Notice from CC Times

"To our readers: changes to online forums and reader comments

September 05, 2009

TO OUR READERS

We want to share an upcoming change to our online forums and reader comments. On Sept. 9, we will be closing the forums and pausing the story comments. This change comes as we switch service providers for online interactivity, a move that provokes a review of our policies regarding online discussions in general.

While we value the engagement of online comments and prize an unfiltered conversation with and among our audience, such discussions are only as valuable as the level of discourse. Put simply, when the conversation is littered with name-calling and personal attacks, it's not doing anyone any good. We want to encourage a civil discourse on our sites fitting of the high ethical standards we set for the Cape Cod Times.

Therefore, we are removing the forums entirely and will be moving to a new system where article and blog comments are moderated. This system will be in place by Oct. 31 at the latest.

We believe this is a positive step in the evolution of our media business and suspect it will be an industry trend among our peers. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any comments at news@capecodonline.com.

Paul Pronovost, Editor"
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090905/NEWS/909050337


I just HAD to add that for a starting message...

Of course, I got bit by Boardnation shutting down.
I was back up before that forum was closed though.

I remember that, and was looking forward to it. I prefer a civil forum. Insults are just cheap shots from those who have no other weapons - those who are inarticulate. Too bad it didn't happen, but perhaps this site can take over that chore.

I've actually tried to reply to a CC Times article using (what I believe is) JS-kit.com. You will notice that link redirects to http://aboutecho.com/. The general idea behind the Echo service is have one User ID for multiple sites (that pay for and use their service). Fine in theory, but I can't get it to work using a long-standing User ID I have from a site that uses OpenID. Get it?

Rob Connery's Fishing Around column has the comment option reliably, so we'll use it as an example.

Click on "Login" and you have 9 options of which account that you already have that you would like to use to login. So far, so good. I don't use most of the options and thought about reviving my Yahoo account that I haven't used in 10+ years. OK, I got a new one. Tried to login, took a break/ had some leftovers/ watched D-Day on TV and... Nothing. Tried to use Open ID, took a break/ ate some Oreos/ more D-Day and... Nothing.

There ya' go. 3 attempts using their system and... Nothing.

Yapping ‘Till You Drop: Goodbye Chat Forum
By Gregory Bryant | Published: September 9, 2009 | 0 Comments
"Online discussion forums are like one of those giant mesh cages they throw a couple human combatants into, each armed with nothing more than a pocket-knife and a cold heart.

Blood sport.

Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight.

Jolly good entertainment – as long as you’re not the guys in the cage.

Cape Cod Online has had a discussion forum since around the time this site was created back in 1996-97. As the guy who built that site, I felt strongly about using the online Web world to create community. And so our Web site created a platform to foster that: the discussion forum.

Naively, little did I know at the time about the screaming cage fights were looming."
read the rest


Just a quick note: While I was digging this post up, I saw that Greg's "Blog O' Matters" has received a whopping 5 comments in 9 months. Oh well...