asinine comment when their real name is displayed? Turns out -- a lot of people. So, while it may make some people behave themselves, there are plenty of people who will not.

Okay. All well and good. I usually don't comment on anything, so the whole logging into Facebook routine doesn't affect me.

But now it does.

I went to read the comments on a story on the St. Paul Pioneer Press website about Walmart building a store where the Cottage Grove drive-in movie theater used to be.

When the comments get too numerous, in the past, I would have to click on a link to see more comments.

But now when I click to see more comments I'm told I have to log into Facebook before I'll be shown those comments.

I have logged into Facebook and it does show me the additional comments. But why should I have to log in to Facebook to just browse additional comments? I'm not going to leave a comment. I'm just reading.

Guess I'll have to get over the guilty pleasure of wading neck-deep into the Pioneer Press comment lagoons.

Update, January 16, 2013: The comments seem to have returned to the way they were. That is, I can read them all without logging into Facebook.