I am closely following the effectiveness of this and other similar software. It is called Civil Comments and it uses user-generated feedback to try to temper comments sections. The Alaska Dispatch News, the largest newspaper in Alaska, is the third publication to announce it will use the system.
Basically, if you post a comment you are asked to rate a few other comments along with yours. It may seem odd to rate your own comment, but I think this chance to reconsider your comment is important. Some portion of angry comments might be deleted when the commenter is given a chance to reconsider, even just a few minutes after they wrote it. According to the Civil Comments website, "Our algorithms analyze the reviews and decide which comments to publish. Abusive comments are held back."
The Dispatch News already uses a Facebook commenting system, which some research suggests may prompt fewer angry comments because it is less anonymous (Rowe, 2015).
Rowe, I. (2015). Civility 2.0: a comparative analysis of incivility in online political discussion. Information, Communication & Society, 18(2), 121-138.
