Today we are releasing two new features for Firedoglake. The first feature is the author pages. If you look under the title of every post, you will see who wrote that article. It is now a hyperlink, which takes you to the author’s page. This page will provide you with a short biography of the author (for author’s who choose to fill this information out), a link to their homepage and a listing of all articles authored by that person.
The second new feature involves social bookmarking. Social bookmarking is one of the hottest things on the internet today. It allows users to share links they find interesting with rest of the world. One of the most popular social bookmarking sites is Digg. In a nutshell, social bookmarking gives you, the reader the chance to tell the rest of the world “hey check out this cool site/link I found”.
The social bookmarking enhancement offers quick access to 24 of the most popular social bookmarking sites (including Digg). The use of this plugin is very simple. When you go to the single view of a post (the page with the comments), there is now a series of icons under the post. Holding your mouse over the icons will pop up a tooltip telling you which site it is linked to. Simply click that icon and you are taken to that sites entry page, where you can share the link. For those of you new to social bookmarking, please be aware that most of these sites require registration to share links (which is quick and easy). It is a very effective way to help get the word out about posts here on Firedoglake.
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mmm, I see you have the del.icio.us. that’s mighty tasty right there.
One of the things that I really love about this place is that I learn something new each and every time I come here. Technology wise this place is almost like a candy store.
I don’t know where you find the time but thanks Jane for all of the stuff that you do and introduce us to.
Reddit. MMM Alien goodness.
grray @
1
grray- guidelines are set by Jane and Christy. Jamie is the WP expert. From what I’ve seen- no ad hominem attacks on other commenters, debate encouraged but keep the tone civil and respectful. Don’t quote entire articles from elsewhere- snippet with link instead. Sometimes comments get caught in auto mod (spam) filter for odd reasons- too many links, too long (maybe?), or for no apparent reason, so be patient if your comment ends up in moderation- times to release vary, according to availability of Jane, Christy or mods.
LisaDawn- anything to add? I probably missed something.
Conspiracy Secretary @ 21
If you have firefox go and get this extension:
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/138/
It is a bit like what you have talked about in the post.
EPU’d, Two posts in 10 minutes!
Bustednuckles says:
August 25th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
New Toys?! But it’s not my birthday!…
Waitaminute…..You’re just trying to get rid of me, aren’t you?
Everyone knows I can entertain my self for hours with just a rubberband.
*g*
# 6 was from last thread and should not be lost.
Best to your Dad.
I think you said it all. Don’t plagiarize and don’t be a jerk. That’s about it I think.
Hi, Jamie, thanks for the extras, I’m not familiar with social bookmarking, but I’ll give it a try.
Something I’d like to have, just a stupid little thing, really, is a “back to top” link at the bottom of the comments and perhaps at intervals along the way down. Our comment sections have grown so much that sometimes, when I’m reading or composing a comment, I’d like to refer back up to the post or to another comment a hundred or so back. I may sound hopelessly lazy, but things move so fast here I think it would be a really useful tool.
And thanks for all the behind the scenes work you do for us here. The new site is wonderful and all the developments you, Jane and anyone else have worked so hard on. Seems the only time we get to say this is when you or Jane roll out something new.
namaste
zen
Holy Shit – Mike Stark wrecks George Allen:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyo…..1617/66436
EPU, thanks for reposting Subway Serenade’s situation.
OT Jamie, thanks very much for all you do. Strictly FYI, SPOTLIGHT appeared to lose some functionality wrt sending a confirming email back to the sender. When you released it, it had it. Last week, however, when I sent some SPOTLIGHTS, I received no confirmation. Now, that functionality is back, the last SPOTLIGHT I sent, sent me a confirmation of what I sent.
Thanks again for all you do.
Hey, Jamie, thanks for living in the world of Continuous Improvement. You never let up, do you? These thinks will be fun, although I am also new to the concept.
Just when I thought the ‘lake could never get any better, it does! woo-hoo!
Thanks, EPU, I definitely missed this news about Subway,
ConSec-
Please tell your dad that I am with him in spirit and will ask my colleagues to do the same. I am so sorry for your troubles and thank you so much for letting us know about this so we can collectively send our support. We miss him here, and he needs to get back soon; the election is just around the corner!!
Please keep us informed.
Blessings to you, Subway and your family
zennurse
Folks, if you catch an update, it’s a great idea to repost it a few times so everyone knows what’s happening, like EPU has.
It already hit the papers, *xyz and cannot wait til tomorrow when it hits again!
http://www.newsvirginian.com/s…..&path=
best wishes for The Subway Serenade.
Wow that Mike Stark is fuckin’ fearless!
just coz somebody has “Honorable” in their title dont mean you have to treat em that way !
Jamie: this is way over my head, I have no idea what you’re talking about here or what this is for. Is there a site that an idiot like me can go and find out more?
so are you, Teddy and more than a few folks here!
“grray- guidelines are set by Jane and Christy.”
Yeah, that’s what I would expect. K, where are the guidelines? Are they linked somewhere so new visitors can read them or do I have to lurk here for some months to get a vague feeling about the rules?
“From what I’ve seen- no ad hominem attacks on other commenters, debate encouraged but keep the tone civil and respectful.”
I’ve seen lots of ad hominem attacks and four letter words targeted at other commenters. You sure you talking about this blog?
Gray, my mother taught me not to pick at scabs … as a kid, I did … now that I’m sorta grownup, I don’t pick at scabs anymore. It’s a wise lesson …
Nice features, Jaime. Thanks for all you do.
Best wishes to Serenade and family. Our thoughts will be with you.
OT Ramesh coming up vs. Mark Shields on PBS
ConSec
FDL has a good thought for your Dad and your whole family.
Terry and Ramesh– their voices make me nuts!
grray – There are no written guidelines.
Use common sense. Yes, there are ad hominim attacks and epithets (though, bizaarely to me, many if not most people here self censor their epithets).
With respect to ad hominim attacks, my advice is don’t be gratuitous with them – and it probably also helps if you’ve been here for at least a bit and are “known” so that it is not assumed you are simply a troll – and maybe throwing some actual thought in with the ad hominims is usually helpful too.
Special Note on sarcasm. If you are being sarcastic and there might be a chance that you will be misunderstood, my advice is to flag it as such. Remember, no one here actually knows you, and there is no nuance or inflection (for the most part) on a board. Otherwise, misunderstandings might arise – no matter how over the top you might think you are being. Remember, it is not your understanding of the sarcasm that counts, but your audiences.
angie @ 27
yep, Ramesh sounds like he’s from munchkin land.
Gray — cut it out — you have been whining in here for some time because you got heavily censored for repeatedly wanting to use the word “retard” as a putdown. It was patiently explained to you that such a word is highly offensive. You persisted.
Now you are whining about wanting for you concrete regulations about what you can say.
Give it up and stop the whining.
If you cant grasp the repeated explanations, perhaps you should find a more congenial blog…
What zennurse said at #15.
Grray is out of here for the rest of the day… it’s “time out” time
Groan. These dang innernets got so many toobs. I feel like a waterlogged puppy in a fire-hydrant warehouse. *whimper*
VG: we don’t tolerate racist stuff, either. That’s a kind of a community guideline.
call your kitty, OFG– cats can and do save!
What fun! I’m author #57
The rules are pretty simple. Walk in the door and do your best to treat everyone with respect. Recognize that there’s a fair amount of silliness and humor that takes place here. Argue passionately without insult or belittlement to this community. Just like in life.
Could you fix one other thing while you’re at it?
I usually read Firedoglake via the RSS feed, but the RSS feed, while it includes the full article text, leaves the author’s name out.
Pachacutec @ 35
Or sexist stuff? One of the things that’s driven me away from MYDD is the tendency to call men some kind of “girl” as a put-down. Ick.
lisadawn82 @ 10
I’d like to add something. I havent’ commented about this kind of ongoing issue for the last few days, wanted to think about it a bit. Without delving into specifics, I just wanted to say that one of the things that has always made firedoglake home to me has been the committment to quality, mutual respect and intelligence in the comments. Our comment section has historically received compliments for the dearth of trollish behavior and the respectful way we treat each other even when the discussion becomes intense. If you travel to other sites, which I do once in awhile to see how things are, you find a lot of competitiveness and unwelcoming comments to newbies who have questions or undeveloped opinions. In the main, this has not been the firedoglake approach and that is something we can be proud of. But I have seen some subtle changes and expressions of cliquishness (word?) that concern me as not-a-newcomer. I believe I speak for many when I say that we have had a number of threads (although not recently) where we have talked about these things, and have strongly agreed that we wanted firedoglake to be a democratic, safe place to express thought out opinions and promote intelligent discussion of issues important to progressive, liberal values. We also wanted to value everyone and agreed that immediately, respectfully addressing comments that felt unsafe or uncomfortable for anyone was the most effective way to educate others about that discomfort and to assist them in joining in appropriately. (this refers to racist, antiwoman, ageist, etc)After going back and reading through some of the concerning thread comments, I think in general and for a blog that has grown exponentially over the past year, we do very well as commenters. But I also think occasional review is incredibly helpful and am glad that lisadawn, Cozumel, immantenize and gggray have raised the question and made further discussion possible.
I’m sorry to take so much space to express myself here and so long after the fact, but have had previous feedback that my thoughts on these things are of value to some. I love this blog for many reasons, value deeply the effort that goes into it for my benefit and am committed to seeing it remain a safe and productive forum for our work toward changing our country for the better.
Thanks for your attention.
angie @ 36
My kitty is the enforcer.
Spazeboy @ 37
Spazeboy!
I’ve been in and out the last several days, having realized I must earn a living, so I don’t know if anybody mentioned this yet or not:
Spazeboy finally has a tip jar at Amazon — though it’s still not that easy to see on his page.
“Walk in the door and do your best to treat everyone with respect.”
Yeah, sure, like not calling someone ‘fuckwit’ or ‘roach’ or something like that. And to be allways aware that it might be insensible to say Gerstein looks like Ernie, cause Jim Henson’s mother might be around here…
The reason these types want the rules explained to them is so they can break them to the letter later, *ilson.
They should stick to yelling at the TV…Or perhaps pass the time by playing a little solitaire.
;>)
I came here not knowing that news about Subway had already been posted. Just wanted to mention, then that there’s front page post up at Howard-Empowered People, and
here is the link to the comments/well wishes for Subway.
Oilfieldguy @
42
I love your kitty hehe.
LindaR @ 40
Thanks both- I forgot about that particular category- racist, sexist, sexual orientation etc. insults. Re: sexist comments, most of the ones I’ve seen are anti-fem, but a few I’ve seen are anti-male- male-bashing and in my book those will not be tolerated either.
*ilson46201 @ 31
*ilson, my dear, is this acceptable in PCE (Post-Civility Era)? If not, I won’t hate you for deleting this comment. :)
zennurse says
August 25th, 2006 at 3:56 pm*
Very nicely put Zen.
I have refrained from using the word “breeder” in here …
Jamie, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with all our new toys, they sure are purty. Thank you so much for all you do to keep this site up to snuff and beyond.
*ilson46201 @ 50
707LOL707LOL707
op99 — I see nothing wrong with using the word “oblivious” to describe a fellow commenter — I saw that comment previously and thought it well put !
I don’t even attempt sexist humor anymore. (rubbing knots on head)
Thank you Jamie for your hard work to make this place ever more “cutting edge”!
***************
However (and this is addressed to the larger community) –
I hope I can still fit in here as an “old-fashioned girl.” I have trouble (not because of anything here, just ’cause of my “real” life) keeping up with comments as they are now.
I’m awfully confused about the ins and outs of the social networking feature, and not that attracted to some aspects of it. To give y’all an idea, I use “Bug Me Not” to sign on to newspaper sites requiring registration, so another set-up requiring me to give my email address is a turn-off.
Does this make me hopelessly unhip?
If you say YES, you’ll just essentially be agreeing with me — in our house we use most of my mom’s (and grandmother’s!) kitchen-related wedding presents (an ancient but gorgeously designed and quite functional stainless steel electric mixer, a full set of colored glass mixing bowls from the thirties, very early decorative Pyrex, cookbooks from the “roaring twenties” with hints for the woman who can’t hire as much “kitchen and serving help” as she’d like — LOL!! — and much, much more).
Mr. K8 also fixed the innards of our lovely gleaming cherry wood 1932 Sears Silvertone Console (floor model) Radio with the glowing Green Eye in the center of the international shortwave tuning dial. The radio hums happily again as it did for our family during FDR’s “fireside chats.”
We’re looking for the Crosley console (not desktop) Victrola phonograph reproduction (with CD player inside) so that I can finally play all the 78 records again. [My dad put the original Victrola out at the curb while mom was in the hospital — when she got home and found out, I thought she was going to put HIM in the hospital.] I miss hearing those Caruso gems!
This gives you an idea of my “old-fashioned” mental landscape, eh?
So being unhip is something I’m used to, although now I’m trying to get accustomed to the idea that all this time our house has been full of “vintage collectibles” and that apparently makes us tres chic. Who knew?
Yes, I’m being a smart aleck, sort of, but my question is this — coming as I am from the school of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” how seriously left-behind-in-the-dust will I be if I do NOT get engaged in the new “social networking”? Is it mostly a question of not being hip and not availing myself of the most sophisticated networking tools (but the “old” way will still function well for me), OR will I be shutting myself out of the intimacy of the community in a serious way if I don’t learn all this stuff?
My time is so limited, just learning this seems prohibitive….
Not trying to be a bummer here at all. I’m happy to see the enthusiasm for new tools, and happy to see FDL being a vanguard.
So what do the Pups think about the implications of being “left behind”?
Oilfieldguy @ 54
more evidence that people can change. {{{hug}}}
OFG- oxymoron- sexist humor. ;)
Renee in Ohio @
45
By reading those comments, I found Subway’s homepage, where there is a tip jar. I guarantee that there will be unexpected costs associated with this and if you have an extra $5 or $10, that is a copayment or gas for MD appts. Just a thought.
angie @ 56
I was tutored under the loving strokes (read–thumps) of our very own divine Valley Girl.
ps, you can also be serenaded by the man himself
here’s the link:
http://teocawki.blogspot.com/
Every once in a while I post a comment and then wish I hadn’t because, seeing it there in black and white, I realize how shallow and uninformed the comment reveals me to be! That would be fine on most sites, but not FDL.
Firedoglake is a top quality destination in no small part because of its top quality commenters. We get content here for free that is worth paying for. The informed comment, to steal a phrase, often comes from people who are professionally trained. Stated facts are supported by reasoned argument or links to reliably competent evidence.
Snark alerts and breaking news are posted with good-natured glee and working links.
When I am in my right mind, I think first about whether my comment is going to be worth a slot on the FDL space/time continuum. But all bets are off when I come up with a good one for punaise.
VG: yeah, all that. We expect people here not to be sexist or homophobic, either.
Actually, people can think what they want, but printing out-of-bounds stuff like that here, even naively, will result in moderation.
I’ve occasionally come across people using terms or phrases or even making arguments that, as presented, go over the line. Sometimes people are just expressing themselves inartfully, and other times they have some unexamined assumptions to get over. Still others are just bigoted people. But this is no congenial home for bigots of any variety.
*ilson46201 @ 50
cutie . . . Actually, that one doesn’t bother me. I think it’s interesting. So I’m not consistently insultable!
zen- can you post the link directly- I’m not sure which it is. xxoo VG
LindaR @ 61
ditto and I still get nervous, btw– I cannot even tell y’all how many comments I have pulled back from my own dern self!
LindaR @ 63
I’m afraid I’m guilty of using that one in here before hehe. I like it better in real time discussions with straight friends though…the looks on their faces the first time they hear it are priceless hehe.
Two more things –
Prayer going out to Subway stat! Wish that we could do the financial support as well, but the Bush Boom economy has restricted spending severely here. Prayer willl have to suffice until the situation changes.
zennurse –
I absolutely LOVE your comment at #41. (and love you too, sweetie, big fat virtual hugs coming at you from me)
Mrs. K8 @ 55
Did you know that for most newspapers, etc. requiring registration, you can use the general dkos registration: dailykos (or dailykos at dailykos dot com), password dailykos? Saves a lot of aggravation.
Mrs KB: you are always an eloquent read, thanks for putting into words what I’m still stuttering about over here. I am hopeless at this kind of stuff and I’m afraid getting hopelesser by the moment. Anyway, as long as I can read the posts and the comments I’ll be a happy to tag along here.
Mrs. K8 @ 55
Mrs. K8, there are still the same ways to share links that you’ve always used. I still use them myself, only occasionally using the new “spotlight” feature. My excuse is lack of time to learn another periferal (sp) when I’m already functioning ok….and, yes, simply not wanting to be bothered to learn something that I will only occasionally use. I may use the new feature at some point, but I don’t multi-task as fast as I used to. I guess it’s part of growing older. I think I do well to read as much as I do. But that’s me.
I do appreciate the efforts by the people who work on this site to make it user friendly and comfortable. I don’t think they will mind if I don’t use the feature, because there will be plenty of people who do.
actually, “breeder” is a fake anti-word. It’s used jocularly by gays about str8 folk — there are zillions of antigay slurs but no real biting and harsh antistr8 words.
Maybe Teddy in SF has heard of some — I know of none.
zennurse @
11
The ‘home’ key will take you back to the top of the page – at least on Windows…
But this is no congenial home for bigots of any variety. Pach
I think this is the word I wanted to use before but couldn’t find, congenial. I think it is entirely possible to say what we need to say with as much energy as is needed to say it while maintaining a congenial tone. I’m not saying be disgustingly sweet, but in response to mr gggray above, *ilson has more experience with him than I do via his mod role, so while expressing his answer, he also has (again) explained why he is frustrated with the question. It would, I would add, be very helpful if mods could address this kind of commenter in the comments just once to clue us in to what is going on. I know that is sometimes asking a lot when it’s insane behind the scenes, but I didn’t remember gggray from previous comments and now understand much better his sarcastic second one. I’m willing to give newer folks some time to respond to correction by the community, but I agree that his comment from before, as I understand it, was grounds for bye-bye.
*ilson46201 @ 71
Otherf*ckers?
op99 –
Thanks for that tip! You’re quite right, it’ll save me time, even though I stuck a link to Bugmenot right on my toolbar. This is better!
mainsailset –
Ah, good to know that I have company here…do you have 78 rpm records, too? Maybe we can get together and cut a mean rug
;-)
zennurse @ 60
VG, this one??
tpres2000 @ 72
Oh, that’s just so easy, I can’t believe I never tried it. Thanks so much!!!
keyboards? the Family Dollar store 2 blocks from here sells them for a flat $10…
angie @ 65
Isn’t it awful when you comment something and wish you hadn’t. I can’t believe others do that. I kinda thought I was the only one who did that.
the “end” key will return you to the bottom of the page with the comments box …
1. Yep zen, we do need a “Back To Top” link(s).
2. We also need a contrasting color for any links in posts and comments, right now they are hard for these getting elderly eyes to distinguish other than they are underlined, and since they are you can’t tell the difference at first if someone does want to simply underline a word as the font color never changes unless you hover. Right now the U button is rather useless.
Mrs. K8, there are still the same ways to share links that you’ve always used. I still use them myself, only occasionally using the new “spotlight” feature.
Oh dear. When I clicked on “spotlight” to try to learn about it, I found it was a neat-o site where I could send stuff to targeted media to try to enlighten the poor dinosaurs to real honest-to-gosh news.
Is it actually a way to create a link within a comment here as well? Or am I still misunderstanding?
Sorry to be so dense…
[Have to go do water therapy in the pool, then head off to the physical therapist’s for land-based work. Be back later to check for response.]
My dear Mrs. K8-
I am so glad every time I see you commenting and send you all kinds of hugs. I hope your healing is going well. We’re having rain and I did 6 hours in a museum yesterday, so today was a write-off.
I’m thinking about these cute little icons as tools, use them, don’t use them, up to us, right? I’m still not using the B/uscodequotelinkclosetags above the comment window because I don’t know how yet. No biggie. I don’t get Spotlight yet and I’m sure it will take a few tries before I have the confidence to use this new tool, but it’s on my long list of things to do as I move slowly into the vast online world. For now, my bookmarks are fun for me.
For about 4 days running now, many have expressed dissatisfation with how they are treated by a group of the few. I well understand the voices of those who complain.
1. The problem is magnified by the fact that these voices of the few try oh so hard to be amongst “the kewl kids”. They try to throw their weight around by insinuation and innuendo that they are more “in” than someone else.
As a general rule, these voices of a few simply have their heads up their asses.
2. The problem is compounded by a leadership let-down which fails to challenge these few Class Pets when they hurl their unsubstantiated accusations (he’s a troll, he’s a mole, etc etc) I do not think leadership intends this failure, but it shows up just the same.
3. I believe a larger problem exists than is yet being recognized by leadership. Again, I look only to the fact that some 4 days have now run with various folks complaining about poor treatment….the culprits almost always the Class Pets with their heads up their asses.
For every one that complains, I estimate another 20 look on in agreement…but refuse to participate because they too do not wish to be called all the names that the voices of a few would call them.
Ghostman
Mrs K8: I used spotlight today to send a copy of When Hillary and Ned Met to Wolf Blitzer, who was ragging about Hillary not wanting to be photographed with Ned.
I enjoy your commentary here, by the way.
Oh I think this is really important:
“I realize how shallow and uninformed the comment reveals me to be! “
No, no, no, one of the most important things about this blog for me has been the incredible generosity of our community to answer questions and offer links when someone asks for help in getting informed. We can’t know about everything all the time, and some of us know a lot about some things and less about others. I said one night that I felt I did not have a good understanding of the Israel/Palestinian issue and got more links and wonderful comments than you can imagine. I think it’s always helpful when someone asks a question like that because there are surely others who will benefit. Also, the information always generates great discussion.
Rule for men visiting here: when you leave please put the toilet seat down.
*ilson46201 @ 33
Huh? I did not know that moderators were intended to censor dicussion. So this person pissed you off with his whining and now you’re going to cut him/her off?
If I piss you off with this comment are you going to ban me for the day also?
Zen is, as always, a wise teacher. I am way tooo angry to ever be “Zen.” I am so glad, Zen, that you are who you are and do what you do and say what you say.
Love,
Imm
John Casper @
13
Sorry you didn’t receive a confirmation email.
Send me an email at help at thespotlightproject dot org and I’ll take a look.
The fine folks at FDL have added the Spotlight link, but the functionality is maintained by me. Besides writing an occasional comment, I’m not part of FDL’s inner workings.
Mark
Ghostman at 84 — I have to say, and perhaps it’s because I’m on multiple cold meds at the moment, and having the medicine head thing…but that was way, way, way obtuse. If there is something specific that you would like to convey, feel free to do so at reddhedd at firedoglake dot com. Because I’m too damn tired and ill at the moment to be expected to parse obscurities.
Puhleeze– watch Hardball with Dr. Ben Marble slicing and dicing Rockey and bushco coming up shortly.
Ghostman @ 84
At the risk of being the most plentiful (read: wordy) commenter on the thread, I’m really trying hard to understand this comment, G-man. I know you have written about this before and I am worried about it, both personally and for the reasons I wrote about in my long post above. I would like to understand about this kewl kids thing and understand more about who the voices of the few are. I guess I feel your comment, while trying to be corcumspect, does not give me enough information, doesn’t help me understand how this could be resolved, as I don’t know how the “leadership” can do it. I’m wondering if you have discussed it with anyone you think is involved in the kewl kids league or in the other group you see?
Just want to see if this can be fleshed out.
suzy_oneliner @ 87
years ago I helped rehab a house for the first Womens Center at Indiana U. Within a few months, the underside of the toilet seat had been decorated with fiercely anti-men slogans…
Did someone say, “BREEDERS?”
Cannonball!
zennurse @ 86
Oh, yes, zennurse, I agree with that. I meant the kind of comment where I’m basically saying “me too” or I express something that was obviously just an automatic reaction with no thought or reason behind it. Or saying something that just takes up space and people’s time to get through to the good stuff. This comment, in fact, might be so obvious that it qualifies as a time-waster (eek).
Asking a question is a good and brave thing, in my opinion.
Ghostman – But who are these class pets? Nothing is lamer than making accusations without naming names. If people piss YOU off, not someone else, YOU, then tell them so. It isn’t hard, comment.
Don’t accuse anonymously, and, to go with your analogy, don’t go whining to the teachers.
Though, even if congenial, this is NOT high school.
I think I’ll follow the advice of Ms. Smith. That seems to be the best idea. If I was obtuse…it was only due to a hesitancy to “name names”, which surely would roil the streets. So, I’ll follow the suggestion of Ms. Smith.
Ghostman
suzy_oneliner @ 87
For me it not a bother if they leave the seat up as long as they don’t soil it.
Mrs. K8 @
82
This is exactly what it does!
Nope. Spotlighting a blog post just sends it to the people in the media you select. Plus you get to add you own comment about the post. (Actually, the comment is required).
I don’t check the comments nearly often enought. (Sorry) If you have questions about the Spotlight link, what it is or how to use it, please send an email to help at thespotlightproject dot org.
Mark
A big thanks to those 2 keyboard shorcut posters!
I swing a mean hammer but this here kommmputer stuff is still pretty much beyond my realm.
Getting really picky about what I’d like to see: the words “Quote This Comment” set in from the edge so that, when I’m going back looking for a particular commenter, it’s easier to scan the names…
Ugh just channel surfed past Glen Beck. He was “reporting” on some guy who claimed that even secularists thought the Rapture was at hand.
I don’t know where to even BEGIN parsing that lol. So instead of trying, I will just say that I really love a nice cheesecake! :)
Ghostman @ 84
I would respectfully say, I really don’t quite understand what’s being said here.
well goodness, Ms. Smith asks for private explanation, epu wants public. I’ll stick with my decision above. And epu, not only did I/do I NOT have you in mind as someone who offends…it might also be noted that I have never once privately communicated with anyone on this site. Peace to you, epu.
Ghostman
tpres2000 @ 101
I agree!
Ghostman at 104 — thanks — appreciate it. I’m wrestling with the HTML coding on a post at the moment, and that is all the intricate thought that I can muster this evening with this viral ick floating around my brain. (Yes, I’ve caught whatever the peanut had, sad to say.)
mary jane @ 105
If you’re using Firefox, you can just hit CTRL-F, and then type in the name of the commenter you are looking for…and can search for every occurence of it. It should be possible with other browsers, but I don’t know the details about how hehe.
CHS @ 89, so, so sorry to hear you are not feeling well. Hope you are better soon – it’s no time to try parsing obscurities!
“I realize how shallow and uninformed the comment reveals me to be! “
Informed is what we aim to be. That’s why we come here. I’m no mental giant, obviously, but I can see what’s happening to our country and brainstorm with some very intelligent people about what I can do from where I am…and it’s good to have a place to say what’s on my mind without feeling like some freak or donning a tin-foil hat. I learn new things here every day that I can do to encourage change. My skills and temperment don’t run to snarkiness and inspired prose, but there are many things I *can* do (including ENJOYING snark). For me, the most important thing is I want my country back. Our system has worked (sometimes well, and sometimes not so well), but I’m a fan of Thomas Jefferson, who thought that our system of rule of law is self-correcting. I’m not sure he envisioned the criminals we have to deal with now, though, so I worry. (/rant)
Kurt @ 107
WOW!! That is just wonderful! Thanks Kurt.
Who else knows about these little things?
I love these little shortcuts.
Wonder if I know any?
Ghostman – Being omniscient, I know I am not one your tormentors. That, and the fact that I’m the one who wrote about the “danger” of the cool kid clique – I really have to save my press clippings.
My advice, if I have to repeat myself, is simple: Defend yourself if you feel put upon.
EPU – I selfasterisk primarily to see you use the term “pet peeve” *g*
The kewl kids usually say something like this to me:
I hear you knocking, but you can’t come in
As long as they say it with two drummers and a wall of sound, I’m happy.
Ghostman @ 84
I would argue that, by and large, such pile-ons are not unsubstantiated. If a commenter shows him/herself to be a bigot, or whatever other unsavory quality, why wouldn’t we “police the area,” as my pappy used to say? If a newbie gets jumped on and sees the error of his/her ways, they have the option of shaping up, or even changing their handle and starting over fresh. If they want to stay and “prove themselves right,” even though their behavior or politics deviates from community norms, well personally, I would just as soon see a mod show up with the broom.
Also, don’t overlook the warm welcome that substantive new commenters get who aren’t trolls.
Perhaps the pendulum has swung too far in the self-censoring direction as we try to adjust our course this week, and I’m not saying it didn’t need adjusting. I just want to keep this a congenial (good word!)community with fantastic energy and synergy, and above all, a place that incites us to ACT. Trolls and flame wars really detract from that, I think they need to be put out quick. My $0.02.
Ghostman – One last thing – EPU should always be capitalized: it is a proper noun.
It’s easy to use zen, highlight the text or word you want to format, click the proper button like Bold or Italic and it will instantly put the correct HTML brackets and code around it for you, (instead of entering it manually). I also find it’s easier to blockquote something first then go back within the paragraph(s) if I want to format some words further in it.
Some people are having a problem with the Quote This Comment feature (their additional comments end up within the original one) because the closing [/blockquote] tag is by default rendered a line or two down and can be hard to notice sometimes. Our new texted reply needs to start after that closing blockquote tag.
Mary – Are you a Rockpile fan?
LindyH @ 85
Hi LindyH,
I’m the guy responsible for making sure the light bulbs are replaced when needed for the Spotlight link…
Just want to ask if you had any problems when you used it today. Or if you have any suggestions for making it better?
Ooooh, the “end”thing works, too!
One other little pet peeve, when I click a link (Mary’s youtube for example), it takes me to that page, then when I return, I come back to a much earlier comment. Why is that? Who decides where I return to a certain comment? (Is it you EPU?) I have my thingie set to open links in a new window, but it doesn’t always happen. Just a stupid annoyance.
zennurse — a shortcut my son showed me the other day: if you hit the “fn” key (to the right of the “ctrl” key) and f7 or f8, the screen will get darker or brighter.
Another good one: If you need to erase something you’ve typed, hold down the shift key and hit backspace to take out whole words at a time.
lindy, 109:
I think Jefferson saw the potential that democracy could stagger under the onslaught of evil men, but he also envisioned a free press to throw the glaring light of truth on the bad actors.
What Jefferson did not foresee, alas to his everlasting shame, was that the press would one day become the minion of the powerful and the privileged, as it is today.
At some point, the phrase “a free press” may become an oxymoron. Go ask George Orwell.
Come to think of it, they may well be having a spirited debate on this question as we type this, and I see Jefferson shaking his head in disbelief, and George hesitating to say, “Tom, I told you so.”
Evil Parallel Universe @ 116
F*ck yes! *g*
Shez @ 115
Thanks Shez, you are so right!
I'll keep trying.zen @118 – that happens to me too – coming back to an earlier place and time. I thought maybe it was RNC spyware.
zennurse @ 118
When you click on a link (Windows again – sorry) if you ‘right-click’ on the link, it gives you the option of opening the link in a new window; the window you came from is still there, right where you were…
Mary – That makes up for Echo and the Bunnymen.
Zenn – No, I am not responsible. Your going back to the last saved “FDL” in your cache, not reloading the page when you go back, that’s my explanation.
LindaR
The brighter really helps with my elderly and multi-corrected vision.
Thanks.
zennurse @ 125
Mine too. I also like the ctrl to make the text larger (in Firefox).
Correction: the ctrl and the plus sign.
Corrected correction: the ctrl and the = or the – sign for larger and smaller.
tpres, this is turning into a Windows tutorial for zennurse, hope others will benefit, or maybe I’m the only one?
Anyway, that’s a keeper and it worked perfectly.
zennurse (118),
I, too, noticed that, when retur,ning (or “going back”) from a linked page back to the FDL comments page, I ended up pointing at a comment wayyyyyyy back in the queue. Then I realized that I had moved backwards not only in “space,” but also in “time” (i.e., you return to the comment you were pointing at when last you refreshed that comment thread–long before you clicked on the link to the new page). The trick, then, is to “refresh” (F5) just before following a link (as if to leave a bookmark in the comment thread) and just after returning from a link (in order to bring the comments up-to-date).
The only thing I have to offer is an addon from Firefox that I really love, StumbleUpon. You click a button on a toolbar and it takes you to a semirandom site you may not have ever seen before, in my case this is almost always. You can identify the categories you want and then rate them as you surf along. I have found some great photo and graphic design sites this way, just a category I like to browse. Firefox users probably know about it.
zennurse @ 125
OK, I have one for us occularly challenged folks.
To make the print size bigger ,hold down control key and hit the plus key. To reverse , do the same except use the minus key.
Good point, Mike, makes sense. I’ll try all these suggestions and will surely be far less frustrated!
New thread, kids, thanks for all the great suggestions and for the discussion on fdl. So important.
Woo hooo zen, isn’t it so handy?
LOL I agree with this you said: “One other little pet peeve, when I click a link (Mary’s youtube for example), it takes me to that page, then when I return, I come back to a much earlier comment. Why is that?”.
I think it’s because of the Refresh Comments button, it doesn’t refresh the entire page and so the page placeholder spot doesn’t come back with, it comes back to where you first started using the Refresh Comments button. I have to F5 it when that happens and then scroll to find where I left off. I still like the quickness of that Refresh Comments button and have to just ignore that tiny glitch in trade since I usually open in a new window too but sometimes forget.
Mark Steckel @ 117
Hi, Mark. The only problem I had (and it wasn’t a problem, it was just me being slow) was in unfamiliarity with the tool…and finding what I was looking for. Once I found the proper buttons, it was a breeze
Thank you for doing that. I really did want Wolfie B to see those photos of Ned and Hillary. I went to the CNN site and, geeze…it IS rocket science over there, though I did finally find what I was looking for (I think). But after all that work, I decided to come back here and try Spotlight. Worked like a charm :)
Dear epu….ooops, EPU (chuckle)….ahhh, I was wondering if you saved your own press clippings! And, I think I usually jump right in on the few asses who like to call me a troll, a mole, etc etc.
I “think”, where I wandered way off into “obtuse land” was in trying to point out that the bigger harm of such little asses is NOT as to me…hell, I defend myself whenever need be!…but in trying to point out that such baseless allegations can have a chilling effect on many, many others who would like to contribute, to “de-lurk”, but refrain as they do not wish to put up with the crap that one Ghostman may sometimes put up with.
I end with EMPHASIS that my complaint is only as to a VERY few, the VAST majority of folks here are a-ok. They may always disagree with the content of my ideas…but that’s fair game! Hell, even Sheriff Wilson and I get along….when he has to occasionally put me in moderation jail, I go along peacefully! Peace to all,
Ghostman
LindyH @ 135
Glad to hear.
lisadawn at 88 — yes, that’s exactly what they can do if the commenter has had the same issue explained to him — repeatedly, in multiple threads — by not only moderators, but by me, personally, as to why using the term “retard” was offensive here (because we have a few long-time readers who have children who have special needs issues, and, frankly, it is an offensive term). And he was told that this was a non-negotiable rule. By me. And yet he persists in coming back, thread after thread, to whine about his treatment.
So, yes, if Wilson has gotten tired of saying the same thing — repeatedly — to this person, then he can take whatever remedial steps are necessary so that every discussion thread doesn’t devolve into a “why won’t you guys let me offend others” explanation thread specifically for this one person.
Jane and I cannot be online every minute of every day. (As it is, I get little enough time for my family and myself these days because we are so busy.) We rely on our volunteer moderators to keep the discussion moving along — and by and large they do a great job for us. Lately, there has been a lot of questioning of what it is that they and Jane and I and other do — but you know, I’ve been thinking that perhaps we should just allow all the spam, and nastiness and everything else creep into a thread or two so everyone could see how things COULD be without all the work that everyone puts in behind the scenes.
It’s a thankless job, to moderate — you are accused of taking things too far by half the readers, and accused of not doing your job quickly enough by the other half. I have to say that I am personally very happy to have them all — because my life would be that much more exhausting without them.
Orangejumpsuit at 120, I agree. One of the little things I do to try to counteract the Wurlitzer is to print myself a copy of every article I think makes one of the points we’re trying to make and makes it very well, with author name, link, etc. I take it with me when I leave home (I believe that fits under fair use of copyrighted material). Somewhere in my travels during the day, I leave it someplace, like a bench or in a break room. I did that the other day, and several people commented on the piece (it was at work and I left the page on the bench where a number of us congregate during break).
Christy Hardin Smith @ 137
Hey, I thanked them. *grin*
lol LindyH — I needed that. I think I need to just go to bed. The cold meds are NOT cutting it this evening.
Then go on to bed. We’ll be good…maybe. Just stay healthy. We need clarity now more than ever.
Well, ReddHedd is certainly the most coherent sick person in the world. And I want the sick part to hit the road RAT NOW.
I live on and with the same furniture that my parents and grandparents did, which is exactly why I love it. This may help you understand why to me, as to Mrs.K8, these new colorful thingies are and prolly will remain “patches of an unpieced quilt” that I savor only as such.
In response to every other commenter on this thread, I can think of only one satisfactory reply:
I love you.
lotus #143: Belle South charms again!
OMG …like i wasn’t overwhelmed enuff. I have so much to catch up on since I’ve returned.
These new features are great. I’ll see you al in 900 years when i learn them. Its a love/hate relationship I have with technology.
Christy: I sent you a paypal for you and the peanut to maybe rent some movies and get ice cream…
ccmask at 148 — you are a sweeetheart. :)