Letters to the Editor
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testing!
Hmmm... couldn't get it to let me post earlier.
I like the idea of accountability, and I'm happy to see Salon move towards it.
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Fine, but...
There seems to be a font change involved as well, going to smaller, sans serif fonts for both title and body of the letters.
In addition, there are changes to the Preview function -- some of the paragraphing doesn't work properly in preview (but does in the final post).
Please, please, please... Change the fonts back. I love this site, and like participating, but I like to read what others have written first. The new fonts give my old eyes a headache, very quickly. Not a nice thing to do to a migraineur.
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OK, this seems to work.
I was getting a "cannot load address" error using OmniWeb, switched to Safari (MacOS 10.4), it took there.
thanks. I fully understand why you did this.
P.S., Joan, love you on Scarborough
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Looks promising!
I think this is going to be great!
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A good step!
A fine idea. I agree with those who've already said that it would be even better if anonymous posting were not allowed, but this is an encouraging step in the right direction.
(And I also agree that the new font/layout on the letters page is both less attractive and harder to read.)
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Guess all these letters are Editor's Choices
What are the other changes to come? We'll see.
And I agree on the tiny font. Let's not make the letters too important.
And what's with the permanent name? Anyone over 18 knows nothing's permanent.
Except, I guess, at Salon. For the time being.
Just previewed this. Apparently paragraphing is a thing of the past, too. That'll make 'em more readable.
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Okay, I've just seen it published
Apparently, what you see in Preview is not what you get.
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Just testing
Eh, trolls, like authoritarian republicans, are everywhere. Just like on a blog's comments section, you scroll past and ignore them. The fact that people "feed" them is another discussion entirely...if you don't like them, don't feed them, (easier said then done at times, but I digress).
Ending screen-name hijacking, ("borrowing" as Walsh says) is, however, highly laudable--at the least, it enables one to promote a 'stable" personna on-line, which is what most letter writers appear to desire, (possibly, I may be speaking for myself, but observation of hijacked letter writers/blog commentators and their particular supporters suggests that this is likely true). On the other hand, as long as that particular problem is solved, I don't see how anonymity can endanger the overall conversation--the editors have a means to contact them and weild the ultimate power of deletion. Plus, anonymity is a time honored, and often necessary, tradition--think the Federalist papers. Hence, anonymous posts are a mere inconvenience upon the reader, in the sense that they must discern whether to take the letter writer seriously. It allows the argument made to be judged by its merit alone, rather than being judged by the reader's preconceived notions of the writer's personality, perspective, or bias. That is to say, maybe "Jane" has some good ideas every now and again, but when she posts them we may filter them out merely because 'Jane' said them.
Frankly, while I despise trolls, most people have been on topic and much of the vitriol isn't just from anonymous posters, but from premium subscribers. Food for thought.
Also, I'm against editing out language such that it only becomes pablum for children. We are not children. While I may not use foul language or find it particularly apt, I figure that if Cheney can tell Leahy to "go fuck yourself" on the Senate floor, then so can we.
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The Font
I agree, go back to the original--I'm betting Salon's demographic average age is 37 or 38 i.e. who the hell else would pay for it, not to mention average means that half are over that age.
In the meantime, ctrl ++ enlarges the font for Firefox, for IE, open the View menu, point to Text Size, and then click the size you want.
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Hooray!
Hopefully this change will have the desired effect!
I did like knowing that I could alter my premium profile, including my "name," which I did when I changed my last name to an initial. Oh, well...
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Good start
Sounds good. I also think...
1. No anonymous.
2. I liked one poster's idea for a "Premium Subscriber Only" filter.
Thanks for the good work, Joan.
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never anonymous
ever no reputable newspaper allows anonymous letters
if you are not prepared to put your name to it your opinion is only worthy of a mouse
If you are afraid of the consequences - don't say it
or ask a friend to write about you in his own name - but that weakens the data
Hugh W
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About time!
All I can say is, it's about time. When it gets to the point that we have a word -- troll -- for the people who post nasty, off-topic, ad hominem comments, you know it is time to do something. What you are doing is a small step, but maybe it will be enough, at least for the moment.
When the trolls figure out a way around the new system (I'd give them two weeks to three months, depending on perseverence), how about adding a third option for reading comments: along with "All letters" and "Only Editors' Choices," add "Only letters from members"?
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Excellent idea
Maybe this will put an end to the inane, immature "Rob Anderson" impersonators in Video Dog. Hey, I disagree with the guy now and then myself, but the asinine impersonators were growing increasingly annoying. I don't post (or even read) letters for the other sections too regularly, but I gather this has been a growing problem in general? Sounds like a long overdue decision. I also appreciate that you will still allow users to post anonymously.
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Good plan
I think this'll probably help deal with trolls and right-wingdings clogging the letters forum. Fingers crossed, anyway!
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Thank You!
I've mostly lurked in the past, but now I look forward to participating in discussions here.
I'm loving this blog, btw!
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I have multiple personalitites
how will this work for us?
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New letter policy and new appearance
Dear Ms. Walsh:
Ok, I have no problem with the registration, especially if it will cut down on the more egregious trolls. I'll take my chances and still post the occasional letter pointing out what an overrated boring twit Paglia is. What I do have a problem with, as a Premium Subscriber, is the sudden appearance of ads in the middle of a page of letters. Not to the side, no problem there, easy to ignore, but smack in the flow. And animated ads at that. I might just as well revert to unpaid status. Please re-think this.
kidgeezer