A Note From the Editor About Reader Comments

Dear Readers:

First, I would like to thank you for your support in helping us spread the word during the four-day search for 11-year-old Terry Dewayne Smith Jr. I'm as shocked and saddened as all of you with the outcome, but I am touched by the way the Menifee community came together during this time. Part of that community bonding was the help you provided by sharing our information regarding volunteer supplies needed, announcements, prayer vigils and other news.

Many of you know that much of our traffic comes through the Menifee 24/7 Facebook page. Every story posted on the menifee247.com website is linked to on Facebook. In addition, we use our Facebook page for live updates, as you saw several times during the day yesterday as police searched the Smith home. We are happy to provide this service and, along with it, the opportunity for you to comment on our posts.

That said, I would repeat my request that you be respectful in your posts, refrain from accusations and do not use profanity or verbally attack others. Unlike comments on our website, which must be approved before they are posted, Facebook comments appear instantly. It is up to us to monitor them and delete inappropriate posts. Normally, we can keep up with this.

Unfortunately, this has not been a normal week. In the last four days, the combined total of reader views of our Facebook posts on the Terry Smith case is more than 950,000. Our posts have been shared 7,758 times. And perhaps even more significant, readers have posted approximately 3,050 comments -- not including those we've had to delete.

We're a small operation here. We're growing quickly, and with your support, we hope to soon have the resources to be even more effective in our news coverage and monitoring of reader interaction. Meanwhile, please bear with us as we pour through the thousands of comments posted -- and more that will continue to pour in.

We have already deleted one entire post that turned into an inappropriate discussion that was way off topic. I don't want to delete entire posts, but sorting through individual comments is a time-consuming process. Meanwhile, if you see a comment you feel is inappropriate, please copy and paste it into an email to menifee247info@gmail.com so we can address the issue.

We understand the anger and frustration of residents and share your concern. You are entitled to your opinion, which may include comments about possible suspects and family members. But we ask you to refrain from using names of individuals and making specific accusations.

Again, thank you for your continued support and for your prayers and tremendous volunteer efforts during this trying time.

Doug Spoon
Editor