Keeping our comments section real

From the start, we’ve believed that local news should also make space for community conversation.

That’s why we’ve kept comments open on this site, even as many news organizations have shut theirs down. We want Lexington residents to be able to share their perspectives somewhere that isn’t Facebook or Twitter, and isn’t driven by outrage or algorithms. We see the comments section as a way to invite more voices to weigh in on the issues, build relationships, and foster civic engagement. Your comments help us feel the pulse of the town, and can even be a source for story ideas. 

But all that only works if the conversation is real.

In recent months, we started noticing a pattern — comments with an antagonistic and unconstructive tone appearing on posts about a particular set of hot-button issues. On the surface, most of these comments didn’t violate our rules — they weren’t overtly racist or profane. They appeared to be coming from different people, all using real-sounding names and email addresses. But after digging in, it became clear that something was up.

Many of the names didn’t correspond to real people in local public records. When we tried emailing several of the addresses, they bounced. Multiple aliases were tied to the same IP addresses. One person — often using the name “John Frank” — appears to have been posting under numerous identities for a long time. 

The writer clearly has a deep knowledge of local issues — this isn’t coming from a troll factory or AI bot. But using fake names violates our policy — and the spirit of civil conversation. It undermines trust and turns what should be a space for the open exchange of ideas into a verbal combat zone. Whatever your personal politics, I think we can all agree that what the world needs now is more understanding and connection, not vitriol and divisiveness. 

You may notice that a number of these comments have now been removed. We went back through the archives and deleted comments that were clearly part of this pattern.

Going forward, we’re tightening our comments policy to encourage the kind of conversation we actually want to foster here.

• All commenters must be registered and logged in (apologies for the inconvenience, we hope you’ll stick with us!)
• Commenters must use their real first and last name and a real email address
• We do not allow profanity, racism, or misinformation
• We expect civility and good-faith engagement
• We cannot always fact check every comment, verify every name, or debate the finer points of what constitutes civility. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem inappropriate, and we ask for your patience and understanding if something slips through that may violate our terms. 

We are open to a wide range of opinions and perspectives. Criticism and debate are fundamental to community – but so is respect and honesty.

As always, we welcome feedback, questions, and thoughtful engagement. And we’re extremely grateful to the many readers who engage in our comments section with civility, curiosity, and a desire to make our community a better place.