No comment The negative consequences of online discussion dominators on E-democracy Robin Blom (Michigan State University) Serena Carpenter (Arizona State University) Brian J. Bowe (Grand Valley State University) Abstract There is a growing amount of research on the online environments of traditional news media organizations. This study focuses on a select group of people who spend time on U.S. newspaper websites to discuss editorials and letters-to-the-editor in related discussion sections. Of particular interest are those participants who comment much more frequent than others. This study is an attempt to document how this group—dominators— behaves differently from other forum contributors. A content analysis of 2237 user comments on websites of sixteen U.S. dailies indicates that the dominators had submitted an overwhelming number of responses, as a group of ten percent of all users was responsible for almost half the comments that were examined. Additionally, the spirit of the deliberative model is frequently violated with an array of rude and insulting comments. This hostile environment demonstrates that much work needs to be done to make those conversations on newspaper website more civil and constructive. Introduction The popular adoption of the Internet has rejuvenated explorations of the deliberative model and its practical applications for the classic theory of democracy. It holds that communities thrive on policy debates in which counter-arguments are critically evaluated. Deliberation would lead to better decisions that are considered legitimate by all those involved in the process (Fishkin, 1991; Cristiano, 1997). Overall agreement is ultimately based on issue positions rather than threats, coercion, and other processes of manipulation. In such, it is solution-driven with mutual respect and understanding for all the discussants. Participation by all stakeholders is encouraged to create substantial support for the outcomes (Dzur, 2002; Drale, 2004). The Internet has been regarded as an adequate tool to create virtual forums to discuss political issues. Some scholars are optimistic that improvements of the web and the development of online applications will stop civic decline in the United States—and even improve social capital (Katz, Rice & Aspden, 2001; Wellman et al., 2001; Hampton & Wellman, 2003; Kavanaugh et al., 2008).