Let's Talk About Commenting
We twittered about this a few days ago, but we’d like to open it up for discussion: What can we do to improve the overall the quality of comments on the blog, to encourage lurkers to get involved without alienating some of the more active and, um, spirited commenters? We hear quite often from regular…
We twittered about this a few days ago, but we’d like to open it up for discussion: What can we do to improve the overall the quality of comments on the blog, to encourage lurkers to get involved without alienating some of the more active and, um, spirited commenters? We hear quite often from regular readers who feel uncomfortable, even intimidated, with the prospect of commenting. This isn’t surprising given the verbal beat-down one new commenter received from a gang of regulars a couple of weeks ago. Nor is the level of discussion going on in today’s Open Thread really where we’d like it to be. Short of active comment moderation, which really isn’t a practical option, what do you think we can/should do to elevate the quality of discussion and make newcomers feel more welcome? We’d be particularly interested to hear from some folks who usually hang back on the sidelines. It’s in the best interests of the blog and everyone who reads it to have as many people contributing their knowledge and opinions as possible.
Thanks,
Mr. B
I must admit I am so happy Mr. B started this post. I am relatively new to Brownstoner and joined because I am on the verge of buying and moving to Brooklyn. I’d be classified as a “lurker” – I commented on a property once and was pretty shocked that almost right away I was accused of being the property’s broker and mocked. I think this is a great and useful site but at times it feels like it is highjacked by a handful of folk. For instance, there was a thread several weeks ago about Fort Greene: I was super-excited because it is one of the neighborhoods I am interested in. Almost half of the comments were a childish back and forth between the usual suspects about an unrelated topic. Others desperately tried to keep it on topic. I would like to see more intervention from the moderator when comments go completely off topic; there should be a way to flag racist and other offensive comments which pop up from time to time and are NOT okay; and one might consider a cap on the number of comments per day.
I think the comments were SO much better and smarter and the discussions much more fun when everyone was anonymous.
Well since you’re keeping tabs… You can count me in as a long time reader now lurker due to “Usual Suspects” and the nerve wrecking chatter that just wont stop. Also I think you lost focus when you created the OT platform for them.
Moving forward..I believe an OT about different or greener interior designs that may also last for generations is
Change we can believe.
Vinca, I don’t know what you mean by a “zinger”. You called me an “ass”. I took this, very reasonably it seems to me, to indicate that you were upset by my earlier posts. If you weren’t upset by them, fine…so noted.
Tesla: Your reply to me features a common and highly defective strategy for hijacking a thread. Why was it not enough to state your opinion, and acknowledge that mine is different? Why throw in a “zinger,†and assign a concocted quality to my comments? If it’s YOU who’s feeling “distressed,†I’m sure plenty of Brownstoner site users would be happy to offer their opinions and remedies. If that’s the case, I encourage you to post your own thread describing it. I’m entirely puzzled by the amount of time and energy you’ve put into diminishing or abolishing a thread which you don’t use. Maybe you can describe what about the OT inspires that level of antagonistic attention from you? Do you devote the same level of energy into having your neighbor’s green grass torn out? When I read the OT,
I read it for diversion. (I did try THL’s brisket recipe, and though it was easy and
I enjoyed it, I like my own much better. Hmm…maybe I should apply myself to getting THL banned from the kitchen.) Generally speaking, I don’t read the front pages of this site very much. But it would be just plain bizarre for me to establish my own NON-participation as the basis for eliminating that thread, or any other, from the site. The world’s a big place, and it’s way out of your control OR mine. Active participation, rather than active opposition, can work wonders. If you can come to terms and peace with your own limitations, rather than the limitations you want to impose on others, I’m confident you’ll really start to relish the diversity, hilarity and challenges, rather than aim to shut them down.
Can someone please explain or point me to a site that uses the ‘ignore button’ feature?
I’m not clear as to how that functions. Thx.
Hi Snappy. No problem, as those are all excellent questions. I think a cap on the number of posts people can make is an interesting idea that probably deserves a “trial run”. At the same time, I think you’re right that there are ‘sticky wickets’ and plenty of variables that deserve close scrutiny. I also don’t know what this sort of measure would require in the way of software and programming, though others here probably do.
To be honest, I didn’t have a precise cap in mind. I guess I should clarify one thing, though. You don’t want the cap to be so low that it is blocking expression or so high that it’s useless. Most people (those who don’t post excessively or pointlessly) should not have to be mindful of the cap; others (who post excessively and/or pointlessly), should have to be mindful of it.
So where should the cap be? I think some trial and error would be required to answer this question…armchair speculation won’t cut it. Furthermore, you might discover that you do not want the cap to be precise at all. Perhaps it could be variable limit, with Mr. B raising it or lowering it at his discretion, depending on what he sees happening on the site. Also, should the cap be specific to particular threads or to the entire site? Should posters be able to start with a clean slate each *day*? I didn’t have anything too specific in mind in these respects.
As I imagined the posting cap, it would apply equally, across the board and to everyone. Someone might argue that this also ought to be up to Mr. B’s discretion, so that he could affix a cap to particular people’s handles or something. However, this could result in Mr. B’s having to keep track of how much various individuals are posting. That would be a lot of work and…well, life is short.
Long story short, there are a lot of variations on this idea that one could try out. I think one or two of them probably deserve a shot. Am I convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that they’d work? Certainly not, and other people have floated ideas here that I’m equally, if not more, intrigued by (e.g., the “ignore button”).
My third and final post on this issue. This time I’d like to address those who support a ‘posting cap’ per user. Specifically I want to utilize Tesla Coil as an example – and please know I’m not trying to pick you, Tesla Coil, but you are a perfect example here.
As someone who is such a strong proponent of post limits and saying that it only takes a couple of posts to make one’s point, I find it interesting that, as of my typing this, you have posted *15 times* on this thread.
At 12:25, you said:
“A cap of this kind would force people to THINK about what they’re saying. ”
Someone else responded that sometimes the threads turn into a conversation with questions asked, etc. and several posts per person per thread becomes inevitable. You later re-emphasized your point at 6:28 by saying:
“I imagine the “limit” to be such that few people would ever have to think twice about it. The idea would not be to keep people from saying what they have to say. Rather, the idea would be to keep a very small number of people from inundating the site with white noise. Period.”
I think now maybe you and other proponents of posting limits can see the ‘sticky wicket’ of this idea. Again, I do not mean to jump on you and I hope you do not see this post as such. But, now I must ask your for post #16 🙂 Do you propose a posting limit on us ‘regulars’ only as the probable “small number of people inundating the site with white noise”? Or is your limit proposal for everyone? (Still not trying to pick a fight here, I really want to know exactly what it is you are proposing via limits given your numerous posts here.)
Hi Vinca. I’ve described why I think the Open Thread is bad for the site and that’s the most constructive contribution I can make to our dialogue about it. As it happens I don’t share your opinion of the Open Thread, and I’m sorry this is a source of distress to you.