Now why would the BBC want to drop that feature?

The BBC have made some changes to their Have Your Say area of their website. This part of the explanation is interesting:

"Some elements of the current service - including recommendation - will not be carried over to the new system"

Now why would the BBC want to drop recommendations from the HYS service? Could it be because the top recommended comments tended not to be in accord with the BBC's approved position?

"Eponymous Cowherd" in the comments section has had similar thoughts:

"I see.

One of the most useful and informative parts of HYS is the ability to use it as a gauge of public opinion courtesy to the "recommendation" feature.

The problem for the BBC is that most of the recommendations are contrary to the BBC's left-wing liberal bias, aren't they?

The solution? Simple! Abolish the recommendation system on the back on an "improvement".

This wouldn't have anything to do with the forthcoming General Election and the BBC's desire to protect its New Labour masters from bad press, would it?

Of course not!"

Well said EC and "James Rigby" has another concern and one that chimes with the way that I tended to look at HYS 'debates':

Some HYS "debates" have thousands of entries. Clicking on the Most Recommended tab enables us to see the mood of the debate. It's not a perfect indicator by any means, but it's better than nothing. No one wades through a thousand posts (although I did once when it was a HYS asking people to post their best jokes). The blog system places prominence to those who post first - so it will be biased towards those with time on their hands.

Moving to the blog format seems like a step backwards. My hope is that the recommendation function is retained and a way is found to eliminate self-voting and multiple voting."

There is a general election very soon now and it would seem that the BBC are just making sure that their pro-Labour news coverage is not diluted by the real opinions of real people on Have Your Say. You almost have to admire the BBC's single-minded determination to get a Labour government re-elected.