A startup called Civil Comments is trying to create a civil commenting platform

Civil Comments – How It Works from Civil Co. on Vimeo.

I'm glad the comments on Boing Boing are civil for the most part. Our readers are intelligent and polite, and it shows. Other websites aren't so lucky. A startup called Civil Comments has designed a commenting platform intended to encourage polite conversation. Before commenters are allowed to post, they must first rate the quality and civility of other posts, and rate their own post, too. Civil Comments uses the ratings to decide what to keep and what to get rid of.

I'm not sure how Civil Comments will deal with the issue of users "punishing" someone who has a minority opinion, even if it is polite and well-expressed. How does Civil Comments keep this from become a "you suck because I don't agree with you" button?

Civil Comments — How to Build a Great Community from Civil Co. on Vimeo.