The age of *anonymous online commenting may be drawing to an end. An increasing number of news websites have *enacted *stringent controls on online comments, or have closed their comment sections altogether. Late last year, the global news agency Reuters stopped all commenting on its news stories. More recently, The Verge and Daily Dot followed suit. These news sites say the changes were motivated by the large number of *trolls they receive. Trolls are anonymous users who post offensive and often irrelevant comments online. They can drive away readers, annoy writers and sometimes bring legal trouble to website operators. News sites also feel a financial pressure to close the comment sections. The costs of monitoring comment sections are skyrocketing, and readers’ interest is declining. Some have also pointed to changing reader habits, since many young people tend to comment on social media instead of news sites. Moreover, there’s a desire to find *alternatives that would lead to constructive, meaningful exchanges between readers and content providers.