I've been seeing a lot of comment trash over the past 72 hours. At the request of readers, I'm now taking a much harder line on posts that are abusive, overly speculative, or that appear written by 5-year-olds. This blog is for adults.Total comments rejected since I first posted this, Saturday night:
- Irrelevant: 18
- Abusive: 4
Got a tip, but can't give sources in a comment? Write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green rail, upper right.
[Image: a local Information Center trash can, Flickr]
[Image: a local Information Center trash can, Flickr]
Finally... makes a lot of sense. Thanks for doing it.
ReplyDeleteScott
Thank you, Jim.
ReplyDeleteHallelujah!
ReplyDeleteWondering - Can you delete posts without a post saying it's been deleted? That, too, would make things less chaotic. In a case where someone has posted something inadvertently deletable -- politics fir example -- then a public explanation could help. But in most cases, sari tolerance.
Whatver you decide, this is a good step.
Why not just let the wild west, be the wild west? If you censor something or anything, aren't you just silencing the voices that contribute? I know it's your blog, but why dictate?
ReplyDeleteBravo....I'm a huge fan of the blog, but wading through that crap was reducing the time I spend here.
ReplyDeleteYou constrict the color and flavor of the blog by censoring. Just because some people "get offended" doesn't mean you should change the policies that contribute to your success.
ReplyDeleteInformation wants to be free. Always has, always will.
C'mon Man.
Good move, Jim. People who take this blog and the work you do seriously will be behind your decision all the way.
ReplyDeleteI wish you didn't have to Jim, but if it helps to keep the animals caged I'm all for it.
ReplyDeleteThis is your sandbox. And if the brats and bullies can't play nice, then you don't have to let them play.
Looking forward to more good stuff.
Thank you.
ReplyDeletePlease continue to keep live posting when stuff may be breaking.
Thank you! I'm sending you more money today. Honestly, I was going to stop coming here altogether because I dont want to be exposed to so much hate everyday while I'm already stressing about our futures, immediate and long-term.
ReplyDeleteI am once again thankful you are here, and appreciate you taking this step to add to the blog's usefulness and productivity.
I am sorry for all the crap you've endured while trying to serve the best interests of this blog, and I applaud you for keeping us on track.
Have a great day!
Sorry Jim. I appreciate it's more work for you and it cuts down on the 'conversational' aspects of the blog, but no real conversation occurs anyway when people are yelling "Frist!" "Homo!" and "NEW JERSEY ROCKS!"
ReplyDeleteThanks for the change. Good luck with the balancing act.
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'm experiencing a great sense of relief.
Thank you, Jim. I hope this policy also applies to Jersey Confidential, where some of the worst offenders hang out.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't censorship. It's common sense. Free speech doesn't mean anything goes in a public place. The same rules should apply that set standards for any other media.
ReplyDeleteIn no way will Jim be removing content. Just the noise will be reduced.
Thank you, Jim - finally. This blog is all about GCI and its units, and as a former employee, it's my best source of news.
ReplyDelete10:31's tip is something to think about. It's been very frustrating having to scroll through all the wasted space.
Way to go, Jim! Journalists call it "editing." Drunk-with-freedom netizens will slowly learn its importance.
ReplyDeleteI know it's more work for you, but there are too many people out there who believe "Anonymous" means "anything goes." I appreciate your efforts to clear of the spam.
ReplyDeleteThere will always be unsubstantiated rumors about layoffs, closings and additional furloughs. I'm sure we can filter through that ourselves, but hateful flame messages and unnecessary profanity can easily be deleted without any accusation of censorship of ideas and information.
Thank you!
Truth be told, it's less time-consuming to delete comments beforehand, than afterhand. (i read your comments throughout my waking day via iPhone).
ReplyDeleteIf anyone suffers in this switch, it is responsible reader, who now experience small delays before I move their comments into the publishing queue.
Plus: I write more typoz, when blogging by iPhone.
ReplyDeleteThank you for making this switch. All of those garbage posts started to make it so much more difficult to keep up with the topic of, well, Gannett on this blog primarily (not exclusively) focusing on the company.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about typoz, Jim. The more you type, the better any smartphone gets at autocompletion tuned to your usage.
ReplyDeleteGreat move Jim
ReplyDeleteNow, if Gannett web sties could do the same thing with comments on news stories, maybe they would earn some credibility.
Good for you, Jim. I was astonished at the nasty personal slurs of the past week. Indeed, they fall into both your categories: abusive & irrelevant. You don't deserve it.
ReplyDeleteI suspect as the end of the first quarter approaches, and that's not far off, everyone is going to really tune into this blog more than ever. So your close editing will be most appreviated. I'm a layoff from December but still very interested in what's going on.
10:13, you're dead on there. My website is brutal when it comes to racist, sexist and just plain ignorant comments on stories or posts in forums.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is the web site is only a part time gig for our online editor and the dinos refuse to learn anything new, like anything that has to do with the website.
Gannett has cut every newsroom so thin that we can no longer moderate our sites.
Like you Jim, I've gone to the moderated comments model on any blog I've done for years because there are always trolls with nothing better to do but bring down a quality operation.
Aggressive editing (in this case) is added value. I sent you $20 worth of thank yous!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking that most of the moronic haters were non gannett people who were just trying to get keep us upset.We just need to go to work to have a fresh dose of "upset". AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Jim. That weird anti-gay stuff was ... well, extremely weird, in addition to being sick-making.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeletethank you for your newest editing changes.
ReplyDeleteIt's obvious that the person writing this blog can't take his own medicine. He's whining about how people are saying mean things and being mean to him and other people. bla bla bla. Plaaa-eeeeeeese. If you can't take the heat and the reactions people have from this dumb blog, then take it down. Very simple. It's a-ok to write whatever you want, but then censor people who respond? Now THAT's real journalism.
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason why some people are still working and other people are not.