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We're only a few hours into our experiment with TypeKey, and we're already getting plenty of feedback. Many people seem to be happy with the idea; others are upset about the loss of anonymity; and some are experiencing technical glitches.
To the satisfied: thanks for signing up with TypeKey. We hope this arrangement will work as well as we expect it to.
To the unhappy: we're listening. This is still just a trial run. And we understand your concerns about losing anonymity. Please accept our assurances that if you have something you want to say — but are afraid to say it — you can email any member of the staff privately. We'll work with you to make sure your voice is heard. But we suspect that this policy will discourage meaninglessly impolite comments more than it will discourage meaningfully impolitic ones.
Finally, to those having trouble: bear with us. We suspect that many of you are using IE. Part of the problem is the maze of servers between DCist, Gothamist and TypeKey; a bigger part is Microsoft's recent adoption of a "lock down everything so users will stop complaining" approach to browser security. Many thanks to Ben, who offered this solution in comments:
- Go to Internet Explorer's Privacy options (from within IE, click Tools Menu, click Internet Options, click the Privacy tab)
- Click the "Sites" button
- Add the following addresses, clicking "Allow" after each one: dcist.com, londonist.com, typekey.com
- Hit "OK" to go back to the Privacy Tab, then click over to the General tab
- Click Delete Cookies (and agree to delete them). Click OK to get out of the options, go to DCist, log in through TypeKey, get returned to DCist.
Please email me directly if you're still experiencing difficulty registering or posting.
UPDATE: Please bear in mind that none of your personal information will be publicly revealed under this new system. The TypeKey system asks for your name and email address, but they won't be visible to anyone. You can still adopt a pseudonym — we're just asking that it be a consistent one. If you think something something stinks, you're free to tell us without fear of your comment intruding on Real Life. But if someone isn't willing to accept responsibility for an opinion — even when using an alias — then it's probably not a particularly thoughtful opinion in the first place.
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hurrah, I did it... And you can for the most part remain anonymous if you create a generic hotmail or Gmail account.
YAY! It only took 37 tries to get in! Thanks to Tom, Martin, and Ben for your help. Finally, I can get back to work....
This will pretty much rule out the casual commenter's opinion here, which is one of the things that keep blogs from being echo chambers.
I think this is a good move. Rash comments can still be made, but there will a slightly higher level of accountability. Free discussion + accountability = good blog.
"If someone isn't willing to accept responsibility for an opinion — even when using an alias — then it's probably not a particularly thoughtful opinion in the first place."
Ok, while I can certainly live with the change, and understand the motive, arguments like that are just bunk. It's easy to imagine scenarios where someone could have well-thought out, valuable comments to make, but would only feel comfortable making them anonymously and as part of the broader comment discussion.
I'm going to overstate the case here, but frankly justifications like this last one just have this ugly Patriot Act-esque, "only the bad guys have something to hide” twinge to them.
If you prefer to impose a little more order and restrictions on DCist comments, then fine. But please don't do that while simultaneously attacking the motives and value of anyone who, at some point or another, may have wanted a convenient choice of anonymity here.
DC John,
See, I agree with what Tom wrote. The basic issue is this -- the majority of people who have serious opinions and contribute to good discussions on the site do so using a consistent online moniker, even if it does not give away their real name. It's the posters that are constantly switching identities (you know who you are) that tend to sidetrack good discussions, insult other readers and commenters, and leave invaluable nuggets of opinion that revolve around calling us "fags" or saying that a particular writer should be stricken with AIDS.
Up until now we have done almost no moderating of comments. This step won't yield to any more moderation more than it will discourage the people whose opinions are about as useful as plugging your ears and calling someone a stupidhead.
This policy does take away some of the fun, but so do traffic lights and functioning restraint mechanisms on carnival rides. In reading through some of the comments sections in recent posts, the need for restraint mechanisms did come to mind. And I'm not even into bondage!
I won't pretend I am a fan of the new requirement; though, you can obviously do as you think best.
In my experience, those willing to troll and willing to be spiteful have never seemed, on average, too afraid to stick with a consistent moniker.
I think this policy will simply cut down the amount of commentors posting on the site, as it is one small level of access that makes it a little less inviting. It isn't a big deal, and perhaps you want less comments anyway.
I, for one, support our new TypeKey Overlords.
Using TypeKey really doesn't change the level of anonymity. It just makes it more of a pain in the ass to post comments, since you have to sign in to do so. It isn't such a big deal to me, but it may be for some.
Even easier than doing all those IE fixes is to use an alternative browser, like Firefox.
...but would only feel comfortable making them anonymously and as part of the broader comment discussion.
but you can still do that, as a few commenters have already proved. typekey requires a two minute set up, and then you only have to sign in every two weeks. anybody who really feels they have a worthwhile and important contribution to a discussion can still contribute without revealing any aspect of their identity. what the typekey registration hopefully will stop (or at least slow down) is the dashed-off insults and cruel attacks that never contributed to any worthwhile discourse in the first place.
What Catherine said. We're not trying to broadcast the fact, but it is still really easy to create a webmail account and a new typekey identity. We're basically just raising the effort required to switch identities in order to discourage, but not eliminate, the practice. If you have something you need to say anonymously, you can. But easy-access anonymity was encouraging some bad habits.