We have always welcomed readers commenting on our stories, sharing their opinions on issues and discussing different viewpoints.

We have listened to your feedback about our website's comment platform and have made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say.

Readers will now need only one log-in to access news and comments on The Canberra Times website.

This will allow you to share your view on stories we have opened for comments. It also lets you reply to others who have commented and follow the conversations that interest you.

You must be signed in to The Canberra Times as a registered user. Subscribers can use the same log-in they use to access their website subscription.

Non-subscribers must register to gain access to their five free articles per month and can leave a comment on articles where comments have been enabled.

Check for a speech bubble icon next to the byline to see if an article is open for comments. The comments remain at the bottom of the article.

A module where you can leave your thoughts - if you are signed in - appears at the top of the comments. Additionally, you can choose to respond to another person's comments by using the "reply" option.

Clicking or touching on the icon with your initials in it (DM in the example below) will open a pop up, where you can change your account settings, such as adding an avatar image. You can be notified of replies to your comments, or if someone you are following has left a comment.

You can also vote up or down comments and share links to them.

Comments are only open on stories that have been selected by our editorial team. Our journalists and editors may also take part in the conversation from time to time.

We may use approved comments elsewhere on our website or in our print editions.

We want commenting to be a safe space for our loyal readers to engage with each other and our journalists.

Comments are intended to be civil, friendly conversations. Please treat other participants with respect and in a way that you would want to be treated. You are responsible for what you say.

Stay on topic. If you see an objectionable post, please report it to us using the "Flag" option.

Please note that we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or material that is considered by us to be unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable.

Personal attacks, especially on other participants, are not permitted. We reserve the right to permanently block any user who violates these terms and conditions.

Don't use derogatory names for people. For example, ScoMo or Albo is acceptable, but turning these into something else can have your comment blocked, even if the rest of the content is acceptable.

Additionally, comments that are long, have multiple paragraph breaks, include code, or include hyperlinks may not be posted.

If you have had a comment rejected, consider which of the above rules may have been infringed and amend it before trying again.

You can read our moderation policy here.

Unfortunately, given the change in comment platform, past comments are no longer be visible on the site.