The i-Comm Web site is nothing less than revolutionary. In its rough phase, it's a prototype of how citizen and professional journalism ought to coexist. The current backlash against "media" is most certainly a result of an appearance of bias. News media stories about President Obama, abortion, gun control, gay marriage and others have caused consumers to turn away from many reputable news outlets.

The i–Comm Web site appears to be different in a couple of ways. First, it's a traditional news outlet in the sense that there is an official staff of contributers who provide regular content. These contributers are BYU–Idaho students who are of different levels of experience when it comes to producing professional level news media.

What makes the site different though is that any BYU–Idaho student can register and also submit stories. In this way, both semi-professional and citizen perspectives can take place.

The problem is with who censors and approves the submitted content. While still in its infancy, the site was launched without a clear set of guidelines governing content moderation. As a result, everything is highly moderated — and the process is very slow.

Before I continue, there are some basic premises I have to establish:

1. BYU–I is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a result, any content that is overtly contrary to that organization will not, and ought not to be "published."

2. One of the principles inherent in successful social mediums lies with the concept that consumers can self-censor. Successful media outlets will allow consumers a method to filter content or to reward content that pleases them.

These two ideas are in conflict with each other. The i–Comm site is under intense scrutiny by the BYU–I administration. Rightfully so. Under the current political climate, the Church is being watched with a very powerful microscope. It would be against the university's interest to allow careless students to convey ideas that are grossly out of line with the mission of the university.

On the other hand, why would students submit themselves to be moderated when they could easily go to Facebook and more easily reach an audience of their peers without the stern hand of the i–Comm moderator hovering over them.

A recent post by my friend, Chris Kirkham, shows some flaws in the current progression of the site:

1. Chris says that posts without images will be rare. This restriction alone will limit the number of submissions to the site. While there should be no doubt that images can enhance text, students will not always have the time, talent, resources or taste to provide original images that are pertinent to the subject.

2. Chris says that "your story has to be relevant to BYU-Idaho." I agree completely. But then he goes on to say that he's received malicious rants about politics, dating and religion. While I don't doubt Chris' judgement about what is malicious (like I said he's my friend), it seems as though if one is following the first rule in his post about adhering to Church standards and following the Honor Code than the rest is just the arbitrary whims of a human censor. If the site falls into the trap of censoring too much than it's no different than outdated traditional media models.

3. While I'm no legal expert by any means, I think that Chris could be mistaken about what Fair Use Doctrine is and how it's used. All one has to do is check out the recentWebby Awards to see all kinds of crazy images being used for commercial purposes. While I don't personally know those site's ethical standards or their business practices when it comes to licenses, I'm willing to bet their invoking "fair use" for their lighting quick updates.

4. He is just plain wrong when it comes to how people use the Internet. They don't just scan. They scan for good content, and then they read it. It's an insult to good journalism to imply that it should just be a series of bulleted lists and photos.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I do have one suggestion:

Censor as little as possible. Let the marketplace do its job. The site already has tons of methods built in to filter what stories consumers like and what they don't. The one thing they could add to the front Home page is a "Top Stories" section. This section would be based upon how many hits a story gets and how consumers rate it. The market will do it's job. If a story is interesting and people rate it well, than it will be placed higher on the list. Trust BYU–I students to do the right thing.

I know the site is under intense scrutiny from the university administration, luckily it's not my hide on the line. I'm sensitive to the fact that an amazing social news site of this nature has to set the example for the rest of the industry. However, I'm certain that by allowing the BYU–I marketplace of values to filter stories, the site will attract more users, more readers and more advertisers.

-Peter Nguyen