Many of you may have noticed that this site hasn’t been accepting comments today. The comments function was turned off last night during an internal discussion of where we’re going on comments policy.
We apologize for not informing readers/writers earlier, but we’ve been in a pickle about how to handle comments because a, we think they’re vital to the future of the site, and b, there’s a ton of invective and hate speech in the comments that drags most people down and destroys the spirit of this site as it ventures into sensitive areas. It’s just been beyond our capacity as webmasters to try and regulate the conversation.
We’re trying to professionalize, and that means: a ruthless policy. Registration of commenters, screening of registration, a liberal banning rule. We hope to have this system in place in a day or two. We’ve depended on our readers’ smarts for webby advice before. If anyone has an idea about this, don’t hesitate to email us at mondoweiss@gmail.com. Thanks!
Phil and Adam
Mondoweiss.net articles are still accepting trackbacks, so those of you with your own websites are free to comment there and your trackbacks will eventually show up here. Blind hate sites trackbacks will not be approved so don’t be surprised if that’s the kind of site you publish.
Registration is now available for commenters. Keep in mind that the comment policy will henceforth be rigidly enforced.
What is sought here are intelligent, thoughtful contribution to the research and information which Phil, Adam and the other writers are gathering for all of us. Additional details and clarifications are also very welcome.
On the other hand, name calling, baiting and racism will be instantly purged. On all sides of the issue.
OK, second attempt worked.
Wonderful minimalist layout.
good luck with the new posting format.. i appreciate all your articles here and hope the comment section can run in a friendly conversational tone, rather then where it’s sometimes gotten to..
Just testing this. Hope this new system works, based on the traffic numbers it looks like many are having difficulty accessing this.
Yes, it took me a day or two to get registered, but things appear to be working now.
As constructive criticism, I think it would be a good idea if the site had a direct link–at the top–for “registration/login”.
The new look is great, by the way – clean, easy on the eye, inviting.
Testing my login and such. I’m sure the comment numbers will be back to normal given some time — after all, people fear change and all that ;P
Also, it probably takes a bit to approve all the accounts.
Hello Nth Republic,
The reason the comment numbers are down is that irrelevant, insulting, illiterate and trivial comments are no longer published.
Contributions of substance, written with care are the new comments section. Saves everyone a lot of time. Would you rather read worthwhile comments or be force fed 75 morsels of snarky offal?
I hope the new policy works. I would rather see no comments at all than the kind of offensive remarks that were starting to become commonplace.
The great value of this site is in the postings, which I would read whether there were comments or not.