How to Comment on Your Local Patch


Patch is a place for the sharing of ideas and active, interesting, productive conversations. Acting on feedback from Patch users, we recently adopted a new commenting system in an attempt to improve civility and raise the level of discourse. 


Patch's new commenting platform is powered by Disqus, a third-party application, that allows our moderators greater ability to monitor conversations. Many publishers use Disqus for their comments, including Bloomberg, CNN and the Hollywood Reporter. 


Disqus is easy to use. Here are a few essentials you'll need to know.


LOGGING IN

The Disqus commenting system is independent from the Patch account you use to post news and information onto the site. To comment on any Patch article, you’ll need to log in via Facebook, Twitter or Google, or create your own Disqus account. To create a Disqus account, you need to provide a valid email address.


»» click here to create a new Disqus account



WHY ISN'T MY COMMENT APPEARING?

Comments made with an unverified account are held in the “pending moderation” queue. If you want to see your comment as soon as possible and keep talking to your neighbors, use a verified account. Make sure you’re verified by clicking here: http://disqus.com/verify/



WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MODERATION

Explicit and racist language will not be tolerated on Patch. If you swear, your comment risks being held in “pending moderation.” If your language is threatening, harmful to others or invades someone’s privacy, it will be moderated and deleted. These decisions are made at the discretion of our editors and moderators.


Comments are posted on the Disqus site first and will appear in your Disqus Inbox before they appear on Patch. You may have to wait a bit before you see your comment on Patch.



WHAT CAN YOU DO ON DISQUS THAT YOU COULDN'T DO BEFORE?

  • Sort comments by best, newest or oldest

  • Up vote or down vote other people's comments

  • View top commenters in the Patch network and participate in a commenter ranking system

  • Follow specific commenters in the Patch network

  • Favorite discussions and receive notifications about updates to discussions

  • Add photos, videos and paragraph breaks into your comments.

  • Access your own Disqus Inbox and the Disqus Knowledge Base and Help Section

  • See what’s going on “Now in Your Network” and look at what’s happening across Patch.com


Now that you know Disqus and how to engage in discussion on Patch, join us today and start commenting! We want to hear from you!


Having problems? Email support@patch.com. Our community engagement team will try to help you.