Let's see how it works out.

I hope it goes well. I'm going to go look at that fellow's photos now.

Dear Salon,

What a great idea; thanks to Joan & everyone who got this together (it looks like a lot of work to me).

I know what a blog is now (courtesy of "salon.com"), but it was only 3 years ago when I was sitting at a friend's dinner table, babbling on about something or another....and her daughter suddenly interrupted to say "Oh, you should have a BLOG!"

I'd never so much as heard of a "blog", although I was well-aware that I was in an academic household with a markedly haphazard approach to food.

So, trying to be polite, I brightly said "Well, sure!.." and, pointing at a serving-dish of some rolled-up/vaguely-ethnic things I'd avoided, asked "Is that it?"

They LOOKED like something you'd call "blogs" to me.

In any case, "Open Salon" sounds fun and interesting, so thank you.

Level Best as Ever,

David Terry

www.davidterryart.com

That's it just , dreadful. Guess I'll go see what's up on Slate.

Nothing tempted me more to give up altogether on Salon than the reader comments. But then I realized, that was unfair, the principal offerings of Salon were the thoughtful, reflective pieces by its professional contributors. I didn't need to read the rantings of pseuds with lots of free time and plenty of foolish axes to grind.

So now you're handing over a big chunk of your limited resources to those same people.

Good luck with that.

Joan,

You're not clear as to whether this new site will replace the Salon to which I subscribed as a charter member many years ago, or if you intend to evolve into something more user-driven and interactive. May I say that I am delighted to send in my small amount of money every year in return for the editorial function you've provided.

You've surprised me with good writing on topics I would not have found on my own. You've done all of the things which a good editor should do, most of the time. Please let us know whether you are replacing Salon or starting a new venture alongside it - you truly aren't clear. If the economics of the subscription model aren't working, please say so; I can understand that.

But for me, what you are describing is not desirable.

Regards,

Andy Nolen-Parkhouse

This sounds horrid. Please tell me Open Salon is not going to replace regular salon! Despite the regularity with which Joan Walsh and others get trashed by intemperate readers, many of us really do appreciate the efforts of a professional gatekeeper.

Please, try to keep Open Salon from becoming a slightly more upscale verson of Craigslist's "Rants & Raves!" Let's keep it more on the level of Yelp.com's "Talk" section.

Just the right thing. At just the right time. Bravo, Joan.

Well i meant break the loop, not unplug the computer.

Change, not abdication.

Anarchy shall prevail, and perhaps that is how it should be.

Leadership is no longer up to the task.

I hope the layout improves eventually, namely the middle column. Salon's homepage is much nicer to look at and has a better design.

. . . April Fools don't you think?

Don't fix what's broken, just keep adding on more stuff.

But did I hear you call us "the best audience in journalism?"

Um, do you read the letters sections? (That is a rhetorical question since I know you do, bless you.)

If this is the case, I fear, nay, dread to see the worst audience in journalism. Heaven forfend!

Thanks for your feedback everyone, and for your concern about Salon. Open Salon is not going to replace it, it's a new site. Please give it a read; I think the quality of the writing will win you over.

god knows, this is nothing new for Salon or Joan for that matter ... and for folks with plenty of time on their hands, access to even more "content" of a "consistent world view" (usually self-referential think pieces by people JUST LIKE YOU) may finally permit Salon and Joan to recreate their glory days of "Women who Think" back in the 1990s.

Just don't neglect the mothership, 'kay?

. . .more blogs. I don't want to be negative--you guys get enough of that--and I'm glad to see you're exploring ways to actually pay all these writers for the content they provide, but it seems to me this is the reason print journalism is becoming obsolete. So many people are giving away so much substandard (sorry) content for nothing or next to nothing that no one thinks decent writing that adheres to basic journalistic standards is worth paying for anymore. It's a vicious cycle, and it's what's killing the quality of newspapers and magazines--both online and off.

I tried to log in with my current username and password to no effect. The site states with will email me a link to change my password to no effect. I try to register from scratch and it says my username is taken. Is this a separate registration from salon.com? Why am I not auto logged in when already logged into salon.com. If I am not already registered why is it offering to send me my username or password to my signup email? Where are the emails?

If you have to register from scratch, what are you thinking? Someone has already stolen my username?

I can deal with some

Shock of the new.

I guess that could work. I've seen it fail, as it did when Plastic.com turned the short bus over to its passengers, but Plastic lacked a flagship publication to drive its quality. It'll be interesting to see if the concept works better with an editor-controlled flagship.

The stream of compliments paid to the audience strikes me as vaguely unseemly, given the proliferation of pointless arguing in the comments. I understand the strapped nature of all content providers, but all this "you are all so woooonderful that maybe you should do all the writing yourself" is really weird, to me. Still, I'd give it a chance if it would, you know, actually load on my screen.

Which it won't.

I so very dearly wish people would ensure that the resources on the tech side are in place before they launch something new.