The level of discourse in the reader comments at the Portland Tribune has sunk sufficiently low that they've instituted a new comment moderation system over there. You have to include a valid e-mail address with your comment or it won't show up. (The e-mail address isn't published, but in order to have the comment posted, you have to let the Trib have a working address for you.)
Comments on a website are a tricky thing. After a while, the attitudes and positions of the commenters can be confused with those of the site host -- particularly if the commenters hammer the same points home over and over, week after week. The tenor of many of the comments that have been posted lately on the Trib site didn't speak well of the Trib. I applaud the management's efforts to clean things up, at least a bit.
I've been feeling some comment angst myself lately. As much as I love the readership of this blog, every now and again I notice that I'm reading the same comments from the same people. In the past I've dealt with this by instituting comment-free weeks, where I turned comments off entirely to try to get a fresh start, but that seems kind of drastic. This week, I'm going to try something else -- moderating comments aggressively so that the repetitive points that commenters make don't appear.
If you are a new commenter, you are especially welcome this week. If you are a regular poster commenting this week, be sure to say something new, or at least figure out a new way to say what you've said here before. If your comment disappears, it's my way of telling you to give it a rest. Or find a friend who agrees with you to come over and say it in your place.
As a long-range matter, perhaps we should assign numbers to various posts made repetitively by regular commenters, so that they can save us all some time, and me some bandwidth, by simply posting the numbers rather than republishing the old points.
Comments (14)
I think Godwin's Law and Bedford's Law will sum up most of my prior work.
As a consultant for many an aspiring blogger, I'd say that you, Jack, have a problem that many would be pleased to share. I'll be interested to see what you come up with.
Your readers may be interested in the free service mailinator.com provides. You can make up an email address on the fly, and it will be a valid address; for instance, "peteblogsatbojack@mailinator.com". Then, you can go to Mailinator.com and check that address -- no passwords, no nothin'.
Not a good idea if you're transmitting info that's private in any way -- but a great way to get past insistent web services that demand valid addresses.
As I understand it, the Trib sends an e-mail message to the address you give, and you have to click on the link in that message before the system will look at your comment.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 29
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (14)
I think Godwin's Law and Bedford's Law will sum up most of my prior work.
Posted by Chris Coyle | July 28, 2008 9:39 AM
12.
Posted by Isaac Laquedem | July 28, 2008 9:53 AM
12.
Drat. Beat me to it.
Posted by Chris Snethen | July 28, 2008 10:19 AM
42
Posted by Lc Scott | July 28, 2008 10:50 AM
Nice Pacific City pic on you banner. I've got a little house there right about where that pic was taken.
Posted by butch | July 28, 2008 11:56 AM
Is zero taken?
Posted by cc | July 28, 2008 2:17 PM
Jack: every now and again I notice that I'm reading the same comments from the same people.
JK: My apologies, if I am one of the guilty parties.
Thanks
JK
Posted by jim karlockj | July 28, 2008 4:30 PM
Stop me if you've heard this ...
A baby seal walks into a bar and sits down.
"What can I get you?" asks the bartender.
"Anything but a Canadian Club" says the seal.
Posted by Tenskwatawa | July 28, 2008 7:48 PM
"JK: My apologies, if I am one of the guilty parties."
Jim, if other blogs follow suit, you and Terry Parker will be unemployed.
Posted by GLV | July 28, 2008 8:55 PM
Something new. (Surprised the clever wags missed this obvious post)
Posted by Grumpy | July 29, 2008 7:20 AM
Then there's this:
The Stupid Filter Project is Real, Has Code to Prove it
http://tinyurl.com/6o3nhh
Posted by Conrad | July 29, 2008 9:46 AM
How about a word count limit, say 60ish. Is that too restrictive?
Posted by genop | July 29, 2008 3:05 PM
As a consultant for many an aspiring blogger, I'd say that you, Jack, have a problem that many would be pleased to share. I'll be interested to see what you come up with.
Your readers may be interested in the free service mailinator.com provides. You can make up an email address on the fly, and it will be a valid address; for instance, "peteblogsatbojack@mailinator.com". Then, you can go to Mailinator.com and check that address -- no passwords, no nothin'.
Not a good idea if you're transmitting info that's private in any way -- but a great way to get past insistent web services that demand valid addresses.
Posted by Pete Forsyth | July 30, 2008 4:11 PM
As I understand it, the Trib sends an e-mail message to the address you give, and you have to click on the link in that message before the system will look at your comment.
Posted by Jack Bog | July 31, 2008 2:31 AM