comment threads on news posts

[Joe Cain]

Lately I've noticed a fair amount of trolling in the comments threads attached to each news item. I think the mods here do a fine job running the asylum, but since there's no easy way to police those news comment threads---no report buttons, no reflection in users' post histories---it seems that some folks have registered solely to post the same old drek in an area of this site where accountability is limited.

So I ask you moderators: are you content with the rate-a-comment self-policing feature? Or, if faced with the fourth FUDdy comment from someone who has yet to post in an actual forum thread, should we directly message a mod with a complaint?

I like being able to devalue an inappropriate comment into virtual invisibility. But the repeat offenders tend to get me down, especially when their comments would warrant suspension or banning if they weren't keeping such low profiles by avoiding the general forum.