Taking the Pulse on Anonymous Commenting
We’ve been getting more and more requests from readers to eliminate anonymous commenting. (The topic has also been on the front-burner because of a certain article this week.) There are clearly major flaws with a system that allows commenting without accountability, but doing away with it carries its own set of drawbacks in the form…
We’ve been getting more and more requests from readers to eliminate anonymous commenting. (The topic has also been on the front-burner because of a certain article this week.) There are clearly major flaws with a system that allows commenting without accountability, but doing away with it carries its own set of drawbacks in the form of diminished information flow, opinion and overall energy on the site. We’re curious to know how the community feels about the issue so please take a moment to fill out this survey and chime in below.
Thanks,
Mr. B
p.s. Just to clarify, just because you register, and comment under, a username, does not mean that your true identity is on display for the world to see. It means we can easily block a disruptive commenter, or contact him/her by email about bad behavior. It also means that other readers can begin to associate comments over time with a particular online identity, theoretically improving the ability to carry on discussions.
oh please. enough with the whining about having to read long posts, when in fact you are free to scroll down. If that’s too much hard work for you I would say the problem is yours, not MM or NOP’s. You probably complain about having to pick up after yourself too.
Well- here i am proving the point. (Apologies to Biff re #199. 🙂
5:49- no- I don’t need a dictionary. Unlike you, I can read. I can’t imagine where in my post you think- or surmise- that I would interpret prolix as a compliment and frankly my post addresses both issues. Which- if your reading comprehension was as quick as your poor put down- you would get. By the way succinct and shorter often go hand in hand and since the intent was shorter posts, I tend to think I got the point, whereas you did not. However if you think splitting hairs wins points, you present a disappointing case.Sigh.
bxgrl
“Can you imagine what great literature would be like if Shakespeare, or Melville or Tolstoy were told to cut it down?”
If Melville or Tolstoy opted to “cut it down”, I’m sure the result would be great literature. You’re talking about authors who appreciated the power of precise phrasing and economy of expression. They did not think that great works of literature were made great by astronomical word counts!
Jeez.
And Bold type guest, since you mentioned wanting to hurl something to restart the thread, I’m adding comment 199 here to allow you the honor of posting the big 2-0-0. Sorry for the abundance of “mutual pleasantries” but welcome to the “lovey dovey” admiration club!
Bold type guest, I have to say that your comments are cracking me up. Ironically, this anonymous “non-persona” of yours will quickly take on a life of its own (especially since you’re clearly very entertaining) and I hope you continue logging in under your new handle. It’s Unknown Comic-esque. The whole concept is ingenius, just like the thought of me setting up a iheartguests@whatever.com and posting what people send there. Definitely something to consider.
Anyway, thanks for the laughs. Tommorow’s supposed to be beautiful. Have a wonderful weekend.
bxgrl, do you have a dictionary handy? If so, look up “prolix” and/or “prolixity”. It is not a term of praise! The earlier poster was not complaining about post length, but about the failure to post *succinctly* (and no, “succinct” doesn’t simply mean “short”). Sigh.
3:43- as I said, it’s a free country. You don’t have to read every line but some of us want to. Can you imagine what great literature would be like if Shakespeare, or Melville or Tolstoy were told to cut it down? No, I’m not comparing Mm and NOP to them, but they write exceedingly well and I, and quite a few others find them interesting. Long, well thought out and well written posts aren’t the problem here.
4:19- I’m sure you’re right- there are times when we should ignore the trolls, and oddly enough we do. But there are times when they can’t be- sometimes the maliciousness is so over the top it can’t be and shouldn’t be.
But like Biff says, it is certain people who keep you coming back because they do form a community (and thank you Biff for including me!) and communities function best when they stick together. You don’t have to agree with everyone, you don’t have to like everyone, but you do recognize you have certain common interests and values and for better or worse, at the very least brownstoner gives a place to connect. that said, we all know certain things get posted with an eye toward hits, not discourse and I object to that- quite vehemently. So if you want MM and NOP to write shorter posts, you’re asking for censorship for no reason. If you’re going to have censorship at least make it for a worthwhile cause- like getting rid of racist comments and obscenities. Conversations can get pretty intense without that stuff. I love when Dave and Biff post- they’re witty and fun and have a great sense of irony-and lord knows this site could use more of that.
bxgrl
Long time reader, first time commenter here. The survey doesn’t really seem take lurkers such as myself into account. I’ve been reading this blog for a couple of years and have never commented but I would rather keep the anonymous commenting system in place. I don’t feel that it brings the discourse down (too far) and those complaining (and those who aren’t) should just learn to ignore the trolls. They can’t drag down discourse if you don’t engage them. And, I must admit, sometimes it adds some much-needed levity to the conversation. Many of you people too often come off as snobby, snarky and tightly wound.
’tis all.
I don’t mind long posts, but I do mind prolixity. M. Morris and N. on Park Avenue typically use 250 words when they could express the same point more economically AND more effectively with 20 or 30 words.
I’m not saying that their posts aren’t valuable. I’d just like to increase the signal to noise ratio.