Ocean State Current and Anchor Rising before it have always had completely open commenting systems.  Times have changed, though.  Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have developed to answer a lot of the impetus that used to lead people to leave one-off comments on blogs, and proxy servers have become so commonplace that the light-touch comment management we used to pursue for random stoppers-by isn’t really possible anymore.  Meanwhile, many of the comments are from folks who read regularly.

Therefore, some registration will now be required in order to comment.  You can use Twitter, Facebook, or Google, or you can register quickly for a Disqus account.  It only takes a moment, and it’s still anonymous, if you insist.  The only real difference, if you go the Disqus route, is that if you don’t verify your email address, your comment will have to be approved before it appears.

We’ll give it a try and see how it goes.