Why we want you to now register to post a comment

Regular users of our site, especially those who post comments on our stories, have likely noticed that we are asking you now to register yourself to continue being able to comment.
There are several reasons we are taking this step, but here is a key one.
Online Editor Sally Buffalo notes that we have seen a big jump in comments since we started adding the comment feature to every story we put up on SanLuisObispo.com. "While we appreciate and value opening up our pages to your voices, the job of policing comments for profanity, racism, sexism and libel became overwhelming," Sally says.
"We hope that by asking people to register as site users, we will cut down on those comment spammers and improve the quality of the conversation for all involved."
It should go without saying that the discourse in our comments should be respectful. It hasn't always been so, unfortunately.
There is another reason we are asking you to register: We want to know more about you. That is not unusual. Newspaper companies have long asked subscribers for demographic information. We are just applying that function now to online users.
Once a viewer hits 200 page views, you will be asked to register. If you choose not to, you will not be able to access our stories (though classified content still will be available) or add comments to any stories.
Additionally, you will not receive our morning or afternoon e-mail newsletters that highlight key stories we have on SanLuisObispo.com.
Take a moment to register -- you only need to do it once -- and happy reading and commenting.
_ Tad Weber