In our last update we raised the controversial issue of posting comments that are not in line with our comments policy. We just want to thank everybody for the honest feedback on that thread about the issue. In the same post we did mention that we were looking at technology that would enable the LT community to regulate itself.
We are glad to announce that we have finally got the technology to work the way we want it to work. Basically we are allowing the community to regulate itself on what comments are posted on the site. We are sure you have noticed that at the end of every comment, there is a message in blue saying Complain about this comment. If you click on the link and click on report comment, a message will be  sent to us, alerting us about the comment.
Here is how the self regulation will work. If the comment is reported five(5) times by different people, it will be automatically removed from the site and held in moderation for the editor to look at. This is to just prevent unfair reporting on some comments. If the editor decides to approve the comment held in moderation, no complaint can be made against it.
So, what we are simply saying is that if you don’t like a comment you see on the site, just complain about it and if 5 other people complain about the same comment, the system will automatically delete the comment.
We hope this provides a better compromise on the controversial issue of comments. As LT we value your comments greatly and that is why we go to great length to make sure that our comments system is well managed in a non intrusive way and we wish to keep it it in real time. Allowing people to post anonymously is not easy. As we have said before, you can get the news published on this site elsewhere, but your comments are very special to this site and you can’t find them anywhere else.
Lastly, some comments may get trapped in moderation by mistake on posting, but they will eventually get posted to the site. This is because we have changed our filters and it might take a while for our new filters to learn the new rules. Please bear with us. Thanks everyone for your support to lusakatimes.com
LT Team
Self-moderation is good but why should 5 different people complain before a comment is assessed? Let a comment be removed after the 1st complaint, then, let the editor decide whether to bring it back or not.
As I already said earlier on, this is a huge step towards open democracy. There are very few sites which enable self-regulation of bloggers. Thank you LT.
Ba LT
I am a journalist and I strongly support your use of technology coupled with your democratic policy of allowing the readers/bloggers to regulate themselves. I think it is very innovative and progressive and I am sure that is the future of journalism. A lot of people are bound to copy what you have just introduced. However, please work on your reports. They are sometimes so skeletal and half-baked I wonder whether you ever held an editorial meeting over their publication. Viva LT!
# 3 what journalist iwe?
Thank you LT,right step in the pact direction.
Wahh Go LT, This is what we have been waiting for. Some of the comments are really out of touch and topics. Thanks .
#1 I think 5 people is fair. I would actually up that number to 10. Some of us are so hated that with just one click our comments will get deleted and that would be unfair. These PF Kanponyas are capable of just going on a rampage one click to get rid of some of our comments.
:d No # 7 MMD Chief bootlicker, your comments, Veterans, Canadian economist your comment shall not be flagged. You guys are annoying to say the least but you keep the concept of democracy going. It’s the insults being spewed by Zambians that is atrocious at times you wonder how some children were raised. I too can curse but keep and remember that any idle word I speak I shall be accountable to before God ( scary ). Please also LT moderate the individuals that are against Zambia it’s past and our beautiful Nubian princesses.
The wisdom and sound judgement of the LT Honchos is above board.No doubt they like some of us are icons of functional democracy and highly value the democratic spirit the ruling MMD has inculcated in the nation. They strongly believe in a culture of responsible free speech a fact no cadre can take away from LT.Though frequently framed, threatened, and insulted with impunity by PF kaponyas whenever LT have belabored to balance the news flow to the extent of being called MMD surrogates, they have been unflinchingly sober partners of the bigger Zambian democratic order.I have no reason to think they would sensor any constructive criticism in good spirit.I have since challenged PF kaponyas to start their own blogs if they think LT is MMD by virtue of opening the portal to MMD news too.
Certainly, LT appreciates every contribution from the traffic herein, but does not send invitation cards for PF Kaponyas to expect a PF inclination other than balanced sober new portal. Therefore, in democracy whether the new is pro or anti party establishment, the challenge is on the alligned micro or macro- blogger to intelligently countervail the news.Pro-MMD activists doe it but PF kaponya squander their opportunity to intelligently counter any anti PF news by evolving on insults no different from Sata.
LT, mwaendelela. Congrats. You challenge us to regulate ourselves.
Now there are those of us who are capable of changing our IDs 10 times, won’t we beat this new technology to its game? Just a question.
yebo i like this bane. eh democlatic iyi. deuces you guys mwawumfwa?:)>-
really annoying ama guys who are not serious when it comes to commenting.
This is a good move LT!
yea and i hope everyone will emulate walai’s commenting attitude. just comment like me, i dont attack in my primary comments, i just write what i feel or is going on.i mind my bizness bane. deuces:)>-
And what happens if the same person complains five times? Will that count as one person or five persons? How will you regulate against the same person complaining five times against a comment they don’t like?
#15, i have complained about your name 5 times now, nothing is happening!
#16, Dumbwiza: If only you knew what “Dumbwiza” means in my language! You wouldn’t complain about mine, believe me!
There are people on this blog with multiple identities,they are capable of complaining about the same post more than 5 times, all you need is to work on the validity of email addresses used with the ID,by doing so you will have an opportunity to even ban repeat offenders
Like Chenda Bwamba rightly put it,how do you regulate against the same blogger complaining 5 times
🙂 LT if our parliament back home ( ruling and opposition ) were more industrious like yourselves Zambia would move a little further forward. Giving credit were it’s due your stance on the illicit comments from gone days is welcome. If only we could recover lost bloggers, enlighten them that it is safe to blog again.
#2 Wenye wako. There are a lot sites that allow self-regulation of bloggers. Unless you tell me LT is the only site that you visit, bear with me. 😮
Same applies to #3 and quote “a lot of people are bound to copy what you have just introduced” This technology has been around for some time now. It’s LT copying and not vise-versa. We just have to thank them for following suit. [-x
Nizi ! Nice that ba LT that you heard our cry ! Otherwise a self regualatory system nizi.:)>-
people with that ka vocabulary ati nizee.. too combonic bane.deuces:)>-
what about dubious stories posted by sata’s son henry kasumbalesa? how do we complain and delete those? and the comments posted by mmembe?
5 is too little, maybe the comment eviction should be 10.
thank u LT
Only people with degrees should be allowed to complain…
5 is too little,
This is very good. I have always suggested this solution because the bot you guys were using just wasn’t up to the job. It would unfairly put comments in moderation and allow blatant insults to pass through depending on the language one used. Good work!
Smoothcriminal says:
February 22, 2010 at 2:44 am
There are people on this blog with multiple identities,they are capable of complaining about the same post more than 5 times, all you need is to work on the validity of email addresses used with the ID,by doing so you will have an opportunity to even ban repeat offenders.
Comment.
Simply use various email accounts.
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
you can make up as many as you choose.
If the filters then work and L.T ban via I.P address then you use a proxy server.
I have seen a sign 3 times before “You are banned”.
Does it bother me?
Nope!
Sounds good but LT consider looking into #18 and # 27 reasoning. They could be right!
Um # 23 so you think nizee is combonic ? Well that is news to me.Bro the essence of language is communication or it should work as a medium to communiate a message and that is exactly the thing here.I always look at it to be some kind of propanganda that some pipo have ended up considering other languages to be more important than others.Am sure you have even seen some families in zambia where the mother will say something like “abana bandi balichenjela balandafye ichisungu”.Hope nthenu you are not in that bracket but otherwise Nizee.[-(:-?
Self regulation by bloggers is welcome & long overdue. Such a development can only worry bloggers who use offensive language. Keep your comments clean.
Its you LT who needs to improve. Stop stealing stories and for once write your own storie. Apart from that failed politician Henry Kyambalesa you have no other reporters. No wonder you depend on ZANIS and Daily Mail. When ZANIS is down, you don’t update the site
mo taim.. ahh nizee boyi. deuces wawumfwa? nalikutemwa sana. i like guys like you mune, people who answer back with reasons and analysis. thats what i like. if it was some one else they would have attacked me. just because it was walai who said. there are a lot of walai haters. and i know ba pwete they will always report my comments. ah nizee. deuces mune:)>-
I only hope supporters of the PACK will not DELETE goods things we usually write about the MUCH hated RB
Ka walai mwaiche waumfwa? careful nefyo ulelemba. Lt keep it up! but 5 is too much a number, how about reducing to three or two??
ati shani iwe you ka sweet toy drink ka katalina. and by the way i am thirsty. mmm ine i just mind my business when i blogg. but i know ama haters they are a lot. every one wants a piece of walai. anyway enough with my sad haters, coming to you my darling. how was the ka weekend? deuces you ka chokolate.:)>-
Walai nizee boyi.For now i will just say that take care and dont let pipo pull you down.By the way i want you to tell me the full story yachilya chi sweet sixteen i enjoyed it.But am out for now.:)>-
Please let use this tool to reduce the number of posting senior citizen, MMD chiefboolicker, patriotic and many other losers post on this site. lets use the number 5
# 9-10, (Senior Citizen), Why do you hate PF if you claim to be a Democrat..Lets criticize where it is due..You want us to be heaped with rubbish while we watch..Your tone tells where you belong..NALEKA..!!!
Well done LT…this is a step in the right direction. Good observation #2 ‘Nine Chale’…I think #9 ‘Senior Citizen’s comment is spot on…#24 ‘Kafupi’…you ‘ve got some humour…you made me laugh. Catch up with you bloggers later…am off shopping though its on the snowy side and freezing outside.
Well done LT show Zambia, the way!
Bloggers shouldn’t worry. LT said the five bloggers are just supposed to alert it to an offensive article. The automatic deletion is temporary. After which LT then look at the article and decide to delete it or leave it on. So no need to complain about the number of complainants because LT in the end will use its editorial authority for a decision on whether to delete or not.
Very good. Thanks LT. Wish it came last week. One of the bloggers above would be banned by now.
Often it is not the content of the material, but the quantity! Some, like so-called senior citizen post 10- 15 lengthy posts that nobody cares to read and they get away with it! These are the ones that should be “moderated” in my opinion.
number 42 please mention the name mune! not ukulanda mu ma parable. noti uletina wawumfwa?deuces:)>-
This is not new technology by all means,I think ukzambians.co.uk or azaonline.org have used this for a long time. A lot of decent sites have it. It’s a nice tool for LT to have. Its long overdue.
I like Senior Citizen but sometimes you should take a bit of Imodium. The verbosity is too long winded and most people dont read beyond two or three lines. But good on you LT!