Letters to the Editor
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I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority here....
but well said, Alex. It's about time.
I'm as passionate as the next person, and have my favorite in this campaign, just like others do. But the remarkable decline in civility - from our go f#@$ yourself Vice President to the most 'spirited' blogger - all have me thinking: Who's teaching our children, and what are they learning from us?
We've all just suffered through 7+ years of "You're either with us or against us" and are therefore unpatriotic - haven't we learned anything from this? Go ahead, disagree (it's as patriotic as you can be!) and make your points and support them. But please - remain civil and remain respectful in the process. It's a matter of individual and civic dignity, and it's on also on the decline in this country. As a result, is it any wonder the rest of the world looks at us like it does today?
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Filthy Harry
While there are occasionally letters like
"[Candidate] is stupid", It is far more common here for someone to be called a troll because of opposing views. At least from what I've seen.
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If It's War That We All Want...
Then let's have it.
The problem with forums is that you have dozens of people that think they know it all, or at least, know it better then everyone else. Maybe Salon could have a War Room feature where two opposing know-it-alls are picked from the letters section and asked to write calm intelligent letters/posts that will be featured and (hopefully) rationally commented on. Let some of these knuckleheads have the spotlight and see how they like it.
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oh boy...
Well, you know what they say. Arguing on the internet is like competing in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded.
You've got a thankless task ahead of you, Alex. I wouldn't want to have to perpetually monitor the War Room's comments these days. And I'm one of the trolls who uses words like "retarded," for cryin' out loud.
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Ratings, ratings, ratings
I have posted about this (albeit not under "War Room") a few times before, but this would also be solved with additional ratings. A previous posted lauded the "two-tier" use of Editor's Choice, and I agree, but I think it's not enough. A "three-tier" method, where Editors can rate letters but so can users, would be much simpler.
That way if person X writes a detailed analysis of a candidate & person Y responds w/ 'suck it' and then it degrades from there, the initial post will have primarily positive ratings, the 2nd one will have mostly negative ratings, and the remaining posts will have completely negative ratings. This way I can just ignore them. :)
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I gotta agree with normalasf
I'm reminded of a recurring theme that Glenn Greenwald writes about: the role of the reporter in reporting the facts and identifying false statements as false. (If you don't read Greenwald, here's a good example: http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/11/30/real_reporting/)
I liked that about Tim's War Room. His posts often said: "Here's what so-and-so's campaign is saying. But is it true? Here are some facts that seem to indicate otherwise." It was good reporting. You haven't been at the helm very long and you deserve a bit of a grace period as you get settled in, but I do feel like you too often just report what the sides are saying without any of that valuable analysis. If your story is just something like "Candidate A's campaign insinuates that Candidate B is really a Martian in disguise!" you're going to get a bit of a shit storm in the letters as the supporters of both candidates argue it out. But if you follow up with "But Candidate B's birth certificate has been inspected and a team of doctors confirm that Candidate B was born on this planet," it dramatically changes the tone and course of the ensuing discussion.
Moderating the letters and deleting offensive posts are not the only tools you have at your disposal if you want improve the quality of the discussion here. Tim left big shoes to fill, but I'm sure you have what it takes to fill them.
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I'd be more worried....
...if it went the other way and people didn't care and didn't get emotional. While somewhere in the middle would be best, I like that people care enough about topics/issues to get all worked up.
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Oh, I meant captainlarab
although I do agree with normalasf too...
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I know this speech well
As a full-time substitute teacher, I am quite familiar with this speech. When things get really out of hand, it is common for the teacher to want to appeal to the students' sense of decency or responsibility or respect. Over time, two things emerge (and largely regardless of any speeches): 1) the overall vibe of the class cools down once everyone gets used to the new teacher, and 2) some kids will misbehave no matter who is standing in front of the class. To a certain extent, it is impossible to control a group of 8 year-olds' behavior, and that's the way it should be.
I empathize with you, Mr. Koppelman, but I also think you are engaging an impossible fight. Most people go on message boards to have their say without accountability, not to participate in a lively discussion. If people act up, delete their posts, send them to detention, and they'll eventually pack up and go to a different classroom.
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Right on Alex.
Opinions are good, but when we loose sight of the issue at hand (and there are SO many) and start attacking each other we miss the true meaning of civil discourse.
Think before you type.
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Alexi-stop-spleening-me
Gang,
Whatsay we call a hiatus on all the how-great-it-was-when-Tim-was-here drama for a while? Yeah, it WAS great, but it took a while to get there. Tim G had to find his own voice and way of doing this blog; So does Alex. It'll be fine. Stick around, you'll see.
qs
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Tim Grieve was Good, but Alex Koppelman is Better
This is a side issue. It has arisen in the course of this discussion, so I guess it is on topic: Alex, you post more often than Tim did, about more issues, about a broader range of issues. Great job. Please continue.
Please consider that War Room already is much more civil than many other places on the www.
P.S. Please keep Anonymous. I use it maybe a couple times per year, but Anonymous has its place.
P.P.S. We need to install Breath Analysers on Salon Posters' computers. Posters would need to blow into their computers before posting, as convicted drunks need to blow into their cars before driving. If they were legally drunk, they could not post.
I am convinced that most of the nasty posts come from okay people who have had too much to drink. That certainly is true of my own most ridiculous posts.