Hey! Where’d the comments go?

We’ve turned them off for now. A lot of ink has been spilled on the value of comments sections, and we’ve been here as an organization before, as recently as the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. What we have noticed is that lately, especially on the most heated conversations, folks have been forgetting or ignoring our comment policy, and to be candid: our volunteer moderators are burned out. We’ve also heard from folks who don’t want to write a piece because they don’t want to deal with the disrespect.

Additionally, we’re in the final stretches of our Racial Equity Impact Analysis and will be using what we’ve learned to revisit how to provide a space to foster conversations about our pieces in an equitable and sustainable way. It’s likely to include changes to mechanics as well as structure (it turns out very smart people are paid to research this kind of thing!).

If you’ve got thoughts on the value that the comments section brings, send them our way at feedback@streets.mn. If you’ve got a response or idea from something you’ve read, we want you to get in touch with our volunteer editors and stay in the conversation by contributing a piece.