I've wanted this for a long time. Registration for comments has finally arrived and it was added to our web site just this afternoon. Yes, I hope it will clean up what is said and improve the tone of what people will have to offer.

But that's not why I wanted this. Instead, I wanted better organization within our comments. You readers care about stories and many people are angry about what's happening, whether it is in Washington, D.C., or Rochester Hills or within your child's school. That's why you're reading news about the subject; you care!

Readers are savvy, though, and they sometimes used others' preferred user names to post opposing points of view. That rankled you guys, I've seen and heard.

We here at The Oakland Press want to interact with our readers, too. The story no longer starts and stops with us. It can start with a question from us, and our commenters can provide answers to get a story rolling. The story can expand after it is published, based on what people are saying. This is the hope of our new top boss, Journal Register Company CEO John Paton.

By having registered commenters, we can now better participate in the back and forth with readers, and we will know who is saying what.

We've not changed due to any particular story or issue. I had a nice conversation about Taxpayer, who expressed a concern many felt that this stemmed from a particular issue. I've commented on that story. This has been debated at length and we've decided to give it a try.

I know many won't register because it requires signing up. There's a strong tradition of anonymous commentary in this country. It can continue.

But as much as some people don't want to sign up, many more, I believe, do wish to be heard. You see that on Facebook and Twitter.

On our registration, we need an email address and your estimated age (year of birth; you can't be under 13) to go along with your user name (which we call MEMBER ID).

Join the conversation. Share your thoughts, your opinion, your insight.

Oh, and sign up and get a good user name before it's taken.

Wow, let's hear it for volcanoes.
A story about the discovery of the world's deepest volcano vent is the most read story of the day today — by far. It came from The Associated Press.
Good for science, and the comments show that people interested in this stuff are reading it. A couple early comments wondered why this was the most popular story, and the rest of the comments seem to answer that.
And they have not resorted to simply blaming global warming on this and turning into a simple-minded political debate.
I think some of the negative comments were deleted out after people clicked the report abuse button. It's nice to see what people are reading and it's nice to know some people out there have a thirst for knowledge.
But as the father of a 5 year old, I also know that volcanoes are simply cool.