Suggested Approach

Please note that no solution is perfect -- however this approach will provide a marked improvement in the level of discourse.  A variety of nuances with this approach are discussed in greater detail here.

Posting Requirements

1. No longer allow anonymous comments (comments that aren't tied to an account.)
2. Enable the linkage of STLtoday accounts with accounts on prominent social media sites such as Facebook, Google Friend Connect, or Twitter.  Note that persons with these accounts typically list their identity (name and picture.)
3. Only allow comments from individuals that authenticate w/ their Facebook, Google, or Twitter credentials.

Comment Moderation

1. The community as primary moderator.  Enable the community at-large to moderate comments ala digg.com and provide the ability to:
   1. Vote comments "up" or "down."
   2. Collapse or otherwise obfuscate comments below a certain threshold (-5 perhaps?)
   3. Flag comments that may violate the terms of service (TOS) for the Post-Dispatch to address.
2. Former Post-Dispatch moderators are to only address TOS issues.

Establish Reputation Mechanisms & Incentives

1. Comment scoring
   1. Score the quality of each comment derived by the sum total of "up" (+1) and "down" (-1) votes attributed to it.
   2. Determine each member's value over time.
      1. Calculate each member's score over time derived by the sum total of points accrued by each comment the member has submitted.
   3. Determine each member's average value (score) per comment.
2. Community level stratification & ranking
   1. Level stratification
      1. Create various community levels and assign each level a "trophy" image to note increased worth.
      2. Assign each member a level based upon the amount of value (# of points) a member has accrued over time.
   2. Ranking
      1. Create weekly, monthly, yearly, and ongoing member rankings on a per post and aggregate basis.
      2. The P-D and/or sponsors could provide incentives to the best members to encourage quality and increased participation.
3. Create a profile for each member that displays the member's:
   1. Bio (to include picture)
   2. "Friends"
   3. Comment stream
   4. Community level & corresponding "trophy" image
   5. Average points per post and points over time

A Solution

1. Integrate a commenting system such as JS-Kit Echo, Disqus, or Intense Debate with STLtoday.com.
2. A bit of coding to implement the rest of the suggested approach.