Chronicle Posts

Sticks and stones aside, words can carry a punch-a fact that has been made particularly clear since the lacrosse case first broke.

Through it all, this paper has done its best to cover what has been a very complex issue by striving for balanced coverage on its pages and creating several features for readers on its website.

The Chronicle Online's message boards and story comments sections have been a popular outlet for such discussion, but some have expressed discontent with the at-times extreme views expressed in the Chronicle's online forums. Here, I would like to take a few words to address, at least in part, issues surrounding some of the concerns raised.

First and foremost, we hope The Chronicle Online's forums can continue to be a valuable way for members of the larger Duke community to offer and engage a range of perspectives on important campus topics. It's also quite clear, however, that free speech can get a bit dirty at times. Herein lies the rub.

As many have noted before, there is an important distinction between upholding free speech and upholding the right of an individual-or a newspaper-to stand by those whose speech is offensive or otherwise irresponsible. In a sense, the idea goes back to the time-old analogy of yelling "fire" in a crowded theater. Free speech is fine and good, but only up to a point.

For several legal and logistical reasons, The Chronicle Online moved to a system that allows instantaneous posting on our College Publisher website, dukechronicle.com. The move essentially means posts and messages are not screened by editors before they appear on the website. It is an open, closely monitored, public forum.

As prominently stated on our website, editors continue to reserve the right to retroactively pull down posts that are not constructive or are otherwise offensive in nature.

In addition, the views expressed in those posts are in no way endorsed by The Chronicle but rather express the range of viewpoints held by certain members of the paper's readership.