Thanks for visiting the new, free FarmvilleHerald.com, where your readership has exceeded our loftiest expectations.

Our digital audience has grown daily since the site’s June 1 launch, including 2,000-plus visitors on election night Tuesday. Not bad, considering that only 2,500 people went to the polls.

We’ve added a new feature to the site in recent days that we hope will improve your reader experience.

Readers can now comment on any story that we post. You can:

• Tell us what you like or dislike about the story.

• Ask us a question if something in the story is confusing.

• Give us information you think we need to know.

• State your opinion about the topic at hand.

• Strike up a conversation with other readers who are interested in the same topic.

To make a comment, simply scroll to the bottom of the story, where you will see a window to type in whatever is on your mind. The first time, you’ll be asked to register as a Disqus (pronounced “discuss”) user. Disqus is a comment engine used by thousands of other news sites like ours. Registering on our site will automatically give you commenting privileges on all other Disqus sites. Alternatively, you can log in using your Facebook, Google or Twitter account. Matters not to us.

Forums will be self-policed, in the sense that any reader can “flag” a comment by another. That will trigger a review by a FarmvilleHerald.com administrator – and removal, when we agree that a comment is objectionable.

Some ground rules to keep in mind:

• Keep it classy. Foul language will not be tolerated. Nor will comments that are defamatory or that violate common standards of good taste.

• Don’t start or spread rumors, especially about individuals.

• Debate vigorously with other commenters, but be respectful of the rights of others to have and share opinions contrary to your own.

Violators will be warned to tone it down. Repeat violators will be banned from commenting.

Quality and usefulness of the dialog will be determined largely by you, the readers. Our staff will monitor the forums regularly and moderate when needed.

If you hit any snags or have questions, contact us at online@farmvilleherald.com.

Our intent with this new feature is to better engage with our readers – and help you engage with one another on topics of interest and importance in the community. We hope you enjoy it.

Steve Stewart is publisher of The Farmville Herald. His email address is steve.stewart@farmvilleherald.com.