Around 8 p.m. last night, I decided to end comments posted to our Web site regarding the Wayne Independent's on the Wayne Highlands School District's decision to end Gene Biscontini's tenure as head football coach at Honesdale High School.

 welcome your comments on my decision. Either add a comment below or e-mail at sfountain@wayneindependent.com.

The ability to post comments directly to stories was one of the many new features of our redesgined Web site. Handling the increasing volume of responses, quite honestly, is a new experience for us. We are trying to gauge what the appropriate boundaries are for postings without trampling on people's ability to express themselves. In addition, we cannot monitor these comments 24/7.

So, why did I cut off comments on the Biscontini story? I was increasingly concerned with the level of allegations being sent in by unknown people. There is, to me, a significant difference between someone signing their name to a letter to the editor and a posting from a nameless, faceless person hurling accusations from an unknown computer.

With a signed letter, we get a fuller picture of a person's motivation and credibility. This helps with people being able to form an fair opinion. Believe it or not, not everything posted to a Web site's comment line is true.

The comment feature, at its best, is a great way to expand the local marketplace of ideas. At its worse, it is a safe haven for people who lacked the courage or conviction to hurl accusations in a public forum.

Specific to the Biscontini story, I opted to err on the side of caution given what I saw as a declining level of discussion. Beyond the profanities, things were, in my eyes, simply getting nasty.

Again, we at the Independent are learning our way around this new world of instant postings. Please share your feedback to help us along in this process.