This will be the first post on The Batavian where comments are powered by code from Facebook and tied to Facebook's registration system. To comment, you will need a Facebook account.
Starting with this post, the website will display the Facebook commenting system. Older posts have the old commenting system and will retain the old comments.
Why the change?
Because Facebook has better moderation tools than are available through our old commenting system. Also, practically the whole universe has a Facebook account now and sites that use Facebook comments get more comments on stories.
Why not? Because it feels a little like giving into the Borg. "You will be assimilated."
I think it's the right move now but we'll see.
Facebook has other projects in the works to help local publishers like me, mostly through the trade association I helped create, Local Independent Online News Publishers, that makes me a little less wary of Facebook.
So, we'll see. In business, if you're not trying new things, you're dying. So we try new things.
