Shame might stop offensive posts

Several months ago, the Daily Herald wrote an opinion piece asking posters to their Web site responding to articles and letters to be more civil, as the number of Terms of Service (TOS) violations for slander, insult, or obscenity were increasing rapidly. The children heard the teacher, and a noticeable drop in TOS'ed postings resulted. The more immature posters have a short memory, and need another scolding from the Daily Herald, as the numbers of posts removed for violations has increased again.

I do have one suggestion that may help. Remove the content of the posts, but not the user's name. That way the other readers will recognize who the habitual violators are, and can simply ignore their posts. They will have less of a chance of being offended before the offending post can be removed. It would be the electronic version of having the disobedient child sit in the corner with a dunce hat on. Not only would it be an embarrassment to the poster, but an example to the rest of the class.

Larry Jankowski

Des Plaines