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August 14, 2006
To Register or Not to Register
We've been grappling with the issue of registration on the site. After a particularly frustrating few weeks at the beginning of the summer handling some aggressive troll activity, we began requiring registration in order to post comments on the site. We've had mixed feelings about that decision from the beginning. Is the increased civility worth the foregone informational exchange and sense of community? Last week we solicited reader feedback on the topic and the majority of readers who commented were in favor of keeping it. Of course, this isn't too surprising given that you had to register in order to comment! Anyway, we are very sensitive to readers who had their online identities appropriated and to those who prefer the greater accountability that comes with the consistent use of recurring handles. However, on balance, we don't think it's worth it.
We were interviewed last week by a local paper and were asked what the most positive surprise had been for us since starting the blog. As we were giving our answer--the incredible diversity of the readership and the frankness of the discussions on such issues as race and class--we realized that this is precisely what we had sacrificed in starting to require registration. Brownstoner.com would not be the site it is without its core group of readers and commenters, most of whom readily signed up for the registration process and continued to post regularly. However, the lack of interplay with less frequent contributors changed the energy of the site in recent weeks. To any of you who have been following the reviews of the new book called The Long Tail, this should not be a surprise.
We hope that those who have registered already will continue to sign in and use their regular handles; what will naturally happen, we think, is that those comments from people who are logged in will carry greater weight in the dialogue and that anonymous comments of a dubious nature will be taken less seriously. Plus, anyone who's logged in cannot have his/her handle "stolen". It's rare that we're away from the site for more than an hour during the day, so if you see a comment from a troll, rather than giving him the satisfaction of responding, just ignore it: We'll be deleting it soon.
We hope everyone can respect this decision and try to do everything possible to create a courteous and constructive atmosphere on the site.
Respect,
Brownstoner
Comments
Thanks Brownstoner. I agree that the site is best the way it is...warts, rude comments and all.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 10:23 AM
ahhhh, anonymous posting ....
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 10:34 AM
I think this is the best decision. It's incredibly easy to simply "scroll down" past a trolls comments that annoy. However, even the trolls comments sometimes speak for the opinions of a good number of folks and serve as a catalyst for a good discussion.
I must admit, it has been rather boring in recent weeks.
Posted by: NewStoner at August 14, 2006 10:36 AM
Better not to register. I look forward to posting again on my favorite site.
Posted by: sasha at August 14, 2006 10:37 AM
This is the best solution for everyone. The site has indeed been lagging for a while and this will no doubt invigorate it.
Posted by: Carlo at August 14, 2006 10:42 AM
Good move, Mr. B. I decided not to register for various privacy-paranoia reasons I'd rather not bore anybody with. I certainly understand why people like registration. But by me, the old, Classic-Coke Brownstoner was better, even with the trolls and offensive posts, for the wider range of opinion and more diverse posts. I prefer slogging through that to the friendlier--but more like-minded and clubby--New Coke Brownstoner we've had the past several weeks.
And Mr. B is right. Ignore the trolls--they die without attention.
Posted by: linusvanpelt at August 14, 2006 10:47 AM
good decision. well reasoned. hurray.
Posted by: david at August 14, 2006 10:49 AM
Big mistake.
Posted by: Ed at August 14, 2006 10:55 AM
"Classic-Coke Brownstoner was better"
Ha! Great analogy. Remember the travesty that was New Coke? I didn't think it was terrible but apparently the world disagreed with me!
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 10:58 AM
I also prefer Classic Brownstoner. New Brownstoner was too sweet! :}
Posted by: Katie at August 14, 2006 11:03 AM
Good move. Your site was getting BORING! And I wasn't going to go to the trouble of registering to tell you so.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 11:09 AM
The troll wins. How nice. I guess the site will become more about him than about Brownstone Brooklyn. If no one remembers, nearly every thread got hijacked- they became all about him and his stupid, racist, malevolent comments. easy for some of you to say ignore it. I think CHP will have a different take. Maybe most folks here would rather play with the troll. I'm not one of them. There are plenty of sites that require registration and have a very high level of energy. So what's wrong here? Brownstoner just lost a lot of credibility.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 11:16 AM
FYI- except for one or two of the posts above, the rest are definitely the troll.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 11:20 AM
I'm sorry but those of you whining about trolls really don't belong on the internet. Its something most of us pick up in kindergarten. Ignore someone who is taunting you and they'll go away. If you can't you lose.
Agreed anon 11:09.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 11:22 AM
Chill 11:16AM. One could just as easily argue that registration meant victory for the Unmentionable One. Troublemakers will not win here unless we let them. Just ignore 'em. Brownstoner is right about that.
Posted by: Anon at August 14, 2006 11:23 AM
As probably the biggest troll victim on this site, along with Bx2Bklyn, I can say the last few weeks were blissfully quiet, no long having to defend my cyber identity from the troll posting as me. Maybe I'm a raging egomaniac, but having given myself a cyber identity, I feel I can handle rising and falling on my own words, I don't need help.
BUT - when the troll started posting incredibly awful, even evil, photograph links under B2B's handle, and then accusing her of being the author of that evil, that went too far. I was very happy to register.
This weekend, when the registration went down, the troll wasted no time in posting a fake CHP post, WITHIN AN HOUR OF THE REGISTRATION GOING DOWN! That means that he/she/they are regular readers, and probably regular posters (CrownHeightsProwd, perhaps?) OK, here we go again. Mr.B deleted it after a while. No sooner than that,the troll actually posted my last name on this site. I have a couple of ideas how he got it, but unless it is someone I know, and I can't imagine who, as not that many people in my circles know what Brownstoner is, let alone my screen name on it, that goes way above and beyond the pale of trollish annoyance. Brownstoner deleted it pretty quickly, but the damage is done. For the same reasons many people love to revel in being "anon", I chose my screen name to be just as anon, but with a continuity to carry on a conversation.
Long story long, I'm giving this a trial run. As someone said this weekend, this site does not revolve around me, and I don't expect it to. In addition to being fun and a community service, this is a business, and I fully understand that one or two people's needs cannot be tended to in the big picture. This site will continue whether I participate or not, and I wish everyone well. I will miss everyone having a name, however, it added a continuity that is very lacking addressing people as anon 3:36.
Here's hoping for a safe environment in the future.
Posted by: CrownHeightsProud at August 14, 2006 11:32 AM
Can you ignore him using your display name to link to a picture of a beheaded Black man? How about when he posts your real name on a thread as he did last night? Or do you really just like reading racist comments? He's not just an annoyance- how would you feel if a total stranger somehow found out your real name and could very easily then find out where you live. Well- he's done that. It's no longer a matter of sticks and stones. NOW do you get it? Probably not.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 11:35 AM
yes, I did not quite understand why mandate registration. I prepfer your blog but for comparsion sake, curbed.com does not require registration, and attempts to filter out post from the Knuckle heads.
Posted by: jake at August 14, 2006 11:38 AM
Fine CHP. I look forward to reading posts from you that are about something other than the evil troll who\'s out to get you. Enough, please!
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 11:40 AM
Mr B,
Although I still prefer registration, I must reluctantly admit that, along with the increased civility, there was a drop in the energy level on this site.
Dropping registration CAN work as long as you frequently delete offensive posts. I'm sure that will be a PITA for you, but, after all, it's your site.
FWIW I'll keep using the sign-in process. I will do my best NOT to engage trolls--I long ago learned not to try refuting their nonsense, but even pointing out trolling behavior seems to make these creeps happy, so I'll refrain from that.
Posted by: Bob Marvin at August 14, 2006 11:46 AM
Oh yeah- I recognize that jerk's backslash anywhere. Still haven't learned to type, I see.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 11:47 AM
To all Anonymous posters...If you insist on not registering, at least sign your post with some kind of name at the end of the posting. It makes it alot easier to keep a conversation going. Having to reference a person by "Anonymous at 12:01pm" or "I'm the orginal Anonymous poster" etc gets tiring, especially on a 100 post thread burner.
ItsAWrap
Posted by: ItAWrap at August 14, 2006 11:47 AM
We hereby promise to stop talking about the troll.
Starting......NOW!
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 11:51 AM
Thank you for reconsidering! I enjoy the site and the forum, but do not want the hassle of another password to remember. Also, the discussions are definitely much more interesting and in the true spirit of being in New York
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 12:07 PM
For crying out loud. If people CANNOT stop talking about the troll, at least do us a favor and take it here:
http://brownstonertroll.blogspot.com
Unburden yourselves here and let the rest of us get back to business.
Posted by: Exasperated at August 14, 2006 12:16 PM
LOL!!!
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 12:25 PM
Well Exasperated, it appears to be working! We may all owe you a drink!
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 1:00 PM
"No sooner than that,the troll actually posted my last name on this site. I have a couple of ideas how he got it, but unless it is someone I know, and I can't imagine who, as not that many people in my circles know what Brownstoner is, let alone my screen name on it, that goes way above and beyond the pale of trollish annoyance..."
CHP, I believe I know exactly how he/she got it. I don't know if you noticed this, but going way back to when the Typekey registration was mandated at this site, for some reason when you registered your handle, the Typekey account was created under what I assume was your real name. Anyone who clicked or mouse-overed on your little Typekey icon saw the name (which obviously I won't reveal here) instead of "CrownHeightsProud." If I'm guessing correctly, pretty much anyone who was paying attention, not just the troll, would have noticed your real name rather quickly.
This was the case not just with you but several of the people posting under "aliases" with TypeKey. And it was one of many reasons I chose not to register here. I love this site, but it is not worth even the slight chance of giving away my identity online. (Especially considering the amount of info we give away, over time, about ourselves and our homes.)
Posted by: linusvanpelt at August 14, 2006 2:30 PM
By the way, I'm not trying to contribute to "outing" CHP, so if you feel I did so, feel free to pull down my 2:30 post... just trying to help by pointing out a registration problem that (to my eyes anyway) is right out in the open and that people should be aware of if they're going to continue to register. (I mean, I'm not very tech-savvy and I noticed it within a day after registration started.)
Posted by: linusvanpelt at August 14, 2006 2:40 PM
I guess it depended on how you registered your profile.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 2:48 PM
I am on the fence.... As I am sure many people are....
The site has been tame but on the other had, I also felt that the quality of the comments of people who sign in have something good and interesting to say. The bad mouthing at times was getting out of control, at which point I did not enjoy reading the site. The same people would keep posting horrible comments.
It's hard to avoid the Troll's and sometimes, they are just very sneaky and manipulating the readers...
Posted by: Alex at August 14, 2006 2:48 PM
Thanks for your post Linusvanpelt. This is an excellent example of the trouble you run with a system of registration. And of course, as soon as posters learn about the potential pitfall you describe and are careful to avoid it, something else crops up. Participating in a system of registration is an excellent way to get your identity stolen.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 2:59 PM
I agree with that. After awhile we were spending more time arguing with the troll than posting any meaningful content. Maybe some people think the energy level was higher, but higher for what? The things we loved this site for or the troll?
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 3:01 PM
Don't like arguing with the troll?
Fine.
Don't argue with him.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 3:10 PM
Need further proof registration was a good thing? Look on the brownstonertroll blog where the troll has again posted a link to some awful picture using my handle. Nothing is worth this aggravation. So now we go back to the same old same old. Interesting that on other blogs they talked about how bad the postings were getting. What kind of rep is that to have?
Posted by: Bx2Bklyn at August 14, 2006 3:19 PM
As an "Anon" poster of pre-registration days, I, too, noticed the lack of energy and diminished diversity of opinions being posted in the past few weeks. On the other hand, I hesitated to register because I just found it to be a bother, so I didn't "bother." I was not a frequent poster to begin with, but I enjoyed the opportunity to participate and to comment freely on subjects of interest to me or subjects where I might have had an old-timer's insights to share. I'm pleased that the registration requirement has been dropped, so I'll probably resume posting from time to time. I find the blog very interesting and informative, and I've learned a lot here even though I'm a life-long b'stoner. As for the trolls, I guess we'll just have to be careful to keep our guard up and not fall for their inflammatory or sinister motives.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 3:25 PM
I guess I'm not fast enough to keep up with the troll, as I have not seen any of these hideous pics or not, but there has to be a way to track the troll and get an idea of who he or she is...I mean, someone could be sending racist pictures, etc. from their office. Doubt their boss would like that.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 3:38 PM
they were stomach-churning. I'm sure there is a way to track him but it's probably very complicated. Takes a techie, I'm sure.
Posted by: Bx2Bklyn at August 14, 2006 3:42 PM
Linus, thanks for the heads up. That is so simple I never saw it. I'm trying to get it corrected, and hopefully it will be successful. When I created the account, I thought I was careful to not have my name on it, the registration asked how you wanted your id to appear, as well as said no information would be revealed. I stupidly believed it. I guess it's ok to be paranoid when they really are after you. Thanks again.
Posted by: CrownHeightsProud at August 14, 2006 4:02 PM
Please, people, try to retain at least a weak grip on reality. I am sure you could track this guy down, but what would be the point? Last time I checked, there was no law against being an a**h*le. Has he assaulted anyone, or stolen anything? He is a freaking troll who was lucky enough to have stumbled across you people, and believe me you are low hanging fruit for a hungry troll.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 4:07 PM
I'm glad that registation is no longer required. The site had become rather censored and uniteresting.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 4:46 PM
I have not been following the discussion of this topic lately and I am wondering if someone can fill me in. I gather there is a troll on the site, but I am confused as to what this means, because in folk lore trolls are re-known for hiding under the bridge and stealing children (such as witches do also) and hoardeing money. (unlike more bennine tyopes such as the gnoam and the wizzard, say). In terms of the site I guess you are referring to a unwelcome guest whose been embezeling money from banners and advertisments? (I am not sure merley speculating.) Obviously the troll is a mythological figure found in fairy tales and folk lore (hairy and ugly with great brutish stregnth, canibalistic as well) so I believe in this contest it is merley a metafore. Then again maybe the fairy tales' instructive in so far as how to get rid of them. For example in the Grimm's Brother's they would trick them with leaving a trial of bread crumbs that led to a cliff then push him over when he reached the ledge. Then the people rejioced as there would no longer be afraid of him, I guess this is sort of like what you are discussing in terms of deleting his posts in a way. Anyhow for what its worth...just thinking out aloud basically, perhaps some of these ideas can be put in to use.
Posted by: thomson villiard at August 14, 2006 4:47 PM
Ah, Ye Olde Storee Teller hath arrived in the Guise of Mssr. Villiard. Methinks he doth not be of Serious Vein, as his Folkelore may be correct, but his spelling of the King's Tongue lacketh accuracy. I did laugheth most loudly, and didst findeth him passing, nay, profoundly amusing.
I hope most heartily that was, indeed, his most fervent intent. Verily.
Posted by: CrownHeightsProud at August 14, 2006 5:09 PM
Good idea I think.
Posted by: Mentch at August 14, 2006 5:09 PM
I weep. I wail. I mourn the death of the King's English for verily Mssr. Villiard, whilst having powerful command of his thoughts, when dost come to spelling...not so much.
From a philosophical standpoint I can conclude that since the troll is ugly, hairy and brutish, the rest of us are the screaming blonde maidens who upon being abducted to aforementioned troll's cave will not wait to be rescued by yonder handsome prince. (Knight's work for me too).
By the way, trial by breadcrumbs does not work. (and a trail of 'em only gets you Hansel and Gretel- faugh!). You will need heavy duty cranes and an operating engineer (call the union for referrals). Once dead please dispose of troll's body in the appropriate way (garbage bag, in a dump). Metaphorically speaking, of course.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 5:20 PM
And once the troll is disposed of, be sure to have a bevy of psychiatrists on hand to help those who no longer have the troll to complain about. They'll be in a bad way, having lost the only thing that appears to give their lives some faint trace of meaning.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 5:38 PM
Ah, no. They would be for those who don't want registration because it cramps their trolling style. If you recall, when we had registration, no one missed the unmentionable one.
After all, what is he but a 43 year old pimpled-faced virgin, living in his mother's basement, unable to get a job, a date or a degree. Still believing Thunderbird is a fine wine and potato chips a gourmet food. Who else has the time to post under so many handles, so many times? Only that lowlife loser.
Posted by: Anon :-) at August 14, 2006 5:49 PM
Methinks the reference to troll bespeaks of fishing lore, whereby the angler drags along a temptingly flickering lure that, alas, is no tasty tidbit, rather a trap that will lead to the untimely demise of the sorry fish that has not the experience to eschew it.
Posted by: Hal at August 14, 2006 5:59 PM
"If you recall, when we had registration, no one missed the unmentionable one."
Alas. I would like to believe this. But then, why have we been talking about Him, and pretty much only Him, for the last two days? The people who want registration are of course complaining about the Unmentionable One, but they protest too much, it seems. Request after request has been posted for people to ignore Him, including one from Brownstoner himself. Nevertheless, here we are, still thinking about Him, and only Him. I'm afraid that He was missed when registration was in effect. And he was probably missed the most by the people who now complain most bitterly about him.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 6:02 PM
FYI- the brownstonertroll blog is of course the troll. He has been posting about me (giving CHP a much needed rest, I guess). I'm sure he will of course claim it's all me- alas. Would that my mind could be so evil. So the bx2bklyn name is no longer going to be in use. I don't care when he posts stupidity, I do care when he uses my handle to post links to truly disgusting photos, as he has done again. It's not me folks.
So if you see bx2bklyn being used, it's the troll. I'm done with it.
Posted by: Bx2Bklyn at August 14, 2006 6:06 PM
anon 6:02- I guess because once registration was stopped, guess who came back and started the same old bs again. Once again, he's taken over and in case most of you didn't realize it, most of the anonymous posts and some of the names are him. So if the nastiness and the racism ( which is not a substitute for frank and honest discussion by the way), are what you want, you have it.
Posted by: Anon :-) at August 14, 2006 6:12 PM
It seems to me that most of the 64 comments on Friday's open house picks was the troll talking to himself. Am I wrong? I find it boring to have to scroll through so many "bad" postings and then have to wonder if the real posts are actually legit. Just my 2 cents.
Posted by: Yente at August 14, 2006 6:23 PM
most of them here too. and you're right- who knows anymore?
Posted by: Anon :-) at August 14, 2006 6:37 PM
While I can agree that the non-registration time was fun & spicy, it also was a major pain in the butt, even if you could control oneself and not post back to some of the "lower life forms" and those from "under the bridge" that ranted off-topic.
As a frequent poster and lover of all things brownstoner, I feel the type key control sys was the right and logical way to go. Wanna post, take the 5 seconds to set up an account, no need to have a profile, but at least all of us know that you care enough to be legit (no slag to any anon's, but it was getting ridiculous).
I weigh in with the folks that say "give it a test drive," but I am hesitant to support a move back to the "old timey days" of bygone brownstoner past. Trolls or not... Legit, responsible, intelligent post-ers it what I'd like to see and read.
Myself not included, of course ;)
Posted by: lostinbrooklyn at August 14, 2006 6:53 PM
Bullpucky, Brownstoner. Registration doesn't descriminate based on race or class (unless you mean to say that trolls are likely black and/or poor).
Without registration, there is too much hyperbole, slander, and hysteria on this site.
I smell advertising dollars as the reason for this decision.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 7:40 PM
Don't like hyperbole, slander and hysteria?
Fine.
Don't be hyperbolic, slanderous and hysterical.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 7:48 PM
What is the big deal, you set up a TypeKey account, pick out a fun name, and post away.
Posted by: Arsenic and Old Lace at August 14, 2006 8:47 PM
I thought about the issue of advertising dollars too, but brownstoner said he still needs to work a regular job and he's not getting rich off this site.
yet, we can't ignore how dead it's been on this site for the last MONTH. (yes even before brownstoner went on vacation).
the site wasn't that popualar, and it's very existence was threatened probably.
de-registration was to liven it up and bring it back.
can someone answer if there is a problem with trolls on other sites, or why this site was selected to be picked on.
Posted by: anonymous at August 14, 2006 8:57 PM
Some of us want to protect our privacy. I understand what a jerk this troll has been, but I don't understand why you guys insist on interacting with him. He would go away if he didn't get so much attention. I don't mean to rub anyone the wrong way, but sometimes I get the sense that this has less to do with being able to enjoy this site than with "beating" the troll--even though allowing him to force us into a system of registration would surely consitute some kind of "victory" for him (note the scare quotes), especially since many of us do not want such a system.
Let the little pr&ck dry up and blow away. Must we institute an entire system of registration when we could, and arguably should, do the adult thing and just ignore him? Why won't you guys even give this a chance?
Sorry if I am being dense...am I missing something?
Posted by: Adam at August 14, 2006 8:59 PM
You're not being dense but until it's happened to you, it's easy to say "ignore him". He's gone way over the top and sometimes you're just trying to establish that you didn't post that, you didn't put a link there, you are not lying about where you live,...etc. Ask CHP- the troll hounds her posts, calls her a liar, uses her handle to post garbage. It's not easy to ignore when everything you post is followed by the troll spewing. And even though your display name is somewhat anonymous, over time people recognize you by that name. With the troll, he does everything possible to destroy that. The adult thing is to ignore him when he says something stupid, or racist. But when he makes it personal, it's not that simple.
Posted by: Anon :-) at August 14, 2006 9:10 PM
Translation of Anon :-)\'s post:
This IS all about beating the troll!
Posted by: Katie at August 14, 2006 9:14 PM
Case in point- look what he's doing to Bx2Bklyn on his fake blog, brownstonertroll.
Posted by: Anon :-) at August 14, 2006 9:14 PM
FYI, surprisingly, the traffic didn't drop when we added registration, so you can rest assured that it's not about advertising dollars. It's about the energy level and breadth of input. Regardless of the fact that it's relatively easy to log in, the fact remains that the large majority of commenters were not signing in and therefore not contributing to the dialogue and we think the site was less interesting for it. Hopefully tomorrow we can move on from this debate and discuss the topics at hand.
Posted by: brownstoner at August 14, 2006 10:35 PM
probably because a large majority of posters were the troll. And his posts certainly don't contribute anything to the dialogue.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 11:34 PM
But most of the troll and anonymous postings are bulls*** anyway!
Posted by: Anonymous at August 14, 2006 11:38 PM
On either the day Mr. B instituted registration or the day immediately after, this post appeared on the Across The Park blog:
There is a trimphant freakin\' troll out there somewhere tonight. Whew! Oh yeah! Uh huh! That\'s what I\'m talkin\' about!!!
Posted by: Ralph | July 11, 2006 at 11:16 PM
I will bet you the farm that this was our troll.
Registration = Victory for the Troll
Posted by: Anonymous at August 15, 2006 8:08 AM
That clinches it. I'm changing my vote:
NO REGISTRATION!!
Posted by: Anonymous at August 15, 2006 12:12 PM
I am actually sort of grateful to the troll. The site seems less like a country club now and more like a town meeting :)
Posted by: Anonymous at August 15, 2006 5:32 PM
"The site seems less like a country club now and more like a town meeting"
That is the silliest thing I have ever heard. How did registration preclude anyone from commenting?
Yes, registration is discriminatory - it descriminates against people who are too f***ing stupid to figure out how to use it!!! Yes, registration requires an e-mail account. But e-mail accounts are FREE, folks, and you don't have to create one that uses your name AT ALL. There's no need to be paranoid. Make something up, like everyone does. What's so hard about this?
For those who are paranoid, your computer's IP address can be tracked whether or not your register. And for those of you too poor to have access to a computer, how the hell are you gaining access to the site now? You need, ummm, a computer!
Do you think my name is really Ed? Do you think my e-mail address links to any relevant personal information to me at all?
No. Duh. I'm as anonymous as all of you. But at least I'm not some idiot troll pretending to be 18 different people at the same time, and having conversations with himself. I'm always Ed.
So what does registration do? It makes you jump through an extra hoop to comment, and commitment-phobes are turned off by this. I get it.
This site hasn't transformed from a country club to a town meeting. It's transformed from a rountable debate to somewhat of a shouting match across a noisy, crowded subway train. It's hard to distinguish the topical comments from the extraneous noise.
Posted by: Ed at August 16, 2006 12:19 AM
Interesting Ed. That is exactly what I would expect the troll to say.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 16, 2006 8:22 AM
"For those who are paranoid, your computer's IP address can be tracked whether or not your register."
False!
Posted by: Anonymous at August 16, 2006 8:44 AM
Ed, I doubt that the poster at 5:32 was thinking that registration would preclude participation in the site for technical reasons. I think she or he was remarking on the rather clubby atmosphere of the site while registration was in effect. And I too had the sense during that period that the site had become someone elses parlor. On the one or two occasions when I did post, I actually felt like I was intruding. This is why I like the old, classic-coke Brownstoner.
Posted by: Anon at August 16, 2006 9:01 AM
oh puhlease! what crap that is, 9:01.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 16, 2006 10:26 AM
Congratulations 10:26AM. You were obviously a member of "the club". I wasn't and I wholeheartedly agree with Anon at 9:01AM.
Posted by: Lou at August 16, 2006 12:03 PM
If you felt like you were intruding, you made yourself feel that way. No one paid to register. No one had to pass a test to get in. You don't even have to use your real name- so what was the big deal? You're responsible for the way you feel, no one else. But it is amusing to see how often you can agree with yourself under how many different names and anonymous posts. Did you think no one knew?
Posted by: Anonymous at August 16, 2006 4:25 PM
Right back atcha, 4:25pm. If you don't feel comfortable with anonymous posting, that's your problem. You're responsible for the way you feel.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 16, 2006 7:50 PM
For all the geniuses who haven't figured out that ANYONE could post with registration, as long as they registered, I have news for you: YES, there was a club. And it consisted of people bright enough to figure out how to register and use it. If you can't figure out how to register on typekey, or aren't inclined not to be a troll, why on earth should we have to endure your commentary on Brooklyn real estate??? Can't you just sit on your stoop and talk about the weather?
Posted by: Ed at August 16, 2006 11:42 PM
Yeah, Ed, it sounds like you just want to cut n run. What kind of message does that send to the troops?
Posted by: Anonymous at August 17, 2006 12:12 PM
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