There are two ways to accomplish this. Both the Suffolk News Herald and the Pilot require a simple registration. Name and email address. Once registered all that is required to comment is your name. This makes sense for your protection from those that could use your name for an ulterior motive. Having your email address allows us, only us to check the validity of the comment.
The other method is just a requirement the commenter attach his/her name.
In either case the usual rules would apply as stated on the first page of “IS.”
As monitor of “IS” I get many cheap shots when a reader is upset, not in agreement, or just doesn’t think I’m a nice guy. The most recent was, “You are a sick old man.” Although the writer was partially correct (85+ is chronologically old) I declined publishing it. For all I know he may be older and sicker. I suspect either requirement would improve spelling, grammar, and eliminate pointless one-liners. Spelling and grammar is no problem if a writer’s comment is sincere and apropos. We would appreciate hearing from you on the above two choices.
8 comments:
How his this had an impact at the SNH? Are comments up? Down? While I wish everyone would sign his or her name, I think that requiring folks to do so will limit discussion rather than broaden it. Does it matter who submits an idea if the thinking is worth sharing?
There are some places that anon is not appropriate such as writing a letter to the School Board or Council. Members can't be expected to make decisions based on anon ideas.
Let's consider for now, allowing the anon moniker. Let's also encourage others to share their names. I was pleased that Mike Duman, for example, wrote and shared with the IS community some of his thoughts. I'd so like to see others join in to do the same.
Maybe we need a new slogan:
Bob blogs it; you decide.
People can still just create an email and add any John Does name to the account. I think it may slow comments but probably more trouble than it's worth.
Every blog that I have taken part in they all use monkiers.Even the powerful SNH.
Drop the Anonymous entirely from IS and let it die a slow death. We can assume from this Post that many comments were deleted that may have been worthy of consideration and discussion, however they did not fit neatly into an agenda. We will never know exactly how many. That information resides with the IS administrator.
Calling anyone a sick old man is indeed disgraceful, as is censoring comments that were not slanderous. The name calling of candidate Martin was frequent, abusive and unfair, but was allowed while others demanding accountability and protesting were never posted. Those means achieved the goals of the commentator and a specific agenda to elect Mr. Duman. Varney was also a victim of similar treatment from his opponent that generated cries from commentators for a Gardy recall. A double standard to be sure.
As we have learned recently from Mr. Duman's comment; "Honor isn't about making the right choises. It's about dealing with the circumstances." I believe Mr. Varney put it best; "Truth and honor go hand in hand. A man of honor will always defend the truth and his friends at any cost!" Honesty like truth, are fleeting when one's finger constantly rests on the delete button and can never be recovered once compromised. Even a spry 85 year old World War Two Veteran should know that. Learning should never stop regardless of age. There's always a thing or two we can learn about in the fundementals of democracy and the constitution if we are willing to admit it. I doubt this comment will be posted but nevertheless the administrator has read it. So be it.
I vote for trying just name at this point. I think it would add to the discussions. This Anonymous person is very frustrating. His endless posts are all over the map. He or she may want to use the pseudonym Sybil.
I have lived here 9 years and only recently found this Blog. I am grateful to find a site that includes local issues and people. RPock you provide a service to Suffolk. I can understand your concerns with maintaining standards, civility, and integrity in this open forum.
I call dibs on Wade!
Personally, I'd prefer to see either a name or any consistent moniker to allow people to associate good ideas with individual contributors. Most bloggers recognize their favorite contributors even if they can't identify them. But at least these favorites are confident enough to put their ideas out there under some device that lets us associate separate comments over time with an individual.
But I also understand that one of the main goals of IS is to increase transparency in city business. As such, it's valuable to hear from those close enough to have information that is relevant to issues--and that often means comments from teachers, municipal staff, developers, professionals-- people close enough to matters that people should care about who know what's going on. Some of these individuals could be placed at some risk if they were readily identified by others in their respective organizations. We've seen too often that that senior municipal officials and city and school staff look out for themselves first--and are not shy about going after anyone who becomes a threat to their comfortable existence feeding from the public trough!
So I understand why people who take the business of being a Public Servant seriously may not be willing to blow the whistle when they see improper behavior or waste if they can't do so under some cover. So pick a name--and name--and keep it. This can't help but improve the quality and the consistency of IS. Let readers recognize contributors who know what they are talking about and let us look forward to your comments. Sure beats hundreds of unrelated comments from the same Anonymous! That does get old--and it also encourages cheap shots and shallowness. We all enjoy clever and biting commentary but it's time to weed some of the ignorant rants and baseless accusations that Pock tries to avoid subjecting IS readers to.
Sites like IS took off over the years when the commercial media stopped filling their proper role in a free society. Remember when the SNH used to dig into city corruption, incompetence, unethical behavior, or other activities City officials preferred to keep hidden? How did the City respond? The City Manager at the time pulled it's advertising until the SNH reeled in it's reporters, fired them, chopped their blog, and eventually forced the Editor out. The SNH quickly became a loyal lapdog and a cheerleader for the city, readership evaporated, and IS expanded! So we're here to get information into the public domain when we can find it, ask better questions when we can't, provide some alternative ideas to elected official than what they may be getting from self-interested city staffers, and invite some of our very knowledgeable readers to help share what they know with the rest of us.
During the recent past local election, I must have talked to 50 or so people and at some point mentioned IS, or as we sometimes called it "the Blog."
Virtually all the people with whom I talked said they wouldn't read IS, but at least half of them eventually proceeded to quote something they had seen in IS.
Your very powerful voice in our community is exceeded only by your amazing ability to get your messages delivered to and quoted by so many who say they would "never" read or rely upon your messages.
Not bad for a "sick, old man."
Even though this last comment was in jest, I do find it distasteful and would never have repeated it here if Mr Pock had not been so gracious as to quote the nut case who had directed it to him, perhaps another person who would "never" read your blog.
Mr Mears,
I don't mean to offend by directing my comment just to you, but I recently tried to contact you by phone and wasn't sure which one was you.
My only purpose is to tell you that many of us enjoyed your Tea Party article, and I now wonder if you would do a follow-up commentary after the election.
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