As part of our continuing efforts to make the Gothamist network a friendly and reasonably polite place, we’ve now, as of this morning, eliminated “guest” comments on our posts. This means that to comment on DCist and any other -ist site, all users will need to complete a short registration process.

A note about privacy: the new system does require a working email address to complete registration. It does not require you to share your real name, or any other information about you. Gothamist will not sell your email address to third parties. Here’s our privacy policy.

Registration is free and easy––either click the Create an Account link at the top of this or any other page on DCist or, easier yet, create an account right at the bottom of the entry page that you want to comment on. All you have to do after that is confirm your e-mail address and you’re good to start commenting. And once you register you’ll get a cool profile page, showing all of your previous DCist activity. You can also upload an avatar which will show up whenever you comment.

Of note: we’ve noticed that some hotmail users are having trouble receiving their confirmation email, possibly due to spam filters. If you use hotmail, we’d suggest registering on DCist with a different email account. If you have trouble receiving your email confirmation, you can also email me directly at sommer (at) dcist.com and I’ll do my best to help you.

Photo by clarissa~