I have to write this fast so please excuse any grammatical errors.
The AVClub is revamping their commenting functionality. I think this is a good idea. I've observed an interesting commenting phenomenon on AVClub: basically they always start out irrelevant or leet-y (firsties are quite popular). Then the conversation organically returns to the article that everyone's commenting on. Finally, it returns to irrelevant internet memes.
Anyway, one of the proposed changes is requiring a registration in order to comment. This is good for a number of reasons, like filtering riff-raff, building a solid core of readers, and making comments more transparent.
And I'm envious of this functionality. At times, I wish this was present in "real-life". Imagine having the ability to stop someone from making a completely asinine comment before they say it to you because they're not registered. "Sorry, you need to register an account with me before you can make a comment." This person would need to provide their full name, email address, age, etc before saying something to me.
I think life would drastically improve if this were the case. Maybe not though. Just a thought.
