If you click onto Politico‘s blogs these days, you can no longer freely comment on their items in the usual manner. Instead, they’re trying out a new method in which the reader must sign in through Facebook. This “beta test” has been going on since Aug. 20. They say it will last “several weeks.”

Among the purposes of trying such a test is to wipe out the more nutty commenters. In this new arrangement, it appears that site moderators will have more control over what is visible.

This is what you see…

Reader Comments (0)

We’re currently testing the Facebook commenting system on our blogs. To find out more, please visit our FAQ. If you’d like to report spam or abuse, click the X in the upper right hand corner of the offending post. Remember, you must be logged into Facebook to comment.

Something you’ll learn in FAQ:

You must be signed on to Facebook to leave a comment. Moderators will monitor for abusive commenters or spammers. Readers can report online abusers to the moderators.

Something the FAQ won’t address:

What, if any, are the advantages for readers?