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
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?
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.
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…
I guess it depended on how you registered your profile.
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.)
“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.)
Well Exasperated, it appears to be working! We may all owe you a drink!
LOL!!!
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.