What is peer reviewing comments?

You will be asked to review and moderate comments from other users before your comment goes into the queue to be reviewed and published. How it works: The system crowdsources the comment moderation process by requiring that a commenter votes on three of the other comments in order to have their comment posted.

Why have we launched this?

We want Daily Maverick to be a community! And as we grow in numbers, we hope we can share the moderation load together. We’re hoping that this peer review comments section will help accomplish a safe and valuable space where you can share well-thought-out ideas, experiences and new perspectives, and have constructive debates.

How does it work?

1. Post your comment as per usual and click post. 

2. A pop-up will appear asking you to review three comments from another user. Your options are:

Yes: Acceptable and adds value to the conversation;

Not Civil: Comments that include name-calling, hate speech, ad hominem arguments or insults, external links, personal attacks on other users, journalists or subjects of stories; and 

Mis/disinformation: Includes unfounded information and/or conspiracy theories.

3. Once you’ve successfully reviewed three comments, yours will slot in line to be moderated and published if acceptable.

What if my comment gets rejected? 

Your rejected comment will go to our trusted comment moderators for a second opinion. If it is still rejected, you will be notified via email that your comment violated our policy in some way. You will get a chance to resubmit a comment, in which case, take a deep breath and consider rephrasing your point. 

What if I don’t want to review comments?

Sorry! We’re all in this comment moderation business together. Your comment will not be allowed in the queue to be published if you choose not to review other comments.

What if I don’t understand the context of the comment?

Don’t get it? That’s okay. Read the comment again and ask yourself: Is this comment really necessary? Is it civil or would it embarrass their mother?

Remember: 

We welcome and encourage robust debate and we love a well-thought-out, well-argued point, but if those viewpoints are not expressed with respect for fellow users and/journalists or subjects of stories, they need to be handled according to our comments policy. The prompts on the review buttons should help you decide whether a comment violates the policy or not.

Any further questions? Ask us anything over here.