BBC World Have Your Say end external comment moderation

The World Have Your Say team have been experimenting with allowing external comment moderation on their programme blog. The idea was that regular contributors to the blog would help moderate comments to ensure debate continued while the WHYS team weren't in the office.

Although Editor Mark Sandell praised the majority who were dedicated to making the scheme work, he explained why he was taking back full control:

"Gradually - and despite several warnings from me and [presenter] Ros [Atkins] which got a little less friendly each time- things deteriorated.

"I spent too much time sorting out petty disputes and boring bickering. Newcomers to the blog (and last Friday was a record for hits) complained of feeling intimidated. The last straw for me was a blindingly idiotic dispute which saw one of our valued newcomers clear off in disgust.

"Great message to send to the community, i thought. So that’s it i’m afraid. It was a bold experiment and i’m glad we tried it. In the end, it fell because of people with a myopic, paranoid world view and i’m happy for you to peddle those views on your own blog, not ours."

Read Mark's full post on the WHYS blog.