A Couple Comments on Comments
Decatur Metro | February 24, 2010A couple comments and a question actually.
First, I’ve finally gotten around to taking 5 minutes and posting a “comment policy” at the top of the site. Those who have been around awhile have a good idea of how things work around here, but I realized it was a bit unfair to assume newcomers would just figure it out, even though that method seemed to be working pretty well.
Second, I’m curious to know people’s thoughts on attaching a “Thumbs Up” option to comments, where instead of feeling obligied to respond, you could show your support for a comment by clicking the ‘thumbs up’ button. (Think Facebook’s “Like” option.)
I’m currently on the fence about it, because on one hand I like the idea of letting more folks weigh in who aren’t necessarily comfortable with commenting, but on the other, I’m a bit worried it might turn into a competition about who can write the most popular comments, as opposed to truly speaking their minds. I’m curious what the rest of you think.
Third, a bit of DM trivia! The first commenter – who was not a fellow blogger – who still comments frequently on the site is none other than Parker Cross, who first commented way back on the 10th of October 2007, a mere two weeks after the site first launched!
I never even realized this until I went back digging into the comments. Thanks for all the years of input “Parker”!
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“Thumbs Up” promotes group-think and has a chilling effect on unpopular opinions and sass.
It seems kind of me-tooish. Not very Decatury.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure I agree with you. I just wanted to bounce the idea off a few hundred folks.
I agree.
Wait…I’ve committed group-think! I guess this means I’ll have to put our house on the market.
Yea, that’s a terrible idea. Speak your mind about a comment or read on.
Agreed.
what he said
Come on folks! I’ve got a free fifteen minutes! Someone argue with me!
Hey DM, when are we going to do the Metro Pub Crawl? Remember, we were all going to get name tags and mix them up?
Indeed. Want to do it, but I’m pretty slammed for the next few months. Maybe over the summer?
Absolutely.
thumbs up to that!
[thumbs down]
Thumbs upping has a numbing effect on further discussion. So would thumbs downing… I would rather read more comments, because each one is unique and adds more to the topic being discussed.
Five comments all giving a thumbs up to vetoing the idea of implementing a “thumbs up.”
Hmmm…
Thumbs up to lump’s comment.
(Wait, we haven’t implemented that policy yet? Nevermind.)
Thumbs down to thumbs up.
Thumbs = AJC Vent
I rather liked the idea of a thumbs up.
Thumbs up to thumbs up.
But I’d hate to be the one who posted a “thumbs down,” and I bet a lot of folks would point their opposable fingernail towards Australia to my comments.
What would be the point? To highlight popular comments? You can identify a popular (or unpopular) comment by the string of comments after it.
As an alternative, could somebody post — Top favorite or thought-provoking comments of the week?
(Blushing) You are welcome!
I vote against thumbing unless hitchhiking.
You should maybe add something to the policy that addresses comments which are overtly sexual, obscene or contain offensive language. You once (rightly) removed one of my comments about my unhealthy attaction to one of your pictures.
Good idea, thanks Eric. It’s so obvious, I didn’t even think to include that!
And thanks to the other couple of readers who suggested tweaks to the comments policy thus far. A great group effort!
Actually though I’m ultimately the one who enforces the comment policy, the group here really made it clear a while back what their thresholds were. Interestingly enough, it was mostly females who called for a higher level of civility, and once I implemented it, it was mostly men who challenged the rules. Interesting social dynamic.
I may have come up with the “no personal insults” rule originally, but you guys gave it real definition.
Wow, an “attaction” does sound unhealthy!
It is, Gibbs, it is.
Walt Whitman had separate names for the sorts of feelings (perhaps “urges” is a better way to Whitman-ize) he had for women and men.
For women it was “amativeness” and for men it was “adhesiveness.”
Channeling Whitman, I’ll bet Eric chose “attaction” for its some Latin root to do with “tacking onto” or to be driven by “tact” where one feels the urge to be quite polite and discreet around a person. “He made me feel quite attacted the first time we met.”
Very clever, but I would have to add, knowing what I know about Eric, that he was probably going for the other etymological meaning in the word, “attach,” which has been coupled with “attack,” (to join in battle) from the Italian via the French. Also, Eric would probably prefer the lyrical niceties of Dio over Whitman. Nonetheless, that’s a great observation.
Or it could be that I misspelled it. Of course, that would take away from all the fun you guys are having.
And I appreciate both Whitman and Dio. Oh, and Rob Zombie.
How about the “finger” to go along with thumbs up or down?
Of course, it is just as easy to SPELL THAT OUT!
I like the thumbs up or down idea. In the past I have not commented for fear of being flamed.
That’s the gist of this thread–if you comment, others will also comment, but DM does not allow flamers.
[edited]
I think I just broke DM’s now-published comments policy.
I laughed aloud at that before I could stop myself.
BAD Eric, bad, bad, bad! Consider yourself paddled verbally.
I think it’s hilarious that you guys are making fun of gay people. And acknowledging it at the same time!
Way to go, team.
I have to say that we are actually making fun of language and its usage, not gay people–no offense is intended.
Eric, hook, line, sinker, pole, reel, boots, boat,…
I know, but I just couldn’t help myself. At least I made Cuba laugh, and that’s what I live for.
Sigh. For the extra work you create for me, perhaps I should start charging you for commenting.
A good conservative would agree with me.
I have to apologize for turning this thread into another free for all, it’s Wednesday. But we are all commenting on commenting on comments. Again, perdoneme.
DM,
Let me just save you the trouble and stop commenting, especially since you can’t help but be swayed by the media and assume I am a “conservative” (which I’m not).
It’s been fun.
Eric, I was just kidding! Don’t bail on us! Your commentary is thoughtful and amusing.
I guess I should have kept the smiley face in my original post. It reads harsher than I meant it.
“The “insult threshold” is highest for public figures and lowest for minors.”
I know what you are trying to say here, but I’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time trying to decide if this is the right way to say this, or if it should be “lowest for public figures and highest for minors”. Clearly, I need better hobbies.
I actually had it the other way, but Barry pointed out that it should be this way, and suggested thinking about it like a “pain threshold”. In that case, a city commissioner should have a higher pain or insult threshold than a teenager.
Needless to say, maybe there’s a better way to put it.
Indeed, I proposed the higher vs. lower threshold notion with the “pain” idea because lots of folks can imagine that one.
I could have suggested the idea in the most physical terms, like an actual thing one steps over in a doorway. A high one is harder to get over, a low one easier.
Thus, to get to “insult” in a post as it regards someone who has voluntarily decided to put themselves in the public sphere (council member, rock star, tele-evangelist), one should have to work harder. One would need to be really insulting . . . as Larry Flynt was not, apparently, when it came to lampooning Jerry Falwell’s mother’s sexual habits . . . but I digress.
As to this same metaphor applied to possibility of insulting or generally being a bad person to someone under 18, that leap (or step, or whatever) should be easy. That is, one might do it accidentally without, say, remembering that the person spoken about is a minor. So, lower threshold for little ‘uns.
Weighing in on this– I’m not in favor of thumbs, either. People on this board are actually pretty good at calling out the flamers, often before DM can. So everyone should feel free to let their freak flag fly! (Well, within the bounds of the Comments Policy.)
I was thinking along those lines as well. Thumbsing up seems like a good shorthand (no pun intended) for “I agree,” “yep,” “I like what you said,” but one could just type those very phrases.
I don’t know if a thumbs up section is sustainable.
I agree that–with seeing how the thumbs has progressed in Facebook–it’s not a good idea for here.
Though, I will say that you might be looking for answer you want in asking this way, since the people who might “thumbs up” because they don’t want to comment won’t comment here?
I guess it depends if you want to see what the community as a whole thinks (like doing an anonymous poll), or the heaviest users (who will make the most comments and use the site the most anyway).
Great point mcmilland. I was thinking that very same thing this morning. There hasn’t been a single NEW commenter who has weighed in on the issue, for reasons they don’t weigh in normally.
It might be interesting to do a trial run and just see what happens. Then we could shut it off and evaluate.
If you want opinions, do a poll. If you want to share what kind of traffic the site gets, share your stats. Plus, there’s no fun in giving the thumbs down unless there’s also real lions to eat the poster.
A poll is a good idea Cat. Not sure why I didn’t think of it, since I do them pretty frequently.
Site gets over 1,200 unique visitors a day and over 2,000 visits. How many regular commenters do you estimate? 50? 75?
One possible shortcoming with a poll is individuals who comment here under multiple identities, also participate in the poll using their various identities. I wouldn’t consider the results to mean much unless you devise a way to limit participation to once per person. (I’ve heard that people use multiple identities here–I don’t know who anybody is myself, with the exception of one or two folks. But have been in a conversation where others could recite quite a few screen names and real identities of posters here. This is not a comment one way or another about anonymity, only about preventing skewed poll results.)
How many comments? 500 with 350 being mine, 100 belonging to Gibbets and the rest to everyone else?
Check the bottom of the left sidebar. I’ve added a list of top commenters year-to-date for ya. You were certainly dead on with the top 2!
Yes. I do not get out much.
oh, please. There is quantity. But there is both quality and longevity to consider. Not to mention, best pen name. Ahem.
I am totally embarrassed to see my name there. I thought I had a life. I need to change this. Would all the rest of you please start commenting a lot more so my relative standing drops down below the top five? DM: Would you please recalculate the ranks every hour on the hour and then redo the sidebar as soon as I drop out of the top five? And please stop posting anything related to CSD, community bookshelves, or weather because I just can’t resist those topics.
Are we gonna get sued if you start Thumbs Up and then have to change it?