I know there are a few here whose comments actually shrink the sum total of knowledge in the world.
<
p>A “smite this diary” (thumbs up/down) indicator would be cool, too. I don’t mean that someone’s diary would disappear from view like a zeroed-out comment, but an opportunity to vote would be neat.
huhsays
Or at least the ability to unrecommend.
stomvsays
I don’t want a hive mentality killing marginal posting, and frankly I don’t trust my “comrades” to make that decision for me. In other words, “ignore” stuff may not be worth the cost. Just let the 0 rating solve it and know that people can be smart enough in a community of posters this small to simply not feed the trolls.
jasiusays
I believe from the description that the ignore feature is something that would apply for each of us personally. I.e., if you find that you no longer want to read my comments, you set me to “ignore”. It is your own personal filter.
<
p>Your ignore settings do not affect what anyone else sees.
As it’s ever been, how can we screw it up? “New Coke”, anyone?
lightirissays
the “hive” silence anybody. The “ignore” function would be a personal preference. If you wanted to read every scintillating detail of what’s posted here, you can do that. If I didn’t, however, I could put a particular person on “ignore” status and be spared.
trickle-upsays
cuz:
<
p>1) We’ve got one rating system, is the Globe’s better?
<
p>2) We’ve got threaded comments, which is good for discussion. Sorting every-which way would break that. (Works for if you want every comment to be about the article or diary, though.)
<
p>3) Ignore user might be fun but you’d see replies to that user anyway. (And it sort of breaks peer-rating, don’t you think, if the “worst” posters are ignored and only the second-worst are modded down?)
<
p>I think BMG is more of a conversation, a community, than the Globe comments section for goodness sakes. Continuity and shared experience are more important here than there. I hope you’ll keep that in mind when contemplating any changes.
kbuschsays
The main reason I’d want to throw up an ignore is to be able to reroute conversations back to the topic and away from the ravings.
<
p>Scale, though, is very significant here. One of the problems I have with Daily Kos is that there is an enormous volume of people offering thanks and at-a-boys. Wading through all that to get to the comments with content is tedious. If the number of BMG commentators increased twenty-fold we’d see a number of changes:
The banter to content ratio would make the commenting thinner.
We’d become more unknown to one another. Right now I have some idea of what Yellow Dog, Trickle up, and liveandletlive think. With many more active participants, that becomes difficult.
A tenfold increase in conservative provocateurs could lead to unpleasant increases in snark or vituperation.
If BMG does grow a lot, then the whole system of commenting, ignoring, rating, promotion, and content management would have to change to keep it interesting to read.
liveandletlivesays
It’s user friendly, easy to follow the conversation. But it never hurts to try something new, especially if the tools can be used by each person as a choice, but doesn’t
change the entirety of the conversation for all users.
Freedom of speech is one of the greatest things about this blog. I’d hate to see that disappear.
lightirissays
But it never hurts to try something new, especially if the tools can be used by each person as a choice, but doesn’t
change the entirety of the conversation for all users.
<
p>This is a money quote.
<
p>Every time I read some of the more strident folks on this side, my blood pressure spikes. I know it’s all an organized effort to kill me by cerebral hemorrhage, so I’m all about seizing control of my own cerebrovascular future. Plus, on the up-side for people who read this site, they will be spared my inability to control my own tendency to Manage A Classroom, a shortcoming of which I am well aware. I admit I do fight the urge to snap my fingers at other people’s ill-behaved children in grocery stores and restaurants.
<
p>Spare yourselves; save my life. Vote for a personal “ignore” function at your next opportunity and consign me to permanent lurk status.
p>As for structure, it would be nice to have the option of sorting threads by date or rating or # of ratings.
<
p>”Ignore” would save me a lot of time (I’m a sucker for certain trolls), but I don’t know how that wouldn’t break the thread structure.
huhsays
Hi, I’m Huh and I’m a trollaholic…
johndsays
huhsays
If guilt helps you get there, great.
johndsays
I know we have differences of opinions but even through all your snipe responses to many of my snide remarks… I don’t think you have a problem. And I know I’m far more judgmental than you are but I still think you just disagree with me and believe in what you believe in. Why can’t I just disagree with you and instead have to “have a problem”?
huhsays
I should have gone with “Guilty as charged.”
<
p>That said, your thinking you don’t have a problem is precisely why we want an ignore button. That and your reading comprehension.
stomvsays
I’d like to be able to rearrange the left margin and right margin widgits to the order that are useful to me.
<
p>On the left, I’d have
Cal
ads
Active Users
Search
Menu
Blog Roll
About
Googlesearch
<
p>and on the right I’d have
ads
Mass o’P
twitter updates
<
p>
<
p>Why not let me resort, where BMG inserts ads wherever they dang well please?
eb3-fka-ernie-boch-iiisays
nobody will read what I write.
<
p>Hey, what the hey?
dcsohlsays
Hey, what the hey.
eb3-fka-ernie-boch-iiisays
stomvsays
but he drew the short straw this week. Last week Lynne got it (second time in 2009!), and before that it was Rye. It’s a BMG policy that somebody get stuck reading your drivel posts each week just to make sure you’re still talkin’ jive.
charley-on-the-mta says
My goodness, a killfile would be like back-to-the-future Usenet technology. And very welcome.
christopher says
Our rating system takes care of ratings.
<
p>Not sure what the choices would be for how to order the comments. I like how responses are nested now.
<
p>Ignore user – I can certainly come up with candidates for this one:)
johnd says
sabutai says
If you don’t know who, it’s probably you.
lightiris says
I know there are a few here whose comments actually shrink the sum total of knowledge in the world.
<
p>A “smite this diary” (thumbs up/down) indicator would be cool, too. I don’t mean that someone’s diary would disappear from view like a zeroed-out comment, but an opportunity to vote would be neat.
huh says
Or at least the ability to unrecommend.
stomv says
I don’t want a hive mentality killing marginal posting, and frankly I don’t trust my “comrades” to make that decision for me. In other words, “ignore” stuff may not be worth the cost. Just let the 0 rating solve it and know that people can be smart enough in a community of posters this small to simply not feed the trolls.
jasiu says
I believe from the description that the ignore feature is something that would apply for each of us personally. I.e., if you find that you no longer want to read my comments, you set me to “ignore”. It is your own personal filter.
<
p>Your ignore settings do not affect what anyone else sees.
farnkoff says
As it’s ever been, how can we screw it up? “New Coke”, anyone?
lightiris says
the “hive” silence anybody. The “ignore” function would be a personal preference. If you wanted to read every scintillating detail of what’s posted here, you can do that. If I didn’t, however, I could put a particular person on “ignore” status and be spared.
trickle-up says
cuz:
<
p>1) We’ve got one rating system, is the Globe’s better?
<
p>2) We’ve got threaded comments, which is good for discussion. Sorting every-which way would break that. (Works for if you want every comment to be about the article or diary, though.)
<
p>3) Ignore user might be fun but you’d see replies to that user anyway. (And it sort of breaks peer-rating, don’t you think, if the “worst” posters are ignored and only the second-worst are modded down?)
<
p>I think BMG is more of a conversation, a community, than the Globe comments section for goodness sakes. Continuity and shared experience are more important here than there. I hope you’ll keep that in mind when contemplating any changes.
kbusch says
The main reason I’d want to throw up an ignore is to be able to reroute conversations back to the topic and away from the ravings.
<
p>Scale, though, is very significant here. One of the problems I have with Daily Kos is that there is an enormous volume of people offering thanks and at-a-boys. Wading through all that to get to the comments with content is tedious. If the number of BMG commentators increased twenty-fold we’d see a number of changes:
If BMG does grow a lot, then the whole system of commenting, ignoring, rating, promotion, and content management would have to change to keep it interesting to read.
liveandletlive says
It’s user friendly, easy to follow the conversation. But it never hurts to try something new, especially if the tools can be used by each person as a choice, but doesn’t
change the entirety of the conversation for all users.
Freedom of speech is one of the greatest things about this blog. I’d hate to see that disappear.
lightiris says
<
p>This is a money quote.
<
p>Every time I read some of the more strident folks on this side, my blood pressure spikes. I know it’s all an organized effort to kill me by cerebral hemorrhage, so I’m all about seizing control of my own cerebrovascular future. Plus, on the up-side for people who read this site, they will be spared my inability to control my own tendency to Manage A Classroom, a shortcoming of which I am well aware. I admit I do fight the urge to snap my fingers at other people’s ill-behaved children in grocery stores and restaurants.
<
p>Spare yourselves; save my life. Vote for a personal “ignore” function at your next opportunity and consign me to permanent lurk status.
<
p>Thank you very much. Also.
syphax says
He’s promised…
<
p>As for structure, it would be nice to have the option of sorting threads by date or rating or # of ratings.
<
p>”Ignore” would save me a lot of time (I’m a sucker for certain trolls), but I don’t know how that wouldn’t break the thread structure.
huh says
Hi, I’m Huh and I’m a trollaholic…
johnd says
huh says
If guilt helps you get there, great.
johnd says
I know we have differences of opinions but even through all your snipe responses to many of my snide remarks… I don’t think you have a problem. And I know I’m far more judgmental than you are but I still think you just disagree with me and believe in what you believe in. Why can’t I just disagree with you and instead have to “have a problem”?
huh says
I should have gone with “Guilty as charged.”
<
p>That said, your thinking you don’t have a problem is precisely why we want an ignore button. That and your reading comprehension.
stomv says
I’d like to be able to rearrange the left margin and right margin widgits to the order that are useful to me.
<
p>On the left, I’d have
Cal
ads
Active Users
Search
Menu
Blog Roll
About
Googlesearch
<
p>and on the right I’d have
ads
Mass o’P
twitter updates
<
p>
<
p>Why not let me resort, where BMG inserts ads wherever they dang well please?
eb3-fka-ernie-boch-iii says
nobody will read what I write.
<
p>Hey, what the hey?
dcsohl says
Hey, what the hey.
eb3-fka-ernie-boch-iii says
stomv says
but he drew the short straw this week. Last week Lynne got it (second time in 2009!), and before that it was Rye. It’s a BMG policy that somebody get stuck reading your
drivelposts each week just to make sure you’re still talkin’ jive.mr-lynne says
somervilletom says
I see no “comment” links at all on any of today’s boston.com stories. I got their notification email, so they apparently know about me.
<
p>If it’s working for anybody else, could you post a link to a specific comment thread? I’m wondering if something is broken on my end.