The Herald is making commenting only available to subscribers

The Herald is making commenting only available to subscribers in an effort to improve the experience for loyal readers and reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers to abuse journalists and readers.

We are fortunate to have an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories. That is invaluable.

We are making this change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.

In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can now shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com