We are a family here at Every goddamn day, so therefore....
Okay, maybe not a family, but a community, like the Amish, in that...
No, not the Amish. Not even a community. An amorphous mass, perhaps, a constantly-mutating blob of pixilated opinions and semi-shielded identities that....
Oh, heck, cut to the chase: A reader, Bill O'Callaghan, sent me this note Thursday, Shaving off the preliminary niceties, he said:
I asked quite some time ago in the comments section of EGD if it wouldn’t be better if the sign-in process could be changed to require people to sign in using something other than “Anonymous.” At the risk of being a presumptuous pest, I’m renewing that request today. There are clearly others who find it confusing and annoying to have to try to figure out which “Anonymous” is which in order to follow the back-and-forth in the conversation each day; and from one day—and column—to the next. Yes, often one can figure out who is who based on their tone and style and viewpoints, but wouldn’t it be far less cumbersome if each comment had a unique name or screen-name attached to it?
The comments section has grown to be quite vibrant and the site of a great deal of healthy and illuminating debate. Obviously there are also some meatheads, mooks and morons (or do I repeat myself?) but for the most part the comments and commenters are thoughtful and interesting. It would just be improved (IMO) if one didn’t have to guess who is who for so many posts.
People don’t have to use their real names (and many have good cause not to want to, for good or bad reasons) but if everyone used a unique name the threads would read better and the posts by both the worthy and the assholes could be more easily identified. That way, a decision could be made immediately whether to engage or ignore the comment, without the guesswork and wasted time.
Obviously it’s your playground and you get to make the rules. You can take a poll or dismiss the idea again, but I’d bet there are many others who feel the same way I do on this issue. My only goal is to try to help transform the debate in the comments section from very good to truly outstanding. If your reluctance to make the change is because it would be a giant pain to change the protocol, I suppose I understand, but maybe one of your techie friends or readers could do the initial legwork to make the change?
In any case, thanks again for listening and for being an ongoing resource for interesting and thought-provoking material to read and discuss.
Makes sense to me. I gotta admit, keeping track of all the "ANONYMOUS" could be a pain-in-the-ass, even for me. You want to reply to some bit of madness, and you have to tag the time and the person reading it has to check back and it becomes a chore, like reading all the footnotes in Infinite Jest. Anyway, beginning tomorrow, in order to comment, you'll have to log in. You don't have to use your real name, but you have to use some kind of name. I can't see how that would rock anybody's world, but feel free to weigh in today, anonymously if you wish, and I'll make the change at midnight. Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, and I hope this improves your Every goddamn day reading experience.
"...you'll have to log in." Does this mean you'll be removing the "Anonymous" choice from the drop-down list, or that we'll need to register with "blogger" or some such thing? The former would be fine by me, the latter would represent the kind of jackbooted tyranny we're constantly being warned about by the NRA and its minions! ; )
ReplyDeleteAre "assholes" people who do not agree with the majority opinion here?
ReplyDeleteThis may be a good idea since sometimes some anons are blamed for most or all of anon comments, which have gone up recently.
Now to try to figure out what the handle is on here of that Bill guy.
Anyway, looks like you've decided not to go with an off topic section anymore.
"Now to try to figure out what the handle is on here of that Bill guy."
DeleteWell, not that I have any inside info, but you might begin your analysis with somebody who goes simply by "Bill" who has been an occasional, though infrequent, commenter on the ole EGD...
anons -- No, I've just run out of photos of motels.
DeleteOn the contrary, anon, many of those who don't agree with the majority opinion are what makes this an interesting place to discuss and debate the topic du jour. The "assholes" I referred to are the bigots and trolls who hurl hatred, veer way off topic, engage in personal attacks, spew stupidity just to be provocative, etc., etc., etc. I, for one, enjoy considering differing points of view when they are thoughtfully presented and respectfully debated.
DeleteFor heaven's sake, Mr. S, thanks for being indulgent but who cares about motel pics? That's not the point. Just say here's the OT blog, no pic needed or just get one off the net. I have a feeling your wife probably has to ask you 15 x to do some chore around the house or some fix-it before you do it. :) Now if you don't want to do it, that's different but to say it's because of some picture... Well, get going (wink)
DeleteIn the meantime, So this L Reccord guy, as per the ST today, prob a fake name is out marching during the week and during school hours again? He's 16 and should be in school!!! Where are is parents? Or at least where's his mom?
Don't be so perfectionist, NS
DeleteI've refrained from joining in the nagging, partly because I don't particularly care if you open another motel, or not. But, if that's the explanation for the delay, don't you pass within blocks of about a dozen hotels during your average day, NS? Jeepers.
DeleteGood one, Jak!
DeleteI agree the change will improve the flow of the conversation.
ReplyDeleteI don't see how making everyone choose a unique nom de blog could be considered unreasonable in any way.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe Rahm when he says he didn't know about the video before election.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone? Anyone at all?
DeleteIt could have been a kind of "Don't show it to/I don't want to see it" calculation. Maybe he thought it gave him deniability.
Deletealmost feel a bit sorry for Rahm...something went wrong along the way... power corrupts or he can't reform things, the aldermen and police union and top cops won't let him...
DeleteThat deniability couldn't be less plausible. Either he saw it (which I'm convinced he did) or he actively avoided seeing it to try to make some completely feeble and unbelievable claim of deniability. In the extremely unlikely scenario he didn't bother to view the tape, you can bet your bottom dollar the action on it was described to him in excruciating detail
DeleteBill, where have you been all this time?
DeleteRahm looks Sicilian.
DeleteI think this is a good idea. If you can't own your comments even using a fictional name, you're a coward in my opinion. I don't always agree with other commenters, but I respect the right of individuals to have their say when it passes through Steinberg's filter.
ReplyDeleteI could never figure out how to attach a name to my posts. One option asks for a name, which I can create, but they want a URL, too. I don't have one. I've never bought a TypePad so I don't have one of those.
ReplyDeleteUse that Name/URL option. Put in whatever name you want. You can leave the URL blank. It'll go through. That's what I've done all along, and hope to be able to continue doing tomorrow...
DeleteThanks Jakash
DeleteI suppose this should be helpful for those who only used "Anonymous" because they weren't sure how to create a nom de plume, but I imagine those who opt to post under a variety of names will continue to be able to do so. Still, I certainly agree with the spirit of the policy change, and I appreciate Bill's articulate request and subsequent comments.
ReplyDeleteI'll make another suggestion that could also promote clarity, and that is to use the Reply option directly under an original post only when actually responding to that post or a subsequent comment, rather than when introducing a new topic.
Coming late to the discussion I agree a moniker is helpful. Among other things sorting through all the Anonymous references to find "Anonymous at 7:1" is annoying.
ReplyDeleteI like "nom de blog" and will have to think one up. My actual name is Otis B. Driftwood, my parents having been opera loving Marxists.
Tom Evans
one more anonymous is in the fold
ReplyDeleteThe good thing about the nom move is it will keep some of these anons from posting 10x a day.
ReplyDeleteIt may not stop them, but at least it'll be more obvious when one person is posting excessively to the point of monopolizing the blog (cough, cough, JerryB, cough).
Delete