Newspapers have struggled in a number of ways when it comes to dealing with an online world. Not only have they had to make adjustments regarding content delivery, but certain features common to just about every newspaper have had to be reconsidered and reformulated.

Take letters to the editor, for example. Nearly every newspaper that publishes these letters requires the person submitting the letter to provide a name, address and phone number with his or her submission. The thinking behind this practice is that community members should be given the chance to respond or comment on the content of their local paper or the events in their community, but they must also be held accountable for these opinions, just as a newspaper is held accountable for its content.

The online counterpart to letters to the editor is the “comments” section that follows each article. To conform to Internet etiquette, however, most newspaper websites do not require commenters to provide any information other than some sort of username. While the comments section has the potential to offer a forum for a communitywide discussion, because of the lack of accountability, most comment sections have degenerated to name-calling and personal attacks.

This sad fact has forced many newspapers to rethink the process, and a growing number of publications either already have or are considering doing away with the comments altogether.

L’Observateur is not currently one of these, but the comments that have been submitted for a few recent stories have given the staff of the newspaper reason to pause. This paper does not require registration to post a comment, so postings to the website are completely anonymous. But perhaps those posting comments should act as though they weren’t.

Racially divisive or otherwise offensive comments do not further or add anything to the discussion. All they do is devalue what could be a wonderful tool of community involvement.