Thought I'd weigh in this morning on the back-and-forth about Web comments on Sound Off and other stories.We have set this up as a COMMUNITY forum. Comments from the public, just like letters to the editor, or opinion columns that we publish on the editorial page, do not speak for, or necessarily represent, the views of the newspaper or its staff.
Contrary to what one poster has said this morning, requiring email registration of some kind does nothing to confirm anyone's identity. Anyone can register an email address under a false name. There is, in fact, NO WAY AT ALL to confirm identity of comments on the Web. That being said, an IP address is attached to every comment, and if someone acted criminally with a comment, a judge could order that an Internet provider identify that person. The standard to get a judge to take that kind of step is pretty high.
We choose not to require registration because all it does is slow commenting down to an absolute halt. It would kill the existence of this forum. So would a delay in posting comments for the purposes of prescreening.
BUT ... I strongly agree that comments, especially in the past few days, have been way over the line in attacking people personally, and we will not tolerate it. Please use the "Report Abuse" button next to every comment to report stuff like this when you see it, and we will take it down ASAP. We will also be banning the IP addresses of users who have crossed the line in recent days, and will continue to use that option to protect this forum for the vast majority of readers and commenters who do not abuse it.

From Torrington to the world, micro-lending makes an impact
I’ve never been to Paraguay. And it would take me a few minutes to pick it out on a globe. South America, right? And I’ve never even balanced my checkbook, but am a successful small business lender. I helped finance a group of 18 women in the community of Asunción, Paraguay, who needed startup money to sell milk, flour, cheese, eggs and other food items and clothing to support their families.

If you've noticed the amazing shots that Register Citizen staff photographers Sonja Zinke and Mic Nicosia have taken at recent high school graduations in Northwest Connecticut, you should know that many other great photos from these events don't make the print edition of the newspaper.
But the shots in the paper and dozens more that don't make it ARE available online to be purchased as glossy reprints in various sizes.
And you can even get these photos placed on a coffee mug, mouse pad or T-shirt.
CLICK HERE to check them out.

Check out some of our latest updates at LitchfieldCountyMom.Com ...

Local teens, drinking and drunken driving: It's a problem that could be getting worse in Litchfield County and throughout Connecticiut.
CLICK HERE for the story.
Local school officials are defending their refusal to allow virtually any celebration or mention of major holidays in the classroom.
CLICK HERE for the story.

We are planning to create a Community Advisory Board to help us steer the content and functionality of the Web site and print edition of LitchfieldCountyMom.Com.
The commitment would be meeting with other local moms about four times a year to brainstorm and offer your critiques and suggestions for LitchfieldCountyMom.Com.
Interested in serving? Contact me at 860-489-1877 or by email at mderienzo@journalregister.com.

Winners of the 2009 Register Citizen Readers' Choice awards will be announced in a special section in the Tuesday, June 23, edition of The Register Citizen.
Each year, the newspaper's readers vote with print ballots and online for their favorite local businesses in various categories, such as Best Dry Cleaner, Best Takeout Restaurant, etc.

Thought I'd share this exchange from the comments section of "Sound Off" today ...

Id like to know wrote on Jun 11, 2009 10:28 AM:
" ...why the entire Register Citizen is available online? Isn't that an unwise move on their part? I used yo buy the print edition but since my husband discovered he could read everything online, he dropped the subscription. Do other papers do this? "

Matt DeRienzo wrote on Jun 11, 2009 10:48 AM:
" Hi folks,
Thought I'd respond to the question posed by "I'd like to know" at 10:28 a.m.
The Register Citizen puts most of its content up online because it has adapted to a significant portion of the population's changing reading habits. We benefit whether you are reading the print edition of The Register Citizen or reading registercitizen.com because we can sell advertising designed to get your attention in either place.
The print edition of The Register Citizen is selling nearly 1,000 copies more than it did this time last year, which is an extremely rare feat in today's newspaper industry.
Meanwhile, registercitizen.com is attracting DOUBLE the readers and page views that it was getting one year ago.
Many people still prefer the print edition because of the format and because there is a significant amount of content there (comics, puzzles, advertising circulars, etc.) that is not online.
And many people are reading both ... because the online edition offers breaking news throughout the day, and as you know from reading Sound Off, a robust, interactive debate by readers in the comment sections of stories.
Matt DeRienzo
Publisher
The Register Citizen
860-489-1877
mderienzo@registercitizen.com "

Once again this year, The Register Citizen will be publishing the senior photos of high school graduates from throughout Northwest Connecticut.
The photos - from Torrington High School, The Gilbert School, Litchfield High School, Wamogo, Northwestern, Oliver Wolcott Tech, Housatonic and Torrington Christian Academy - will appear in a special edition within the Saturday, June 20, issue of The Register Citizen.
For more information about advertising, contact Natalie McIntosh at 860-489-3121, ext. 312.

We are pleased to announce that the quarterly print magazine version of LitchfieldCountyMom.Com will be switching to a true magazine format with the Summer 2009 edition, and will be published with a glossy full-color cover in an 8.5-by-11-inch size.
The first edition of the magazine, printed on heavy white tabloid-format newsprint, was so well-received that we decided to make the jump.
Circulation of the magazine will also be expanded to 23,000 copies so that we can do a better job blanketing all 26 towns in Litchfield County.
The Summer 2009 issue is due out at the end of June, and will be distributed in The Register Citizen, Litchfield County Times, Housatonic Times and Thomaston Express, as well as at single copy locations such as libraries, doctor's offices and coffee shops, throughout Litchfield County.
For more information about advertising, call Tilda Renza Jones at 860-489-3121, ext. 314, or email her at tcrossman@registercitizen.com.

Once again, The Register Citizen will be printing a special Father's Day section celebrating the male mid-life crisis and the gifts and toys that could help fathers and husbands get through it.
How to decorate your Man Cave, etc.
It will run on June 16. Contact Natalie McIntosh at 860-489-3121, ext. 312, or adassist@registercitizen.com for information about advertising.

We catch some flak at The Register Citizen from Yankees fans, including from some within the building, about Red Sox coverage being given stronger play in the newspaper than the American League's team from New York.
I think it's intensified because the publisher is very openly a Red Sox fan and Yankee hater.
Our argument has always been that a majority of people in Northwest Connecticut are Red Sox fans, with Yankees fans admittedly being a close second, and Mets fans being somewhere in the 10 percent range.
Well ... now we have official confirmation.
A Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday made headlines because it showed that statewide, the Yankees were favored slightly over the Red Sox, a switch from one year ago when the Sox were still riding high from their second World Series win of the decade.
But when you break the poll down by region within Connecticut, 41 percent of Litchfield County residents are Red Sox fans, compared to 32 percent pledging allegiance to the Yankees.
The poll showed 11 percent supporting the Mets, but also showed 9 percent as Chicago Cubs fans, so try to figure that one out. (The Cubs registered at 2 percent in New London County and not at all in the rest of the state.)
In fact, if you remove Fairfield County (which is basically a borough of New York City anyway) and New Haven County (just because), Connecticut is firmly a member of Red Sox Nation.
Hartford County favors the Red Sox, 53 to 37 percent, and New London County, 59 to 28 percent.

When it comes to community news, the answer is 'Yes'

I’ve photocopied it literally hundreds of times over the years and handed it out to the reporters and editors in the various newsrooms I’ve led or spoken to as a consultant with The Register Citizen’s parent company.

It’s an advice column from a trade publication from about 10 years ago entitled, “How to be a ‘Yes’ Editor.” The brief, simple message is that local newspapers are here to provide in-depth community coverage, and if a community member or reader thinks it is news, it is.