Ability to comment eliminated

Judging by some of the more than 375 comments posted on the NewsandSentinel.com Web site pertaining to the fatal shooting of a Parkersburg man during a neighborhood confrontation, there are some stories on which comments should not be permitted.

While many of the comments were within the bounds of reason and good taste, others were nothing more than personal attacks on the views of others posting comments or attacks, without sufficient evidence, on the incident itself and the actions of those who were involved.

The incident was tragic, of this there should be no doubt.

The incident could have been handled differently, without the loss of life, of this there also should be no doubt.

From the information in the public domain it would seem there was a degree of fault and blame that could be shared by all involved, which is all that can be assumed since police and the prosecutor's office are not talking about the incident.

The grand jury will have its hands full studying this shooting. A trial balloon of self defense already has been raised, along with it being a terrible accident; both of which will be up to the grand jury to decide.

But, the posting of vile, vicious, mean-spirited comments and personal attacks upon the character of all involved, as well as the families of those involved is unnecessary, disgusting and counterproductive.

With the right of freedom of expression comes responsibility ... which is vastly omitted from many of the posts placed on the articles.

Some articles should not contain the ability to post comments because some writers do not understand their responsibility when posting.

Consequently, the ability to post comments on the shooting stories was eliminated today.