In the Asheville news this week, over 200 marched in downtown protesting corporate personhood, the Buncombe Commissioners passed new rules on light pollution, a challenger emerged in the Register of Deeds race, and a committee looking into the former CTS site’s contamination convened in Raleigh.
What’s on your mind, readers? This is an open thread to weigh in on this week’s news.
Photo by Bill Rhodes
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Before you comment
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I would like to comment on the continued lack of comments. Thank you.
“I would like to comment on the continued lack of comments. Thank you.”
I would like to comment, that I second Brebro’s astute observation.
I’d like to post the first of many comments on how commenting on the lack of comments isn’t helping anything but to alleviate the lack of comments.
Lately, I have noticed a trend of posts receiving only four comments and I would like to know what, if anything, can be done to prevent it happening again here.
I would like to comment, but a football game is calling my name. Of course, none of my fave teams made it into these NFL playoffs, so I’m not sure why I’m watching. But i’ve made chili, and chili means football, and it’s kind of dreary outside.
So I suppose I’ll comment. We tested out Disqus
(http://www.mountainx.com/article/39544/Lets-test-the-new-MountainX.com-commenting-system),
but
“I don’t think the type of commenting system is what has reduced online comments. Nor is it our comment policy.”
Agreed. We all know it’s magical elves. Clearly no fault on anyone’s part at the MX for establishing a new format that looks nice (sort of) but functions horribly.
Ugh, then I see how my comment text bleeds out of the box. Do y’all see that? We had a website glitch earlier today.
Yes, I see that. This happens anytime a link is included in a comment.
Are the lack of comments due to a corresponding lack of overall traffic to the site or a reduced number of views per article as they whiz off the front page? You people have the data to know what’s going on. The commenters can only guess.
Hey all, the first meeting of Rep. Moffitt’s water committee is tomorrow, in Raleigh. The agenda has been released:
http://tinyurl.com/7ybv27p
It starts at 2 pm on Monday. You can listen live from the City’s website:
http://www.ashevillenc.gov
Click on the “NCLEG.NET” button. It streams live audio from the hearing room.
Thanks, Barry, for the reminder.
ChristopherNC, I don’t have the data in front of me.
Data update: page hits aren’t down since the upgrade. However, some parts of the site (and this is not surprise to anyone on this thread) seem harder to navigate or less intuitive when it comes to finding them.
Data update: page hits aren’t down since the upgrade. However, some parts of the site (and this is not surprise to anyone on this thread) seem harder to navigate or less intuitive when it comes to finding them.
“what others have tended to inhibit comments, discourage you in particular, etc?”
Personal attacks from people who have no thoughts.
…………………
Anytime anyone challenges you to back up your comments, you cry that it is a “personal attack.” Boo hoo.
As for “people who have no thoughts,” if it wasn’t for your constant one-note braying about your Utopian pipe dream, no other thoughts could be discerned from you.
Speaking of people who have no thoughts, I would just like to interject that this has now become the third most commented-on article for this week!
Personal attacks from people who have no thoughts.
And there you have it in a nutshell, Tim(1). Do you really wonder why people “attack” you when your first comment in any thread is often some kind of insult?
Speaking of people with no thoughts, I can pretty much assure you that the best way to generate comments is to run a story on RON PAUL. That tends to bring the hordes running post haste.
In seriousness, though, there is the continued angst about the Xpress redesign that many believe is driving down not only comments on stories, but also participation/reading in general. With stories coming and going off the front page at such a rapid rate, and with the front page itself being presented in such an odd manner, it’s no wonder why people aren’t commenting.
That, added with the lack of options for “following” threads and the death of the not-so-secret-secret-forum almost make it seem that our input isn’t really desired here.
What I want to know is what the next web master for the Xpress is expected to do about all of this. Is the site going to undergo another major revision?
Perhaps I qualify as this week’s attacker of Tim which means I objected to his simplistic one note answer to most every situation for four plus years running from my observation. If he feels that objecting to his singular idea is personal, then he might want to add a few more thoughts to work with for more breathing space.
But you actually rec’d a reply or two. Unparalleled success!
Ha, Brebro! This is now the most-commented-on post of the week.
It may have been at one point, but another thread is extremely close (and incredibly loud).
Has the MX ever considered that the extreme drop off in page views and community comments is directly correlated to the ‘upgrade’ of the website?
Sort of like putting substance before function?
When papers do that, they fail.
Buh bye.
My notes put the timeline for the drop-off occurring more recently than the website change. But that’s anecdotal.
Opps, posted under wrong comment.
Former regulars eventually gave up and moved on???? They are missed (by me, at least.)
Upgrade sux. Me no want upgrade. Give back old MountainX format.
I can’t even locate the “most commented” links. Of course, I can’t locate diddly squat these days.
A tiny box above the POST TO BLOGWIRE button thing-ee.
AHA! Thanks!
I think I found it, anyway. It’s a drop down box, but I don’t see “Post to Blogwire” near it.
That’s a good feature, though. Nice to know where it is now!
Ah, it only says POST TO BLOGWIRE if you’re a guest blogger or an MX site administrator of some sort.
Former regulars gave up and moved on?????