What's the deal with NZ Herald comments? Your questions answered

(Not a Herald comment mod). Photo / Eugene Chystiakov, Unsplash

It's official - Sir John Key holds the record for the most comments submitted on a NZ Herald story (803).

The moderator who read every single one of those comments - as well as hundreds more that took that day's total to 2000+ - was Stan, who heads the Herald's moderation team.

Stan is as unflappable as they come, which is fortunate because comment moderation is not for the flappable. It's busy, relentless and sometimes heated. It's also an inexact science - the bunch of humans (and one robot) who moderate comments at the Herald come from different backgrounds and have different points of view.

We all aim to follow the same rules (which you can read here), but sometimes moderation calls aren't clear-cut.

Over the year or so since we introduced comments, we've fielded a lot of questions from our readers about how the system works. We asked Stan to take 90 minutes out of his busy schedule this morning to answer your questions.

You had many, many of them. Here are the highlights:

Moderator N: Hi Stan. Thanks for doing this. I'm going to kick off with a few FAQs. Number one: Who decides which stories readers can comment on? What's the criteria?

Moderator S (Stan): Good morning! The comment moderator decides which stories to open. We're looking for the big issues of the day that will encourage our readers to engage in respectful debate and discussion. We'll stay away from stories of ongoing criminal cases or other stories that could be legally problematic - we are of course responsible for comments that are published. As new stories are published on the Herald, the moderator will be keeping an eye out to see which are best suited for debate.

Moderator N: FAQ 2 - Why are comments sometimes closed early on stories?

Moderator S: Comments on all stories are closed at 5pm. In some instances, a moderator may decide to close a story early if the response is simply too overwhelming and they can't keep up with all the comments coming through. This is pretty rare. We've had stories run into the many hundreds of comments without closing them. From memory, the record is a Sir John Key op-ed from September last year, which brought in 803 comments.

Moderator N: FAQ 3 - Can Herald moderators make any changes to comments submitted by readers?

Moderator S: No, moderators cannot alter comments once they are submitted. The comment will either be published, and the commenter will then be able to edit the published comment (edited comments go through the moderation process again), or the comment will be rejected entirely and the commenter will need to resubmit.

Moderator N: FAQ 4 - Why are some comments rejected?

Moderator S: We have a set of house rules by which we decide to publish or reject a comment. The most common reason a comment won't be published tends to be that it does not positively advance debate. Commenters that reply to others with things like "you must be an idiot for thinking that" will find that their comments are not published.

Moderator N: FAQ 5 - What do you think makes a "good" comment?

Moderator S: We want strong opinions! We want respectful, mature, considered takes on the big issues facing the country. I'm happy to say this happens quite frequently on our commenting forums.

Mark Y: There are a few people who comment here each day. A lot of what they say is blatantly untrue, yet the comments are published. Why is this? It also seems to be we have people who obviously work for the government on the boards ... Why is this allowed? These people leap to the defence of the government when the slightest piece of criticism is forthcoming. Comments get published that have nothing to do with the topic. It seems they are here to try and deflect attention away from the government's failures. Do mods fact check?

Moderator S: Hi Mark. The moderators do fact check - we have a rule against spreading deliberate misinformation. In debate and discussion about politics, though, it's common for both sides to bend the truth, and moderators constantly need to make judgement calls about whether a comment is too misleading as to be considered misinformation. If comments are clearly off-topic or completely unrelated to the story, they won't be published. But comments that defend the government are allowed, just as are comments that attack the government.

Mark Y: Why do people get blocked when defending the National government?

Moderator S: Hi again Mark. Commenters are not blocked when defending the National Party. As a regular commenter, you will know that there are many hundreds of comments published each day that praise National and attack Labour, and vice versa.

Geoff W: Do you write in-house comments?

Moderator S: Hi Geoff. Herald staff will sometimes reply to commenters, but won't submit their own comments on a story.

Nicholas B: I have read the rules and follow them carefully, yet frequently my comments are not published. Can this be due to an overload of comments which the moderator is unable to process fully?

Moderator S: Hi Nicholas. No, we get through all of the comments each day, though there may sometimes be a delay in publishing or rejecting a comment due to an overload of comments coming through. At worst this gets up to about 10 minutes. If you think a comment has been rejected in error you can email us at newsdesk@nzherald.co.nz and we'll have a look at what's going on.

Roy H: I find it hard to understand when I break the rules if I am never told which rule I have broken - eg. a comment that is moderated by the Herald, but has been repeated close enough to word for word from an article printed in the Herald, sometimes on the same day. Also I have re-presented a disallowed comment on another day and it has been accepted. I understand that it is your game and your rules so if I want to play I have to play your way, but it would be easier to handle moderation if I knew how the rules were being applied.

Moderator S: Hi Roy. It's our job to make some pretty tough line calls. You can have two comments that are similar in substance, but one won't cross the line and one will. A general rule of thumb to ensure your comment is published is: play the ball and not the man.

Jeremy B: If the commenters' knowledge is greater than that of the moderators, how do they decide what is factually correct and incorrect? How can they decide not to accept a comment when it is in fact true based on studies and findings?

Moderator S: Hi Jeremy. Great question. We have a rule against spreading deliberate misinformation, so from time to time the moderators do need to fact-check and make judgement calls about whether a comment is too misleading as to be considered misinformation. This can be pretty tough work, and a moderator will call on others in the newsroom with greater knowledge of a particular subject area to help make the decision.

Alan B: Why will you not allow comments or questions in relation to climate change which may take a different view to that of mainstream?

Moderator S: Hi Alan. We have a rule against spreading deliberate misinformation, so comments that include outright climate change denial won't be published.

John W: Do you have political bias in the articles on which comments are allowed? Do you shut down comments prematurely if they don't adhere to your bias?

Moderator S: Hi John. No. We open comments on stories that are likely to encourage respectful debate and discussion.

Newton K: I would like to have the ability to comment on every story. The most contentious stories are blocked from comments, which seems undemocratic. If the Herald can publish whatever story from whatever perspective it wants, I believe Premium subscribers should be able to comment on them.

Moderator S: Hi Newton. We are responsible for all the comments that are published on the Herald. For this reason, while we open comments on stories that are contentious and controversial, we have a responsibility to close comments on stories that could be legally problematic.

Paul H: Hi Stan, thanks for taking the time to comment on our comments. On a couple of occasions I've had comments rejected by the moderator that I thought were innocuous. There's no feedback or discussion and what's more frustrating is the comment is gone forever so you can't review it and figure out where you went wrong. Can, or should, a moderator's decision be explained or challenged?

Moderator S: Hi Paul. If you think an innocuous comment has been rejected by mistake, please let us know by emailing newsdesk@nzherald.co.nz. We'll check it out, and if we were wrong to reject it we will publish it right away. If we were right to reject it, we'll let you know why and will copy and paste the comment back to you so you can make some changes.

Alexander G: I get the feeling that there is sometimes censorship applied by the moderators with regards to political views ... Often comments purely mentioning the word "socialist" seem to get banned.

Moderator S: Hi Alexander. There are comments published every day discussing the government's "socialist agenda" and their "socialist policies". Those kinds of comments are fine, but comments that denigrate individuals can overstep the mark. Again, an easy way to ensure your comment is published is: play the ball and not the man.

Anthony W: Are there any words that automatically qualify a comment for rejection? If so, is there a list of these anywhere so that they can be avoided?

Moderator S: Hi Anthony. Yes, our comment moderation system is filled with banned words. It is very, very extensive and includes all kinds of variations on the typical curse words. Controversial or contentious words, phrases or labels, though, are not banned. The decision to publish or reject a comment is made by judging a comment in its entirety.

Hector B: Thanks to moderators for doing a difficult job. As I'm happy to abide by guidelines most days I see all my comments pass through. However 1 or 2 days before and over weekend it seems that I get 1 or 2 accepted early on and then there's nothing go through. Is that because of the reduced numbers of moderators on duty that they ... can't process enough and to be fair each person is given a "quota"?

Moderator S: Hi Hector. Yes, weekends can be tough due to staffing constraints. We aim to not let comments languish longer than 10 minutes at a maximum but there are times when the overload of comments coming through gets too much. Sorry for any delays.

Mark Y: Is being a moderator your only role or do you also have other roles within the Herald?

Moderator S: Hi Mark. Moderators will generally just focus on comments for an entire shift but yes we also do other work for the Herald.

David P: The government has spent $253k to listen to online chats. Social listening they call it. Has the freedom to comment on NZH Premium articles been compromised by this?

Moderator S: Hi David. No, the government's "social listening" programme does not in any way interfere with the Herald's moderated online comments.

Marcus A: Why do you have moderation at all? Unless a comment is actually somehow illegal, why should it not be posted?

Moderator S: Hi Marcus. We are responsible for all comments that are published on the Herald, and we want to encourage respectful debate and discussion while avoiding comments that could prove legally problematic for us. Without moderation, both of these things are impossible.

Ian U: Recently the moderation seems to be stricter. Is it? Certain subjects seem to be almost taboo and if I mention "Māori Caucus" or even the word "Māori" it seems that it is not published regardless of the comments. Why is that?

Moderator S: Hi Ian. No, we always try to be consistent in our moderating. Discussing the Māori Caucus is fine, but generalised attacks on groups of people based on race won't be published.

Mark C: Why do you suspend people? It seems you are holding the government line on things around Covid, government overreach etc, which I think is wrong. The Daily Telegraph, for instance, will simply let you know your comment doesn't abide by their house rules and they simply won't publish the comment. Why do you not implement something similar?

Moderator S: Hi Mark. We will only issue suspensions - sometimes they are for 1 hour, or 3 hours, or a day - if a commenter repeatedly posts comments in quick succession that clearly violate our house rules. We let subscribers know about this here.

David S: Hi Stan. Are all moderators full time employees of NZME or do some occasional opinion writers moderate their own opinions?

Moderator S: Hi David. All moderators are full-time or part-time employees of NZME. Opinion writers do not moderate their own stories.

Ian U: Why are comments rarely taken on Māori or gang stories?

Moderator S: Hi Ian. They are. Here is a brief sampling of recent gang stories open for comment:
- Christopher Luxon: Gangs shouldn't decide when to cease fire
- Jarrod Gilbert: Long-running feud fuelling current gang tensions
- National says it will ban gang patches in public places
- National Party favours non-consorting laws to disrupt gangs
- Fortnight of fear: 23 drive-by shootings in Auckland in just two weeks

Timothy T: How often do comments rejected by the AI moderator get reviewed by a human moderator and then posted as a result? More to the point, do all comments rejected by the AI moderator get subsequently reviewed by a human moderator?

Moderator S: Hi Timothy. Comments rejected by the AI moderator will only be reviewed by a human moderator if the commenter lets us know that their comment has been rejected by mistake - we can then take a look, publish the comment, and see what word or phrase the AI moderator has wrongly rejected automatically and fix it.