Civil Beat has announced that it is at least temporarily dropping its “discussion” pages and instead providing for comments on all articles. However, CB is retaining its use of Facebook’s commenting system, which it praises for drawing in “lots of new faces and opinions.”
The comments change follows a good deal of criticism from readers confused when attempts to comment on a specific article were shunted over to a discussion page on a generalized topic area rather than the specific story.
The first comment on the announcement itself was highly critical of the use of Facebook comments, “a mess of notifications and privacy problems and I don’t care for more cross-breeding of sites within it.”
Meanwhile, in the midst of all the concern Honolulu Weekly’s financial situation, I missed the quiet departure of editor Lucy Jokiel after just under a year in the position, and the arrival of her successor, Mindy Pennebacker. It is Pennebacker’s second time around as Weekly editor, having held the post briefly in 2008.
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I wouldn’t mind reading the comments on Facebook if I could be an anonymous lurker, but the idea of having to register really torks me off without any reason except to use my contact information for marketing purposes.
However, if I wanted to comment, then I don’t mind registering.
On another issue: What is the purpose/reason behind the Honolulu Weekly’s policy change allowing writers in its Letters to The Editor section to not reveal their identities to the readers? That’s always been the policy in (real) papers which makes a major difference between blog comments like mine and LTTE.
There’s one letter by a writer using only the name “Ocean User” in this week’s edition that I find really inappropriate.
The other day I clicked a button acciidentally on a national political website which revealed several dozen comments about a recent racial slur story coming out of the Rick Perry campaign.
Whoo!!! I’ve never read such comments before. I quickly shut it down and decided that I would be much more pro-active in not reading comments like that unless I am paid to do so.
Ian – are you re-considering your decision to require everyone who comments here to use her/his real name.
I know that many of us at HMSA wish Lucy Jokiel the best. We enjoyed working with her here quite a bit. She is unstoppable.
The content that Civil Beat publishes must not be the end-all.
Civil Beat may have a big name benefactor behind it but their facts need to be verified and questioned just the same.
I’ve read some questionable opinions deemed as facts.
If this would have been a post about a change to anything at the SA.com web site you would have had 30 or 40 comments with all sorts of opinions….3 comments over two days just about says it all. Not important and who really cares.
I’m afraid you have a point.
I would be willing to pay to subscribe to Civil Beat and I would be willing to comment under my own name, IF they would break the link between Facebook and their comments.
My friends know my political views, but I do not force my views on them. When they go to my Facebook page, they should not have to read my every comment from Civil Beat.
Or, to put it another way, I should have the freedom to not publish my Civil Beat comments on my Facebook page.
A solution would be to maintain two separate Facebook accounts, but that violates the Facebook terms of service.
And Good Luck to Lucy Jokiel. She was a very experienced editor and the Weekly has lost someone with an important skill set. I know Mindy Pennebacker to be a fine writer and thinker. I do not know if she has the somewhat different set of skills necessary to be a good editor, but I certainly hope so.
If the Weekly folds, the avenues available for the public to reflect upon alternative views will continue to contract. We have one newspaper, the television stations are dominated by the Hawaii News Now monopoly, radio stations have been gobbled up by a couple of national chains, with Clear Channel being as rightwing as Fox News.
Shapiro’s blog is gone. Doug White no longer publishes. That leaves fewer and fewer sources, including Ian, the Hawaii Independent, Larry Geller and not much else.
It’s easy to set up multiple FB accounts,TOS be damned.