At 8:29 p.m. on June 23, 2007, “msgirl” made a bit of local history, becoming the first reader to post a comment on an article on The Democrat’s then new Web site.

The comment was on an article about a couple charged with neglecting their horses. It was the kind of story that stirs the hearts of animal lovers.

And with that first comment, the arguments began over whether or not such comments — particularly anonymous ones — should be allowed.

Rarely does a week go by when someone doesn’t criticize our online comments.

However, more than two years after we started, the comments have more value than ever before and, mostly, people play nice online.

Interestingly of the first 10 comments, five were memories posted on obituaries.

Since “msgirl” first posted her comment, other comments have ranged from sweet, emotional memories to sharply pointed attacks on politicians — and this newspaper.

By Saturday morning, our site had logged 142,152 comments.

Each of those comments is a conversation. And like face-to-face conversations, some are ones that we wish we didn’t have.

But overall, we’re a better newspaper and Web site because of the conversations begun on our site.

And our community is a better community because of the conversations begun with the comments.

That assertion will surprise many people who feel the comments are overly negative and not constructive.

Such people are ignoring a huge benefit of comments — anonymous or not. The ability for people to speak their mind starts a conversation and can, eventually, develop a deeper community understanding of each other’s commonality.

Think about it this way:

Will our community get over some of the lingering race issues that face us if we just never talk about them?

Communicating is the key to overcoming our differences in almost every situation.

And, more talk, not less, will eventually help our society find common ground.

Feeling like we’re understood is among human beings’ greatest needs.

People who are offended by giving the public the ability to speak their minds simply seek to have critics silenced.

However, silencing people doesn’t change their minds.

Hearing what they have to say and understanding their point of view can go a long way toward finding common ground.

Although it may not seem like it, giving people the ability to speak their minds is ultimately a good, empowering thing.

But just like the child who gets his first bicycle, the temptation to occasionally pop a wheelie or show out in some other way can be too tempting to resist. Eventually, the wheelie popping gets old and the bicycle gets used for its intended purpose.

The same can be said for the comments. While early on in their life, most were just people venting, now we’re starting to see the early stages of real communication.

Just a few days ago for example, an elected official logged on and responded to reader comments.

Although not terribly in-depth in just a few short sentences, the elected official and his constituents seemed to truly connect and information was shared in an instant.

Our Web site averages just fewer than 8,000 unique visitors daily. That holds the potential for lots of conversations. And it all began with “msgirl” and her courage to step up to the mike and speak her mind.

Who’s next?

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.