WRAL now requiring Facebook login to comment

Heads up Smart Shoppers! WRAL.com is now requiring you to log into Facebook to post comments on any of the posts here on wral.com.

From the post on WRAL.com about these changes (see link to the full post above):

"A growing number of news sites are eliminating comments entirely because of the resources required to monitor and remove abusive or otherwise inappropriate comments left on stories. We, however, see value in allowing readers and viewers to thoughtfully discuss the news of the day.

So that we can continue to support commenting on our sites, we are adding an additional layer of verification.

WRAL.com will require users to log in with a valid Facebook account to comment on a WRAL.com or WRALSportsFan.com story.  Once logged in, a visitor can add comments to any story. The name and photo associated with the visitor's Facebook account will be shown with each comment. The comments you leave on WRAL.com and WRALSportsFan.com will not be posted to your Facebook page.

We realize that this requirement will reduce the number of comments on our site, as not everyone has or wants a Facebook account. We also know some people want to leave comments anonymously. That said, we would prefer to have fewer comments in exchange for dialogue that is more relevant, thoughtful and courteous. "

Although I did not have anything to do with these changes, I can understand them. Sadly, not everyone is willing to be polite and appropriate and WRAL cannot babysit all day long. Some of those folks have commented on the Smart Shopper posts from time to time and it is no fun.

In order to keep posting on the Smart Shopper blog, all you need to do is go to the Comments section of any post and click on Connect. Then log into your Facebook page and agree to connect it to wral.com. WRAL will not be able to post on your Facebook page. Once you connect you will need to click Continue and then you can make comments on any of the threads.

If you don't have a Facebook page, now is a great time to get one because I don't want to lose your awesome, helpful, and interesting posts!

Thanks for your understanding with this and for everything you do to be a part of our little Smart Shopper community!