Engadget editor-in-chief Joshua Topolsky announced the move in a blog post and changes intended to keep "comments clean and comfortable for everyone who wants to join in the discussion -- not just the loudest of the bunch."

Topolosky said readers of the AOL-owned Engadget now have the option of switching off the comments function entirely.

He said the site had also deployed tools which will allow editors to "help us moderate a little more effectively and efficiently."

Topolsky also outlined a number of ground rules, saying comments should be on topic and "reasonably polite and wherever possible, lighthearted."

"Making personal attacks against other commenters, publications, or our own editors seriously degrades the community and quality of the discussion, and it won't be tolerated," he said.

"We also delete comments that are racist, sexist, overly obscene, or offensive in any way," Topolosky said.

The Engadget editor-in-chief shut down the comments on Tuesday saying "what is normally a charged -- but fun -- environment for our users and editors has become mean, ugly, pointless, and frankly threatening in some situations."

Engadget's move highlighted a problem experienced by some other websites that allow unfiltered comments from users.

Some websites use software programs to delete comments containing flagged words or employ human editors to trawl through remarks and excise those seen as inappropriate.

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