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…
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
Yeah, Ed, it sounds like you just want to cut n run. What kind of message does that send to the troops?
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?
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.
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?
Congratulations 10:26AM. You were obviously a member of “the club”. I wasn’t and I wholeheartedly agree with Anon at 9:01AM.
oh puhlease! what crap that is, 9:01.
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.
“For those who are paranoid, your computer’s IP address can be tracked whether or not your register.”
False!
Interesting Ed. That is exactly what I would expect the troll to say.