When AL.com launched as Alabama Live, the content was largely built around reader conversations with some news, sports and entertainment sprinkled in.

Over time, we have evolved into a real-time digital news organization. Reader conversations shifted from forums to comments, and more recently to social media and even events where we gather with you for thoughtful give and take.

Our business and society have changed rapidly. We’ve changed, too. And we’re about to change again.

Beginning Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 at 5 a.m. CST, we’ll eliminate website comments, as have many other sites in our company and as have other news sites over the past decade.

Website comments have been replaced by better, more constructive spaces for meaningful engagement. And we want to continue conversations with you in those places.

We continue to be committed to hearing and sharing the diversity of voices and perspectives across Alabama. That’s why our journalists are active on social media and why we are always looking for new ways to engage people in this community in discussion and debate.

It’s important to note that very few people contribute the vast majority of comments on the site. Most readers never comment or read the comments. In fact, across our company’s websites, which serve 50 million unique visitors in an average month, just 2,340 people produce more than half of the comments. A tiny fraction of AL.com’s 12 million monthly visitors ever leave a comment.

Some of these conversations are uncivil, even downright nasty. Moderating the comments for off-topic posts or personal attacks takes time and resources that are better spent producing independent local news.

As always, you can click on a reporter’s byline on any story to email questions or comments. On social media, AL.com’s main Facebook page publishes dozens of posts a day and provides space for readers and our journalists to engage.

Our Alabama Crimson Tide on AL.com and Auburn Tigers on AL.com Facebook pages are also spots for lively conversation. Our aldotcomnews Instagram page highlights news but also photography – ours and yours – that reflects the splendor of this place we live.

You can engage with reporters on Twitter or follow our main account at @aldotcom. If you’re interested in informing and guiding our major public-service investigations or local coverage, visit Ask Alabama.

Readers can reach editors with questions, corrections, comments or concerns by writing to news@al.com

Like you, there’s much of the give-and-take from our old chat rooms, forums and yes, even comments, that we’ll miss.

We look forward to continuing the civil, meaningful conversations with you. Thank you to each of you for reading, sharing and engaging with our journalism.

We encourage you to take a moment to help inform our engagement decisions and strategy through this survey.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Why are you turning off comments?