Humans of the Illawarra, have your say

Is anyone else nostalgic for the days when responses to the news began with "Dear Sir/Madam", "moderation" meant being calm and reasonable, and "engagement" was a celebration of love rather than a stack of 'thumbs up' icons?

The Illawarra Flame isn’t going quite so far back in time, but we are introducing a forum for civil discourse on our website.

Starting this week, readers will have the opportunity to share their thoughts in a comments section at the end of digital articles, as well as on social media. Once a month, we'll present a 'best of' all the feedback in our Letters to the Editor page.

To join the discussion, we’re asking readers to become paid website subscribers – for two reasons. 

Firstly, we'd like to be sure of hosting a conversation with real readers. 

This means a smaller "town square" but one where we hope you will hear from humans, not online trolls or bots, and follow an issue through choice, not because an algorithm decided to force-feed it to you.

Secondly, your subscription will help sustain jobs in local, independent journalism. It's not only writers who power local news – behind-the-scenes, copy editors and content moderators are hard at work too.

One thing won't change. The Illawarra Flame is the only local media organisation recognised as a social enterprise – our news aims to connect, inform and empower, and it is free to read. In an age hooked on big tech, we don't chum for anger or outrage to drive our profits, and no need-to-know information is withheld behind a paywall. Funding is reinvested in one core purpose – keeping independent community news alive.

Subscriptions are only $5 a month and include access to fun puzzles.

We hope our site becomes the place for constructive feedback and discussion, and look forward to hearing your views on local matters. 

Yours sincerely,

The editors