Today's trust tip: Back to basics / Moderate comments on the conversations you host

Hi there. Lynn here.

This month we are digging into the Trust Tips archive to highlight topics we feel make up the foundation of building trust with your community. The topics address the aspects of journalism news consumers are most curious (and most uninformed) about. They can therefore present the best opportunities for building (or rebuilding) trust and relationships.

Some of these tips represent some of the first we ever sent (more than three years ago!), and we have found through research and working with newsrooms they remain the most relevant, helpful and important. We hope you will enjoy getting back to the basics with us. 
 

Next up: comment moderation, an important element of engagement and building trust with your community. 

The comment sections connected to news stories — on their own platforms and on social media — often remind us of a poorly thrown party. 

Imagine you decide to have people over. You stock the bar, put on some music and throw open the door. And then you ... leave. You hope (assume?) people will be on their best behavior, and you expect to come home to a house that's still in order.

Ridiculous, right? We count on an event's host to connect people, to refill plates, to gently redirect someone who gets a bit unruly, to step in if there are altercations, and to call someone a cab and send them home if necessary. Everyone appreciates a host that values guest experiences. 

This is true in comments as well. Journalists can validate good behavior (hitting "like" on a user's comment is so quick and simple), contribute to conversations, answer questions and reprimand people who are ruining the vibe. 

Moderation works best when it's based on a solid comment policy. (If you need help writing one, the folks at Coral have a fantastic guide, with examples.) Post your code of conduct or community guidelines on your website and in your Facebook About section to set expectations.

Look for opportunities to challenge people who are being inappropriately rude (especially toward each other or the regular people featured in your stories). Then warn or ban people who blatantly break the rules.

Doing so rewards people who follow the rules. It's a sign of respect toward your commenting community.
 

Borrow this language

Tell the story of what you value by making it clear that you stand for civility. That builds stronger relationships. When you need to offer a reminder or ban the people who are ruining it for everyone else, consider saying something like:

We know you value civility, and we do too. That's why our comment policy sets some ground rules (include a link). We've banned a few commenters who were making personal attacks or sharing misinformation, and we'll continue to keep an eye on things. Thanks to everyone who's contributing to productive and respectful conversations. 
 

That's it for our Back to Basics newsletter series

We'll be back next week with something new. Did you miss the earlier installments? Find them here.

• Explaining story selection
• Labeling opinion content
• Explaining ownership and funding
• Explain your reporting

Have any examples to share? 

Trusting News aims to demystify trust in news and empower journalists to take responsibility for actively demonstrating credibility and earning trust. It is a project of the Reynolds Journalism Institute and the American Press Institute.