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Join the Conversation on Tablet

Introducing our new commenting system

by
Alana Newhouse
February 09, 2015

Some of you may have already noticed a change to Tablet. Starting today, we are asking readers to pay to comment on our stories. All of the articles remain entirely free to read. The only thing that requires a donation to access is the talk-back section. The rates are small:

Daily rate: $2
Monthly rate: $18
Yearly rate: $180 (a steal!)

Why are we doing this?

Tablet is committed to bringing you smart, enlightening and entertaining reporting and writing on Jewish life, all free of charge. We take pride in our community of readers, and are thrilled that you choose to engage with us in a way that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. But the Internet, for all of its wonders, poses challenges to civilized and constructive discussion, sometimes allowing destructive—and, often, anonymous—individuals to drag it down with invective (and worse). Instead of shutting off comments altogether (as some outlets are starting to do), we are going to try something else: Ask those of you who’d like to comment on the site to pay a nominal fee—less a paywall than a gesture of your own commitment to the cause of great conversation. The donation rates are small because we are not looking to make money, but instead to try to create a standard of engagement likely to turn off many, if not most, of the worst offenders. All proceeds go to helping us bring you the ambitious journalism that brought you here in the first place.

Now, you can still interact with us free of charge via Facebook, Twitter, and our other social media channels, or write to us at [email protected]. Each week, we’ll select the best letters and publish them in a new Letters to the Editor feature on the Scroll.

We hope these efforts will help us create a more pleasant and cultivated environment for all of our readers, and, as always, we thank you for your support.

Alana Newhouse is the editor-in-chief of Tablet Magazine.