With the political season coming up, and a highly controversial and partisan one at that, The Newtown Bee has been re-evaluating its current policies around submissions of letters to the editor, as well as comments to the website.

These changes come in response to requests from readers — and really, something we have been mulling for quite some time. The Newtown Bee is going to update one of the guidelines for those who want to make comments on our website. We are also making one small change to our policy concerning letters to the editor. Both changes go into effect September 1.

As of that date, anyone who wishes to comment on our stories through our website must not only register, they must also register their first and last names as their user name. As of this week, there were 29,800+ registered users for our website. A very small percentage use their names; most hide behind names or words that hint at who they are or what they’re trying to say. We applaud the small percentage, that brave minority. They do not always agree with us. Sometimes they don’t even seem to like us very much. Their opinions aren’t always well received by others who comment. We applaud them, however, for leading by example. These are the folks we want to keep hearing from: those who speak their mind and tell us who they are while doing so. They back their statements by saying “Yes, that’s what I think and here is my real name.”

Moving forward, our website will be like Meta and many others in the sense that we want readers and commenters to see real names. There will no longer be the option of hiding behind a fake persona. Comments submitted without proper names will not be approved.

Why? Newspapers deal in the truth. Our reporters attend meetings, speak to residents and business leaders and community leaders, et al, to gather and share the truth. We stand behind what we publish. The bylines on our stories have two purposes. They serve to tell people who did their homework and wrote a story. They also inform readers who they can contact if they have questions or challenges to the facts presented. They hold our writers responsible for the words attached to them. Bylines are our equivalent to the user names we want to see on our website.

We are not infringing on anyone’s rights in telling those who want to comment on our website to use their real names. We are calling on readers to stand up for what they feel, believe, and want to share. Thank you to those who already do this. We hope you will be joined by many others who find the courage to do the same.

Also as of September 1, letters are to have no more than two signatures. Co-chairs of a committee, co-presidents of an organization, spouses, et al, will be accepted. Beyond that, we are asking letter writers to share their opinion. Write for yourself, and just yourself.

Everything else remains as is printed weekly within The Letter Hive and posted on our website (newtownbee.com/contact-us): deadline is noon Wednesday; no more than two letters per person per month (and no more than one letter per week); 500 words max for most letters, 300 max for Thank You and endorsement letters; and every letter must arrive with the writer’s first and last name, and their phone number and street address including hometown for confirmation (street addresses and phone numbers are not printed; only the writer’s name and hometown appear with their letters). See this week’s Letter Hive or the website page referenced above for additional specifics.

We appreciate the time readers take in crafting their letters. We strive to share opinions on our pages and online every week. We rarely reject a letter, even when it criticizes us. There are standards, of course — we do not allow slander nor libelous statements, and we will contact a letter writer if something arrives on our desks that clearly carries erroneous information — but we are all for hearing and sharing opinions. We simply want those opinions to be backed by the strength of a person’s identity.