Heavily trafficked blog launches bold new “tiered” commenting system
posted at 9:30 pm on July 15, 2009 by Allahpundit
Share on Facebook | printer-friendly
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 ... 3 4 5 6 7 Next »
I’m just trying to balance out all the “Oh Noes! Don’t change a thing! Don’t make me impotent cause this is all I have left in life” BS by many the regulars here… I don’t even want to be in the top tier and I don’t post here that often(though I read it everyday)… We need comment reform like yesterday… and my system should be good for all… let me tell you what it is again[last time I promise]…
the top tier people should be picked not because they’re the best commenters but because they’re well liked and they put the best face forward… they should be greenroom contributors or have their own blog where they regularly articulate their thoughts…
This will be better because there will be an even more intimate community on the private side(this reform won’t result in a clique) and the outsiders will be protected from some of the jackassery that occurs here… like this from me…
AP you’ll get Moar hits! Moar hits! Moar hits!
Against the Mob!!11!!867-5209!!!1!
ninjapirate on July 15, 2009 at 11:13 PM
I’m going to have to go with the nesting option (possibly with a rating system per comment per thread)
Someone else mentioned Slashdot as a good example, you can set the threshold you want to view, allows easier reading of “conversations” and provides minimal filtering without having to constantly police things.
darury on July 15, 2009 at 11:14 PM
heshtesh on July 15, 2009 at 11:10 PM
Your welcome.
/long live Jambi!
massrighty on July 15, 2009 at 11:14 PM
postable and viewable only by members
ninjapirate on July 15, 2009 at 11:14 PM
I vote for both of these.
Esthier on July 15, 2009 at 11:15 PM
Make comments pay only, with cost tied to value.
TinMan13 on July 15, 2009 at 11:15 PM
Good advice. If I listened earlier, I wouldn’t be here. But that’s just the trouble with me. I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.
Cheshire Cat on July 15, 2009 at 11:15 PM
An Edit function?? Surely you jest… nothing *that* radical has ever been conceived of let alone implemented, anywhere, on the face of the blogosphere. But there you go, pushing that envelope, asking for the moon & the stars again, getting our hopes up… I don’t even know what to make of it all, it sounds so pie-in-the-sky… might as well get back to my horse-drawn plow duties.
The Reply button is only half as amazing, but still well outside the realm of possibility. Sorry! Back to repairin’ me waterwheel, methinks.
Liked your idea before you dropped the other shoe :) How about what we have now, plus the ability to send private messages or have ‘private’ rooms of sorts?
FWIW I think the the biggest issue lately is the infestation by ‘benign’ trolls on particularly important threads that say nothing controversial, but deploy in groups just as a head of steam is beginning to build. It happens on just about every Palin thread launched over the weekends. Right after some significant discussions begin to develop (and usually not beforehand, interestingly enough), suddenly 4+ pages of “what are you doing for dinner” and “how you do say that in Chinese” show up from an army of handles I’ve never seen before in my life. Grant you, none of them is overtly belligerent or conducive to drawing the ban-hammer. Well played indeed.
But if certain site principals (like Ed/Allah + the Green Room corps) could vote these particular people down (whether through a quorum or individually), then everyone else’s comments could remain unadulterated on the ‘default Tier’, maybe preventing those threads from being snuffed out.
We can only hope that, if HA does moves us to tiers ;), those like you describe could be made honorary Tier 1 members. (With the understanding that demotion is only one hastily-posted comment away… now where was that ‘Edit’ button again?)
RD on July 15, 2009 at 11:15 PM
ninjapirate on July 15, 2009 at 11:13 PM
Jenny’s number is 867-5309
(I got it! – I got your number off the wall!)
massrighty on July 15, 2009 at 11:15 PM
I would rather have a system by which HotAir regular’s, (registered over a year, maybe), can vote to promote (a copy of) certain comments to the top of the page while leaving the rest of the comments visible below, as they are now. Maybe use a FIFO like the Headlines, but perhaps with only 5 promoted comments visible and the option of viewing a history.
Have some guidelines for promoted comments and/or run them through moderation.
If there’s going to be an elite tier of members here, I would rather we all had an opportunity to vote for them at some regular interval instead of having them selected.
FloatingRock on July 15, 2009 at 11:17 PM
Don’t looney bins like the Democtactic Underground do this?
The great thing about HA is the wide range of opinions from all across the politcal spectrum.
Why ruin a good thing ???
Son of Sam Kinison on July 15, 2009 at 11:17 PM
I called Julie…
ninjapirate on July 15, 2009 at 11:17 PM
/long live Jambi!
massrighty on July 15, 2009 at 11:14 PM
Jambi??
heshtesh on July 15, 2009 at 11:18 PM
It’s “867-5309.
Tier 5 for you getting the song wrong and Tier 6 for me being a jerk and pointing it out.
Bishop on July 15, 2009 at 11:18 PM
LOL! I guess that puts me at tier CARDBOARD or tier Dryer Lint or….is there anything lower then dryer lint?
Oh wait!!! I know, I know!!! Tier Dirty Dishwater!!! That’s the tier I want!!!
Vntnrse on July 15, 2009 at 11:19 PM
Cool!
For what it’s worth, there’s a house cleaning service in Rhode Island (called Jenny’s cleaning, natch,) that uses 401-867-5309 as their service phone number.
massrighty on July 15, 2009 at 11:20 PM
I used to spend a lot more time commenting here, but I’ve backed off as HA became, like LGF, a victim of its own success. Please don’t go around the bend on me like Charles did, ok?
I’ll be glad to be a powerdude or whatever. I’ll be witty and trenchant, if the signal to noise ratio is right.
Pablo on July 15, 2009 at 11:20 PM
It’s a good poem, but will it get you into Tier 1?
What is this with the tier thing? What about perfectly respectable conservative commenters, non trolls, who just aren’t famous around here? I think they should have as much chance to be read as anyone else.
Have read many truly fantastic comments starting with “I rarely post but…”
inviolet on July 15, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Not a chance.
FloatingRock on July 15, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Jambi the Genii granted wishes on PeeWee’s playhouse. (I’m not that young, but my kids were, once.)
After he granted the wish, he said; “Your wish is granted. Long live Jambi.”
massrighty on July 15, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Julie’s number is
867-5209
I got it! – I got your number off the net
dddave on July 15, 2009 at 11:22 PM
Tier Whale Shit. That’s the absolute lowest.
exhelodrvr on July 15, 2009 at 11:22 PM
That’s a good idea, though once in long while the trolls really do spark a good conversation.
FloatingRock on July 15, 2009 at 11:23 PM
There is not a wide range of opinions here… there is not much real debate here either… it’s a freak’n mob where people goade each other into a freenzy spewing out sentiment… it’s a lot more fun and less nasty than freeperland, but there needs to be a public and private face to what goes on here… hotair is fun and should be only considered for fun only, my comment will keep it that way…
ninjapirate on July 15, 2009 at 11:23 PM
tier sperm whale sperm
blatantblue on July 15, 2009 at 11:24 PM
No, that’s Gem Plumbing. They’re pretty funny. And they smell good!
Pablo on July 15, 2009 at 11:24 PM
mebbe “reply to post” feature like every blog since I threw out the 5.5″ floppy.
If I wish to call out an idiot, it would be easier if “reply to” were an option. The mobys would then be contained to a certain minute, and conversation could carry on in a fluid manner w/o the time waster of scrolling back to see what some randy random said two days ago.
By that time, I imagine others like me might have lost interest in the asshattery of the original post. I’m so damned busy these days.
roscopico on July 15, 2009 at 11:25 PM
yeah but that’s tier level 22 or 23 or something…
Vntnrse on July 15, 2009 at 11:25 PM
And specific comments by regular users that quoted or replied to the demoted users might also move to the ‘under-tier’ so that the ‘default tier’ would not remain clogged with tons of responding comments, and so that the responses would actually show up next to the comments they’re critiquing.
RD on July 15, 2009 at 11:25 PM
my comment system proposal will keep it that way
ninjapirate on July 15, 2009 at 11:25 PM
It would be nice if I could configure a favorite-member list and a troll list that would, for example, change the colors of their posts making it easier to scan through a thread when I’m trying to catch up on 5 pages.
FloatingRock on July 15, 2009 at 11:27 PM
Hmmm…
Jenny’s must be gone.
Too bad.
massrighty on July 15, 2009 at 11:27 PM
massrighty on July 15, 2009 at 11:21 PM
As i’m 50 and don’t hang out at movie theaters i guess i never quite caught on to the diddle i mean Pee Wee thing.
heshtesh on July 15, 2009 at 11:28 PM
You’re gonna get Allah all hot and bothered thinking about Meg.
HornetSting on July 15, 2009 at 11:28 PM
Agreed, which is why I’d want a system that defaulted to the top tier, if we were going to have one.
I don’t think the value of a single post can be evaluated by the user’s past.
Esthier on July 15, 2009 at 11:29 PM
This all sounds great, but let’s face it: Tier1 at HotAir is like, barely, Tier4 or 5 at LGF.
SlimyBill on July 15, 2009 at 11:29 PM
AP doesn’t like women
He likes robots that eat flesh
blatantblue on July 15, 2009 at 11:30 PM
How’s the Green Room thing working out for you folks? I don’t go there much myself, and miss the comments from those who are now too busy writing for the Green Room to comment on this side. I’ve enjoyed the Green Room articles elevated to this side, but there is already so much here at HA that I don’t need to spend more hours there. If I am like many of you here, then the Green Room folks get read now less than they used to. Just askin.
Christian Conservative on July 15, 2009 at 11:30 PM
I don’t like the idea, for all sorts of reasons.
Reality goes by in a linear fashion, and I believe the current structure here mirrors that flow. Like reality I actively ignore content which I find useless or un-entertaining, and would rather wade through some serious volume of verbiage to get to the nuggets of useful or entertaining comments. Tiering pre-screens the content, and I prefer to be the judge of it’s worthiness.
Dana
DanaA on July 15, 2009 at 11:30 PM
Yes, this idea totally rocks.
RD on July 15, 2009 at 11:30 PM
Before the unfortunate incident, Paul Reubens (aka PeeWee) created a very funny Saturday morning kids show.
Worth catching, on cable or netflix.
I’m 48 – it was on when my older kids were 3-4-5 years old.
massrighty on July 15, 2009 at 11:31 PM
That is funny.
SlimyBill on July 15, 2009 at 11:31 PM
I think you’re onto something. I especially like your “date and time” idea.
LibTired on July 15, 2009 at 11:32 PM
If it ain’t broke, then it’s sauce for the gander…
…or something…
hillbillyjim on July 15, 2009 at 11:33 PM
But on the other hand, you have more fingers.
massrighty on July 15, 2009 at 11:34 PM
You’re gonna get Allah all hot and bothered thinking about Meg.
HornetSting on July 15, 2009 at 11:28 PM
In Allah’s world would that be a SMORGASBORG?
heshtesh on July 15, 2009 at 11:34 PM
Good night all you potential Tier 1 posters. I have to go bone up on some great quotes and funny type stuff. I’m stoked for Tier 1.
AP – All joking and sarcasm aside….I hope you keep this site just like it is.
dddave on July 15, 2009 at 11:35 PM
Am I wrong in thinking that most of us want as many people to read our posts as possible, especially in Washington? Having a secret members only forum would be pointless, IMO. That’s like offering to cut someones pay as a reward for their hard work.
FloatingRock on July 15, 2009 at 11:38 PM
Yeah, but do they fing?
hillbillyjim on July 15, 2009 at 11:39 PM
massrighty on July 15, 2009 at 11:31 PM
Just having a little fun,i’ve seen it,made me laugh too.
heshtesh on July 15, 2009 at 11:39 PM
IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T “FIX” IT!
GarandFan on July 15, 2009 at 11:39 PM
If you don’t pick the tiered system, you’re a RINO!
Sar-AH! Sar-AH!
or
Huck-a-BEE! Huck-a-Bee!
Oops. Have to go kiss my Romney poster.. l8rz.
Nethicus on July 15, 2009 at 11:40 PM
Well, then it looks like homogenizing is HAs future. Let the experiment begin. We will, however, need a volunteer to tally up the broken hearts and to verify that some heads will fit through doorways. It’ll be interesting to watch the evolution of Animal Farm with a constitution.
Limerick on July 15, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Allah-You know I missed you last week more than anyone else did. I was desolate all week. That being said, I hate the idea. I love the site the way it is.
TXMomof3 on July 15, 2009 at 11:42 PM
Damn. I missed the sarcasm, again.
Sorry.
massrighty on July 15, 2009 at 11:42 PM
I believe you mean:
If it ain’t broke, don’t break it.
Abby Adams on July 15, 2009 at 11:43 PM
How would you prevent people from abusing an edit feature? If it could be limited to fixing typos or grammar, that would be fine, but if people are allowed to alter a losing argument they started it would cause all sorts of confusion.
FloatingRock on July 15, 2009 at 11:43 PM
Just what we need. More elites vs the dirty masses.
BacaDog on July 15, 2009 at 11:43 PM
I’m having a really hard time believing anyone from DC is at all reading our posts.
Esthier on July 15, 2009 at 11:43 PM
I’m just here for the girls
blatantblue on July 15, 2009 at 11:47 PM
Limit it to five or ten minutes from the original post. Most errors are caught in the first couple of minutes.
MadisonConservative on July 15, 2009 at 11:47 PM
Not so much if people quote more often.
In many forums, you’re even allowed to delete you’re own post, but I haven’t seen that as a problem. Sometimes people just regret what they’ve said.
Esthier on July 15, 2009 at 11:48 PM
FLoating Rock,
Give a limited amount of time to edit a post. Wretchard started doing that at his site.
exhelodrvr on July 15, 2009 at 11:48 PM
Ha! Me too. And to see if AP will ever get the girl.
BacaDog on July 15, 2009 at 11:49 PM
Interesting thought……..
……… but, who sets the Tiers?
Seven Percent Solution on July 15, 2009 at 11:49 PM
Well, not the caddies.
Limerick on July 15, 2009 at 11:50 PM
I am the Tier Czar appointed by teh One.
Now, go to tier 10. Sit next to Drywall.
BacaDog on July 15, 2009 at 11:51 PM
:) Your’s is gorgeous. I’m glad she shares you.
Esthier on July 15, 2009 at 11:53 PM
massrighty on July 15, 2009 at 11:42 PM
That make’s two of us,at no point was i trying to be sarcastic.
heshtesh on July 15, 2009 at 11:53 PM
Can we bridge our time spent at Captain’s Quarters?
connertown on July 15,2009 at 11:05PM.
connertown:Oops,good point,I forgot that angle!:)
canopfor on July 16, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Oh great, I had NO idea this thread was up. So for the last 30 minutes I was wondering why everyone was talking about tiers. Put me in the oblivious tier please!!
FontanaConservative on July 16, 2009 at 12:02 AM
And sometimes the even the nuttiest comments include unique pearls of wisdom.
FloatingRock on July 16, 2009 at 12:03 AM
she’s just such a caring person
blatantblue on July 16, 2009 at 12:05 AM
+4
RD on July 16, 2009 at 12:05 AM
I am the Tier Czar appointed by teh ONE.
BacaDog on July 15,2009 at 11:51PM
BacaDog:
Just superb,a Tier Scrutenizer Czar,that scrutenize’s said
comments!haha:)
canopfor on July 16, 2009 at 12:07 AM
I’m sure someone has made this point already, but it seems sort of elitist in a way that I normally associate with the left.
Personally, I hate the vote-comments-up-or-down thing. Digg has left a bad taste in my mouth. All the liberal (mostly atheist) Digg fascists rampage through the site voting down any disagreement. I’d hate to see that happen here, even if the sides were reversed.
The answer to bad speech (and dumb speech) is more speech not tiered speech. Seriously, you’ll never live it down.
John on July 16, 2009 at 12:09 AM
You know what we should do? We should make The Ban Room. It could be a page that lists the names of all the people who have been banned and the comment they made that got them banned. Could be a great teaching tool to show the new people what NOT to do.
FontanaConservative on July 16, 2009 at 12:11 AM
Per orders from above they are all being read scrupulously and reeducation camp cells are already under construction.
DasObamaReich on July 16, 2009 at 12:12 AM
I’d settle for the ability to block comments from certain commenters. There are a few people around here that are always worth reading, and then a few that never say anything worthwhile.
MNExpatriate on July 16, 2009 at 12:15 AM
I agree with those who are for the direct reply option. It would make following conversations much, much easier. As far as tiering goes I think it would kill off the amount of comments you get on popular posts. Some may be less willing to post if they feel that their comments would not be good enough to make tier 1.
boomer on July 16, 2009 at 12:16 AM
What is the use of going to class if you can’t ask a question?
Does anyone really believe that the folks on 1 and 2 will ever look in on 3 and 4 and promote them up the line? HA commenters come here to comment. If someone wants to talk inside a closet all they have to do is open theirs and walk in and start jabbering. Don’t get me wrong, this is HA and HA can do what they want, but I see MOM jeans in HAs future.
Limerick on July 16, 2009 at 12:17 AM
chickens…
Kaptain Amerika on July 16, 2009 at 12:17 AM
I assume I’ll be starting in the dungeon; but if I tell AP how to make cake batter ice cream at home (that mimics Cold Stone’s)….would that get me out of the rat hole any quicker?
tehd on July 16, 2009 at 12:18 AM
It’s nice here, please leave it alone. Geez, one mention from Jeanne Moos on CNN, and you get all uppity with your tiering ideas. Snap out of it you cyber-bullies and let it be!
redwhiteblue on July 16, 2009 at 12:18 AM
Some folks in DC may or may not be reading comments but, Rush Limbaugh has talked about this site on more than one show and that draws traffic. People drawn through those types of means likely do read at least some of the comments.
boomer on July 16, 2009 at 12:18 AM
Hmmm… Maybe….
FloatingRock on July 16, 2009 at 12:19 AM
Tier system?
Do not do it.
On a few threads tonight we’ve had a ton of lurkers drop in and from among these have been some awesome comments and a few not so much. We’ve also been remarkably troll free for the most part.
It is in this free and open interchange of ideas that makes HA a bit different than most. All being held equal to begin with and judged not by some committee or point system but by other posters as to our value, our content, even our occasional inanity, but it is a personal judgment, and tired as the expression is, it is the American way (or was until this Administration)…it works…and a lot of us learn along the way — those differing viewpoints, the various links offered, and some of the simple commentary…but there need not be any ranking system…the ban hammer comes down once in a while on those who deserve it and we tend to chide those who approach that limit so they do not cross certain lines, or we ignore them. But the open and collegial atmosphere of this site is what makes it work.
Why mess with what seems to work well…not perfectly, but quite well?
coldwarrior on July 16, 2009 at 12:28 AM
What?
Everyone knows no one reads the comments except commenters.
We already have a tier system anyway. Tier 1 dominates the comments by posting all day and night, every frickin’ day.
*rolls eyes*
Saltysam on July 16, 2009 at 12:30 AM
Moi? :-)
coldwarrior on July 16, 2009 at 12:32 AM
The system should be based on The Divine Comedy. Instead of tiers, circles of Hell.
Ricky on July 16, 2009 at 12:35 AM
Yes, YOU, fer cryin’ out loud. ;-)
Saltysam on July 16, 2009 at 12:36 AM
Instead of tiers, how about compliments to great posts like…
Eloquently written. Great job, thank-you!
redwhiteblue on July 16, 2009 at 12:41 AM
.
That works for me… I registered at Hot Air Oct? 2006 – or six months after HotAir began- whichever gets me to the top. LOL! How long have you been here, canopfor?
.
Tiers? I vote “meh”- but I wouldn’t mind:
1) Registration date following poster’s name
2) An ignore button for “ease of use”
NightmareOnKStreet on July 16, 2009 at 12:43 AM
I agree, but I have to admit that it would be nice if we could promote (a copy of) a comment to the top with the hope that somebody with a larger stage may pick up a point or two. There have been many times when I’ve heard Rush or Levin make substantially weaker arguments on a topic than has been made here earlier, and they simply don’t have time to filter through all of the comments.
I didn’t like the LFG system where they can vote on each comment. It doesn’t seem to achieve anything other than a process through which the majority can bully the minority.
But what if there is no visible score? Rather, if enough people vote on a comment a copy simply appears between the main blog post and our comments? If 5 or 10 comments with strong or unique arguments (voted up by the rest of us) are rotated through that area, it’s more likely that somebody with influence will notice it and, perhaps, give them more ammunition.
FloatingRock on July 16, 2009 at 12:43 AM
Tier envy.
Speakup on July 16, 2009 at 12:45 AM
I think in some cases certain commentors refuse to accept a joke as being a joke and think they’re the only commentors necessary since they prefer to be totally serious all the time. Life is too short! Have fun with what you’ve got, because Obama will take it away soon enough!
Vntnrse on July 16, 2009 at 12:46 AM
Nah….I’m just trying to reconcile HA bashing George Will over his blue jeans comment then turning around and becoming George Will.
Limerick on July 16, 2009 at 12:46 AM
And it would probably be entertaining.
What was I thinking. Must hide IP address….
Esthier on July 16, 2009 at 12:47 AM
Stop that, I’m easily confused.
Speakup on July 16, 2009 at 12:49 AM
Wouldn’t it be great if commentors could have different levels so that there could be this explicit caste system and the blog could turn in to some, like, dramapalooza?
Then AP could be a more prominent beta male with level upon level of underlings holding his unders aloft! What a grand, heroic moment that would be.
Just no.
Immolate on July 16, 2009 at 12:52 AM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 ... 3 4 5 6 7 Next »