Heavily trafficked blog launches bold new “tiered” commenting system
posted at 9:30 pm on July 15, 2009 by Allahpundit
No, not us. Not yet. But I’m not going to lie: I dig it.
Jezebel’s editor last week announced the site was designating a “Tier 1″ level of privileged contributors whose comments are “funniest, thoughtful, intelligent, well-argued” and who have proven themselves “engaged, intelligent, humorous, fair-minded, thoughtful, rational, etc.”
Their comments will be shown below each blog post. All others, in Tier 2, will be available only if a user clicks to see them. Tier 1 commenters, in addition, will have the right to bump comments from others up or down. Editors, ultimately, will have the final say.
Atheist commenters: Automatic Tier 1. No, seriously, what do people think of this? When I mentioned it to the boss, she worried that a tiered system would destroy the chat room feel that a lot of threads have (especially longer ones), but that could be fixed by giving each user the option of viewing tiered or untiered. The default would be tiered, letting casual/non-commenting readers see the best of the best when they read a post; regulars could turn the default off and go back to chat room mode. A tiered system would also give us an option short of banning people for bad behavior. My main concern is that feelings will inevitably be hurt when some people end up in Tier 2, but the consolation there, I guess, is that then they can berate me for being an elitist RINO poseur. Even more than usual, I mean.
I think we need to poll it.
Blowback
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Finally work up the nerve to comment? Don’t pee your pants.
HornetSting on July 15, 2009 at 9:56 PM
True story.
My introduction to this stuff came in 2000 when my frustrations over the Presidential elections were vented on the “Washington Post Forum.” They had a liberal traffic cop that was just looking for reasons to give 24-hour “time outs” to those who didn’t agree with her. There was literally a whole vocabulary of banned words- because of one poster’s desire to graphically describe what his dog thought of Gore, the word “spot” was one of the banned words on the site. It became absurd.
I’m against tiers. Society is full of idiots, smart people, and everything in between. You can’t edit who you encounter in life, why create a site that doesn’t mirror that reality?
highhopes on July 15, 2009 at 9:56 PM
BB, I think people tend to fall into an either/or with you….some LTAO, others bash….I like your humor!
bikermailman on July 15, 2009 at 9:56 PM
If we go to tiers, how will we beat up on the trolls?
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on July 15, 2009 at 9:57 PM
Good idea. We can have Ed standing there like Ed Valenti.
“But wait, there’s more!”
amerpundit on July 15, 2009 at 9:57 PM
Big question: Why is it that we should have tiers in commenting, but we have no need for a reply button that makes for neater responses to other posters, as well as a limited edit function?
MadisonConservative on July 15, 2009 at 9:57 PM
Thanks bro.
cheers,
fogw on July 15, 2009 at 9:57 PM
LOL, Allahpundit will be relegated to Tier 2.
DaveS on July 15, 2009 at 9:58 PM
As long as you allow me to run around your front yard in a G-String Bikini, covered in coconut oil and an Indian Headress, you move up to Tier 1-Allah.
HornetSting on July 15, 2009 at 9:58 PM
See? Now THIS is quality Tier 10 material; insulting, pointless, and almost completely devoid of useful content. I want to hang out with this guy.
Bishop on July 15, 2009 at 9:58 PM
idiot.
obviousorange on July 15,2009 at 9:55PM.
obviousorange: BlatantBlue is NO IDIOT,
Be careful,he walks the decks of Hot Air,
and toss’s trolls over the side,as needed!!
canopfor on July 15, 2009 at 9:58 PM
Used it in an old blog I used to help run and which is now thankfully kerput. Caused some problems,..more office politics, hurt feelings, and faction formation just due to human nature. Better to leave the competition for favors out, imo.
a capella on July 15, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Very well said.
Key West Reader on July 15, 2009 at 9:59 PM
I’m reposting my idea so it doesn’t get lost…
We need a public comment stack and a private comment stack…
ninjapirate on July 15, 2009 at 9:59 PM
No more tiers.
LibTired on July 15, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Nerve has nothing to do with it.
obviousorange on July 15, 2009 at 9:59 PM
There are better ways of bringing the traffic down…
d1carter on July 15, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Can we get a stimulus grant to study a tier system for HA?
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on July 15, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Would polite responses to tier one posts (such as “good point” or “I agree”) be put in tier one or tier two?
Leiren on July 15, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Pretty sure you accidentally left out my poll answer: It depends on what tier I’m in. :)
Anwyn on July 15, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Don’t we do the tier thing in our heads anyway? I do. Over the last two years, I’ve learned who to read and who not to read. I have my list of proven commenters, that’s all I need.
Weight of Glory on July 15, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Which wouldn’t usually be creepy, but HornetSting is a 50-year-old, 260-pound man with lots of hair everywhere but on his head. :-)
amerpundit on July 15, 2009 at 10:00 PM
HotAir……..brought to you by J&J Baby Shampoo.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on July 15, 2009 at 10:00 PM
Sounds like Nationalized Blog Commenting.
If you’re
not too sick or oldfunny enough, you get in.BobMbx on July 15, 2009 at 10:00 PM
Jeeze, I dont have a front yard… But I’m sure I can find some place for you to… er… run around dressed like that… :)
doriangrey on July 15, 2009 at 10:00 PM
Giggity?
daesleeper on July 15, 2009 at 10:00 PM
Oh, great. I’m over in the headlines having a debate with myself, and I’m getting creamed.
Jaibones on July 15, 2009 at 10:00 PM
Ya, same thing happened to me over at political Punch.
The moderator hated anything Obama bashing and I was sooooo good at it.
Then I bashed the moderator and poof… I was banned for good!
Hey Jakey, can you get me reinstated?
katy on July 15, 2009 at 10:01 PM
Oh, just to make it clear… only the top posters(friends of AP/Ed, green room contribs, people with descent blogs) would be viewable by the public or have the ability to copy posts from the private stack and move them to the public stack…
ninjapirate on July 15, 2009 at 10:01 PM
Great. I’ll be “tiered” and it probably won’t even be 2nd or 3rd.
Sorry, but who gets to decide who is “all that stuff up there” enough to be in tier 1, eh? Doesn’t sound terribly democratic, but it does sound like something a democrat would do.
4shoes on July 15, 2009 at 10:01 PM
Whoa, whoa, there Nellie. Lets just catch them up to 2004. If we allowed people to ignore users then we would never get those 1k post threads on cops gone wild and gay marriage.
DFCtomm on July 15, 2009 at 10:01 PM
So, in your estimation these would not be tiers of joy?
DaveS on July 15, 2009 at 10:01 PM
Funniest commentors get tier one? Man, I’ve got to bring on da snark.
Sarjex on July 15, 2009 at 10:01 PM
Now THIS is quality Tier 10 material:
Bishop on July 15,2009 at 9:58PM.
Bishop: I like your standardization,that means I get bumped
up to a whopping 7 maybe!!hehe:)
canopfor on July 15, 2009 at 10:01 PM
Uhh.. If you’re serious I think I’d have to watch.. From afar. With a net. Not the internet. Oil is taxable. Indian Headress is banned unless you pay the special bobby pin tax.
/Stewie from Family Guy
Key West Reader on July 15, 2009 at 10:01 PM
+Tier
LibTired on July 15, 2009 at 10:02 PM
So if a Tier 1 commenter responds to a Tier 2 commenter, only the response will show up? That seems slightly dumb.
Ronnie on July 15, 2009 at 10:02 PM
.
I like it! Incentivize comment QC! Itsthemericanway!
ronsfi on July 15, 2009 at 10:02 PM
I say No for now. But if and when the volume of comments are too much to keep up with, using a tiered approach might be a good option.
huckleberryfriend on July 15, 2009 at 10:02 PM
Just a thought:
- Conservatives: Tier 1
- RINOs: Tier 2
- Lib Trolls: Tier 8 (or whatever)
Jaibones on July 15, 2009 at 10:02 PM
All the ladies of HA can come to my tier
Mile High
blatantblue on July 15, 2009 at 10:02 PM
Sounds like something Al Gore would post.
patrick neid on July 15, 2009 at 10:03 PM
And this comes as a surprise to you why??
doriangrey on July 15, 2009 at 10:03 PM
7th layer of hell
blatantblue on July 15, 2009 at 10:03 PM
Exactly, I self-tier. Except for the trolls, I love the trolls.
*wipes away a tear in remembrance of mediahacks and her 1,000 word screeds*
Bishop on July 15, 2009 at 10:03 PM
Did you really mean to post less of a “conservation?” If that’s a typo it could effect your tier status!!!
After all posters who are the “funniest, thoughtful, intelligent, well-argued” and who have proven themselves “engaged, intelligent, humorous, fair-minded, thoughtful, and rational” are the good spellers too.
highhopes on July 15, 2009 at 10:03 PM
The Tiers of a Clown.
Jaibones on July 15, 2009 at 10:03 PM
The “Tiered” system smacks of elitism. It reminds me of High School and the cliques system or Animal Farm where some animals are more equal than others.
The current system is fine.
DeathB4Tyranny on July 15, 2009 at 10:03 PM
Hello, moron…
ladyingray on July 15, 2009 at 10:04 PM
Just track the IP of each commenter and report back to that address only that they are tier 1.
pedestrian on July 15, 2009 at 10:04 PM
Is tiered commenting like nested comments? If so, I like the idea. It would make it a lot easier to skip over the trolling and would allow people to go off on their own tangents without dragging all of the rest of us with them. I wouldn’t be insulted to be in a lower tier.
NoLeftTurn on July 15, 2009 at 10:04 PM
If you look closer, it’s easy to trace the tracks of my tiers.
LibTired on July 15, 2009 at 10:04 PM
What? And give up your status as Hot Air
moronhottie?The HORROR!!!!!
ladyingray on July 15, 2009 at 9:52 PM
He had my back last night. :)
txag92 on July 15, 2009 at 10:04 PM
Well, shut it. And change your pants. Geez.
HornetSting on July 15, 2009 at 10:04 PM
I might as well get the duct tape out and put in on my
mouthkeyboard…TN Mom on July 15, 2009 at 10:05 PM
Please send me an audition tape.
(I screen all personal videos for the HA crew)
BobMbx on July 15, 2009 at 10:05 PM
Or maybe a czar?
tbear44 on July 15, 2009 at 10:05 PM
Last I checked, this site isn’t a democracy. It’s private property.
MadisonConservative on July 15, 2009 at 10:05 PM
So that’s what you call it?
ladyingray on July 15, 2009 at 10:05 PM
If Allah is judging the tiers, all you have to do is praise Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush or God and you are Tier 2!
Man, we have censorship coming from our President (see the EPA guy who published the facts on non-Global Warming), the Congress (Harry Reid is trying to sneak the Fairness Doctrine into a Department of Defense funding bill this week) and now Hot Air! I vote “no” on all of them.
Christian Conservative on July 15, 2009 at 10:06 PM
LOL-Shameless suck-up.
-Dave
Dave R. on July 15, 2009 at 10:06 PM
the view was fantastic
blatantblue on July 15, 2009 at 10:06 PM
We share a love of aircraft so I will shoot in the pancreas anyone who tries to have you relegated to any tier other than Tier 1.
Bishop on July 15, 2009 at 10:06 PM
Hey, I remember that witch. Deathtomediahacks, nonfactor, BennyS, AprilOrit, DRywall, who am I forgetting?
Jaibones on July 15, 2009 at 10:06 PM
You are soooo in over your head.
katy on July 15, 2009 at 10:06 PM
I just remembered…whatever became of “Look For The Union Label” sethstorm?
ddrintn on July 15, 2009 at 10:06 PM
Horrible idea
It discourages new voices and encourages those who post way too much and those who hijack threads
Son of Sam Kinison on July 15, 2009 at 10:06 PM
You know what will improve HotAir’s comments system? Blood, sweat, and tiers.
DaveS on July 15, 2009 at 10:06 PM
You’ve changed, man.
Jaibones on July 15, 2009 at 10:07 PM
Not me, dammit. ALLAH! When I go out in my backyard in a G-String Bikini, covered in coconut oil and wearing an Indian Headress, planes crash and pilots bring me flowers and engagement rings…..:)
HornetSting on July 15, 2009 at 10:07 PM
Rest in Peace
Death to Media Slacks
get a wife / g0t my life back
blatantblue on July 15, 2009 at 10:07 PM
effect/affect/whatever
Ronnie on July 15, 2009 at 10:07 PM
*rimshot*
MadisonConservative on July 15, 2009 at 10:07 PM
So would this be like when Daily Kos deletes comments that they don’t like?
SoulGlo on July 15, 2009 at 10:07 PM
satanlet, crapitulus, and athensboi.
daesleeper on July 15, 2009 at 10:07 PM
No. it’s a caste system for commenters, with limited visibility, depending on ones tier. It’s moronic and doesn’t belong anywhere near a self-described “conservative” blog.
Nesting would be a big improvement. It won’t be done, for that reason, alone.
progressoverpeace on July 15, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Anybody who “signs” their comments so that their name shows up right about their name, as though we wouldn’t otherwise know who the commenter was, is relegated!
DaveS on July 15, 2009 at 10:08 PM
I thought that I was the only who self-tiered. After reading HA for 6 months prior to registration opened up I came to know who was worth reading and who could be passed. I do read short posts so as not to miss wit, sarc and snark.
thomasaur on July 15, 2009 at 10:08 PM
That’s not very nice. Mean people go to Tier 2.
Jaibones on July 15, 2009 at 10:09 PM
getalife. When did DRywall get banned?
Christian Conservative on July 15, 2009 at 10:09 PM
That is a specious comment
blatantblue on July 15, 2009 at 10:09 PM
I agree entirely.
–amerpundit
amerpundit on July 15, 2009 at 10:09 PM
Hmmm, you make it so difficult… :P
doriangrey on July 15, 2009 at 10:10 PM
Heck, I kept hoisting the lib moderators at a modeling site on their own petards and they went all animal farm to where I not only had to be better behaved than any other person there, but had to nail them with double entendre’s. When Obama was taking his senate seat in Illinois, those Illinois people banned me…I haven’t looked back but now they lie about it to cover themselves.
cozmo on July 15, 2009 at 10:10 PM
UGH!
canopfor on July 15, 2009 at 10:10 PM
the view was fantastic
blatantblue on July 15, 2009 at 10:06 PM
Thanks cutlet. :)
txag92 on July 15, 2009 at 10:10 PM
Hear f’ing hear.
If you didn’t want to make your real name your username, why the hell are you signing it at the end of your post anyway?
If your real name is your username, why the hell are you signing it at the end of your post?
MadisonConservative on July 15, 2009 at 10:10 PM
If you put funny comments in top, then your tiers could lead to laughter.
DaveS on July 15, 2009 at 10:10 PM
highhopes,
I had forgotten about “spot”.
It would be nice to be able to identify which commenters you want to read; unfortunately, I don’t have time to go through all the comments, so most of the time I don’t read them at all.
exhelodrvr on July 15, 2009 at 10:11 PM
Now you have me really down, I forgot about AprilOrit.
As for Sethstorm, I think he probably finally boiled his own brain with all the anger he had stored-up; that guy was furious at just about everyone.
Bishop on July 15, 2009 at 10:11 PM
Cough cough… says the guy giving himself a beating in the headlines… :P
doriangrey on July 15, 2009 at 10:11 PM
How could I forget?! It’s not a banned list; just nostalgia.
Jaibones on July 15, 2009 at 10:11 PM
So much for the family friendly atmosphere ’round here. :-)
coldwarrior on July 15, 2009 at 10:11 PM
Where is MB4? I’m sure he would have some great quotes for this tier idea.
progressoverpeace on July 15, 2009 at 10:11 PM
At least the tier system won’t be based on looks.
txag92 on July 15, 2009 at 10:11 PM
I think all of the trolls should be tiered.
Nuts4koi on July 15, 2009 at 10:11 PM
ALLAHPUNDIT,
Don’t much like the tier idea, as it smacks of elitism (LOL-unless it is done by length of membership, heh, heh) but it would be nice of HA were to switch over to Drupal, which is what NewsBusters uses.
It is much easier to hold and follow conversations over there, as you can reply right underneath the comment you are responding to.
LOL-Hell, I am 45 now, and I am getting CTS from wearing out my mouse wheel over here.
Just a thought.
-Dave
Dave R. on July 15, 2009 at 10:11 PM
Hmmm.
*tosses HS a can of Steel Reserve and a Wal-Mart sports watch*
MadisonConservative on July 15, 2009 at 10:11 PM
Did you learn that word in school today?
katy on July 15, 2009 at 10:12 PM
I am sure that liberal thinking people will like the “progressive” feel of a tiered system.
paulsur on July 15, 2009 at 10:12 PM
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