FROM THE NEWSROOM:World of bloggers

Since the launch of the Daily Pilot website in February of 2005 it continues to grow exponentially.

A quick comparison. I looked up our web traffic numbers in July of 2005 and we averaged about 1,200 daily visitors to our online site. Today, that number is closer to 7,000, an increase of more than 500%, and it continues to increase each month. And for the month of July that just ended, we posted more than 500,000 pages viewed by our web visitors.

Part of that growth can be attributed to new content and added features.

We have staff and reader photo galleries; a local events calendar; all local classified, real estate and retail advertising; video reporting; RSS feeds; online special sections and even daily and breaking news alerts that allow readers to get the paper delivered to their e-mail basket.

But clearly one of the most popular and controversial additions to the website has been the reader comments or reader blogs.

Readers have the ability to comment on each and every story that appears on our website, including this one.

Now, not all of those comments will automatically appear. In fact, our reader comment forum is a moderated one. Each comment is approved by an editor who deems it worthy.

Reader comments must pass a number of taste tests. Is the comment libelous? Is it stating unverifiable facts? Does it use vulgar or profane language? Is it a litany of name calling?

If the comments violate even one of our long list of criteria, chances are it’s not going to see the light of day.

And in fact, comments have been approved in the past that readers later found offensive or where they pointed out something that got past us. When that happens, we huddle up and decide whether we should take it down, usually weighing on the side of the offended party.

Since we began this feature, I’ve watched it grow in popularity.

I’ve been stunned at times by the anger, viciousness and downright hate spewed in many comments, and I’ve been equally amused by the bantering that goes on between regular bloggers.

You all know who you are. They are almost like family to us.

And while the barbs in some of the comments may be pointed at times, the hope has always been that it’s just another way for the Daily Pilot to be town hall central for the great debates that go on in Newport-Mesa.

But as popular as it is, the reader comments are not without glitches or controversy.

First, let me explain a glitch. Because of technical reasons too complicated to explain here, some reader comments go missing at times. It’s a problem that I’ve researched with our web host and one that I hope to remedy in the coming days.

Next is the issue of anonymity.

Reader comments and blogs often are posted by anonymous individuals. They may use pen names, like “Frank” or “Jim” or even, “Hmmm.”

That has bothered many longtime readers of the newspaper who are used to the restrictions we place on the print edition letters and commentary, requiring first and last names and numbers for identification. A number of them have written to me saying the anonymity emboldens those bloggers and allows them to say things online that they wouldn’t say if they had to identify themselves.

Many have asked that we require the same identification rules to the online comments.

Now, here’s the rationale. Blogging is something unique to the Internet. I have yet to find an Internet blog that doesn’t have anonymous postings.

I admit, I struggled with that concept at first and wondered just what monster I had unleashed on our dear readers.

But in the end, I realized that the world had changed, and we at the newspaper needed to adapt to the changes or face a worse consequence.

There is something else to consider about reader comments. The reader comments on the Daily Pilot at least are not “edited” for content. In other words, we don’t touch them. They are either approved for posting or denied. Therefore, comments are not the same as a letter to the editor or a commentary because we are not “editing” them.

It’s a fuzzy distinction, I admit, but that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

So I invite you all to take part in our online reader blogs. Give us your opinion on any story, just keep the profanities and name calling to yourself.