Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
The Asheville Citizen-Times on Friday disabled its Topix commenting system on the stories it posts to its Web site. The anonymous message boards were mostly a continuous stream of gutter-worthy bile, which I’ve railed against pretty much non-stop since I left the newspaper. When I worked at the newspaper, almost everyone in the newsroom hated the message boards too, but the top management basically shrugged it off, saying that’s the way it is.
With handles like Sgt. Rock and Lokel, the commenters fragged everyone from Susan Reinhardt to anyone of Hispanic descent. They were obscene. They were nasty to one another. It was occasionally mildly entertaining, and every now and then, a commenter offered a solid story tip or lead. Mostly, though, it was trash.
By cutting off the Topix comments, the Citizen-Times has certainly taken a hit on web site clicks. Some stories would get hundreds of comments. That’s got to hurt, because page clicks translate to ad dollars.
The Citizen-Times still has a commenting system on its stories, but you have to register with an e-mail address. I guess that means the newspaper can track you down now, whereas before, there was no email requirement.
I noticed that Topix commenting is still enabled on the newspaper’s Take 5 entertainment stories. I wonder why.
I also noticed that the newspaper has also begun splitting its stories into multiple pages, requiring you to click four or five times to read one story. That is annoying, to say the least, and looks like a way to make up for page views lost by doing away with the Topix comments.
As usual, the Citizen-Times has made no public statement on the major change to the interactivity of a web site that gets tens of thousands of views. Barring any explanation, we’ll just have to keep watching and draw our own conclusions as to why the newspaper made the change.
For now, I’ll take the credit for beating down the nasty message boards. And I’ll applaud the Citizen-Times for the decision.
I agree with what they did. You better check the posters who are on Asheville CT forum now, We saw one, who is always posting rude things to others, on Topix.
Now they are on AC-T's forum too with same nic. I just hate for AC-T. They got one of the vicious posters on Topix who has just joined AC-T.
I don't like dealing with trolls either. It's painful to say the least. Time-consuming too. The moderator don't do their job at all on Topix.
Are Topix getting sued? If you are on AC-T as a registered user, suggest you go on Topix and see who the hateful posters are, to protect yourself.
They got one poster who says she can see your IP address by clicking your name. Get some virus protection. That's suspicious.
Here it is now almost 2011 and the Citizen-Times definitely did the right thing a few years ago, Topix has grown progressively worse and there is more and more negative information coming out about that company's lack of business ethics. A ton of papers are starting to drop them. That company needs to make some serious changes.
Topix is horrible. I support freedom of speech but it is illegal to LIBEL someone and that occurs all the time. Children are often threatened, death threats, and good, innocent people attacked by someone who doesn’t like them. Topix claims to promote news but what they really promote is criminal activity. The forums need to be moderated in a big time way. Several attorney generals after them.
Fear not, for those that miss Sgt Rock. He’s back on the Puck forum (the one the ACT now uses, with it’s cruddy interface, and even worse, cruddy IE requirement) as "RoadWarrior53".
Topix is not at risk for actions in libel. They do get a little nervous about it, though. When a discussion crosses the line they tend to zap it and make it disappear. They don’t want to have a court order served on them to provide internet protocol information. It could get onerous, as it did in the Texas libel lawsuit, Lesher versus Doe.
The surviving sections of the Communications Decency Act immunize "forums" like Topix and usenet from libel lawsuits.
The C-T originally had it’s own forum, much better in my opinon, and registration was required there as well. Discussion was…spirited at times, but nothing like what Topix allowed. I’ve been posting since pre-Topix and am have considered dropping out, sticking strictly to registered forums. Sooner or later, you get tired of the trolls. We’ll see.
"I just noticed the mofos at AC-T also changed their articles to be spread across multiple pages, so you have to click on another page to see the rest of the article…nice way to expose website viewers to more ads."
I am amazed they would be so brazen as to spread five paragraphs across two pages. That is classy.
Anyway, I am sad that I no longer have a creative outlet for certain theories of mine that were often overlooked as mere drug-induced delusions.
Pfft.
bobaloo – that’s right, i didn’t like what people were saying when they were were race-baiting, and when they were were gay-bashing, when they were hate-mongering and when they were tossing around inane insults. a newspaper is serving no public good, providing no greater good, by allowing that on its site.
By the way Cecil, do you think Ariana Huffington carries huge amounts of libel insurance? I’ve seen some vile things posted at HuffPo, which largely runs unmoderated and anonymous as well.
You didn’t like what people were saying so you advocated getting rid of it altogether? Sorry, I find that a bit overkill.
I really think you guys are terrific, but you, Gordon and Cecil sound a bit sanctimonious.
and you can keep up with Sgt. Rock here:
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/asheville-citizen-times
and here:
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090518/POLITICS/90518051
The TOPIX forum is BAACCKK!!
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090518/POLITICS/90518046
I just noticed the mofos at AC-T also changed their articles to be spread across multiple pages, so you have to click on another page to see the rest of the article…nice way to expose website viewers to more ads.
It is still possible to comment on the CT stories by going straight to the TOPIX website….
The topix board was a rather interesting place, at least some of them made a decent effort not like the other Rag’s board where its a buddy buddy lets pat ourselves each other on the back type of board.
At long last.
No blog that permits anonymous posting is of much use as a forum, and no one who posts anonymously is worth a listen. I always figured that Topix was a Gannett subsidiary that carried massive insurance concerning libel and handled numerous papers’ comment function.
Good riddance.
In the same way that we need newspapers to keep an eye on government and other public affairs to keep everyone honest and informed, we need someone to keep an eye on newspapers, to keep them up to standards. You’re doing that job for the Asheville Citizen-Times and a good job.
Now . . who is going to do that service for Mountain Express?
SDL, the Citizen-Times has always held itself out as more than just a business. In the past, anyway, it has wanted to be seen as a First Amendment defender and a hub for community discussion and problem-solving. I’m not saying they owe anyone an explanation, but as an information company that plays the role of community citizen, you’d think they would want to explain. As we’ve seen over and over again, though, such as in last year’s layoffs, price increase and printing press closure, the newspaper hates to talk about itself.
Gordon, I’m definitely boasting a bit. It was you and me and lots of other people who complained long and loudly about those boards. But thank you.
I made an effort for a while to bring more civility and grammar to the Topix boards. I failed.
You, blog hero, have succeeded in doing away with the heinous venom of the AC-T Topix boards.
Kudos, and thank you.
The AC-T doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. First and foremost, they’re a business (albeit a troubled one). And like alot of people, they’re probably sick and tired of internet trolls who panhandle RSS feeds and discussion boards at every turn. I guess the AC-T finally realized that, as a business, the best way to kill these morons off and keep their own dignity in the process is to take away their only vehicle of anonymous communication. In this case, the discussion boards at Topix. Good work.
Reinhardt?
Right on, Ash. Though it was a small group of people, those boards showed that not all is as ‘progressive and open-minded’ as people believe in Asheville. There’s a lot of bigotry and hate boiling out there. I feel sorry for those who have nothing but negative things to say all the time.