A few comments on "Comments"
10/02/12 01:28 PM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom
Regular readers of unclebarky.com likely have noticed that the "Comments" option at the end of posts has vanished.
There are two reasons for this.
Number one, the "widget" I've been using has been discontinued, effective on midnight on Oct. 1st. And secondly, after lots of thought, I've decided to drop this option.
The great majority of commenters over the years have for the most part been responsible. And they've been greatly appreciated, too. Increasingly, though, petty personal attacks have been seeping in. And they've become just too much trouble to police in addition to all the writing that's done for this site by its sole content provider.
I think the point of possibly no return came when the potential Fox4 hire of Laura Moss was reported. She came under some pretty vile attacks from a handful of anonymous snipers whose comments were deleted after I discovered them. But it took a while, and Moss didn't deserve to be hung out there in the interim. She hasn't complained. Not a bit. But I felt like an enabler for those who called her various names and made allegations that simply couldn't be substantiated.
All comments used to come through my email, which made it far easier to promptly monitor them. But in the dying months of the "Comment" mechanism, many of them simply popped up on various pages of unclebarky.com. And when posts go into the monthly archives -- many of them years old -- the cheap attacks are much harder to keep track of.
Ending comments will reduce the number of repeat visitors -- some of them knuckle-draggers who delight in hit-and-run insults. But this site has never made any real money from advertisers, so a reduction in overall "traffic" is not a concern anymore. I trust that those who enjoy the reviews and information -- from both a local and national perspective -- will still be regular readers of unclebarky.com. That's the primary reason this site exists.
Those who may have been reluctant to be interviewed by me -- for fear that they'd then be beaten up in the comments section -- can now rest easier. And I'm also free to occasionally tackle touchy issues of race and politics without hesitation.
Those who want to react to future posts are free to do so via email. My address will now be included at the end of each post. And don't worry, I'm not going to "out" anybody. Protecting the confidences of readers and sources has always been standard operating procedure here.
I'll have the leeway to occasionally post reactions to stories. But I'll also get to pick and choose which comments are used. It's not a perfect way to deal with this situation, but I hope readers will know that my principal objective from the start has been to provide you with information on D-FW and national television that isn't readily available elsewhere.
The many intelligent and thoughtful commenters know who they are. And I'll miss your input. The stealth bombers also know who they are. And I won't miss you at all.
Here's my email address. Please feel to use it when the spirit moves.
unclebarky@verizon.net (Ed Bark)
@unclebarkycom
Regular readers of unclebarky.com likely have noticed that the "Comments" option at the end of posts has vanished.
There are two reasons for this.
Number one, the "widget" I've been using has been discontinued, effective on midnight on Oct. 1st. And secondly, after lots of thought, I've decided to drop this option.
The great majority of commenters over the years have for the most part been responsible. And they've been greatly appreciated, too. Increasingly, though, petty personal attacks have been seeping in. And they've become just too much trouble to police in addition to all the writing that's done for this site by its sole content provider.
I think the point of possibly no return came when the potential Fox4 hire of Laura Moss was reported. She came under some pretty vile attacks from a handful of anonymous snipers whose comments were deleted after I discovered them. But it took a while, and Moss didn't deserve to be hung out there in the interim. She hasn't complained. Not a bit. But I felt like an enabler for those who called her various names and made allegations that simply couldn't be substantiated.
All comments used to come through my email, which made it far easier to promptly monitor them. But in the dying months of the "Comment" mechanism, many of them simply popped up on various pages of unclebarky.com. And when posts go into the monthly archives -- many of them years old -- the cheap attacks are much harder to keep track of.
Ending comments will reduce the number of repeat visitors -- some of them knuckle-draggers who delight in hit-and-run insults. But this site has never made any real money from advertisers, so a reduction in overall "traffic" is not a concern anymore. I trust that those who enjoy the reviews and information -- from both a local and national perspective -- will still be regular readers of unclebarky.com. That's the primary reason this site exists.
Those who may have been reluctant to be interviewed by me -- for fear that they'd then be beaten up in the comments section -- can now rest easier. And I'm also free to occasionally tackle touchy issues of race and politics without hesitation.
Those who want to react to future posts are free to do so via email. My address will now be included at the end of each post. And don't worry, I'm not going to "out" anybody. Protecting the confidences of readers and sources has always been standard operating procedure here.
I'll have the leeway to occasionally post reactions to stories. But I'll also get to pick and choose which comments are used. It's not a perfect way to deal with this situation, but I hope readers will know that my principal objective from the start has been to provide you with information on D-FW and national television that isn't readily available elsewhere.
The many intelligent and thoughtful commenters know who they are. And I'll miss your input. The stealth bombers also know who they are. And I won't miss you at all.
Here's my email address. Please feel to use it when the spirit moves.
unclebarky@verizon.net (Ed Bark)