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Online comments are the lifeblood of communication between reader and audience at a modern newspaper.

However at the Post, as on many news websites, the online conversation can careen between incisive and perceptive responses, to vitriolic personal attacks.

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We want to remove the negative part of that conversation, and so we are changing our system for commenting on stories at nationalpost.com and financialpost.com

Starting today, you will need to sign up with Facebook and log into your account in order to continue commenting on our websites.

This system, which is already in place at many Postmedia websites, forces more accountability by connecting online comments back to the individual’s Facebook account.

We want to be the place to house intelligent, respectful debates on our online forums. With Facebook comments, we believe we can create a more civil place for readers to talk about important issues.

We want to focus on quality, not quantity.

We understand some readers might not want to sign up with Facebook, and for those, there are other ways to continue the conversation with the Post, including letters to the editor or other social media platforms.

We look forward to this new era of conversation with you, our valued readers.

Anne Marie Owens

Editor-in-chief