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
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.
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?
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.
What is the big deal, you set up a TypeKey account, pick out a fun name, and post away.
Don’t like hyperbole, slander and hysteria?
Fine.
Don’t be hyperbolic, slanderous and hysterical.
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.
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 😉
most of them here too. and you’re right- who knows anymore?
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.