You may have noticed that our comment system has been acting a little funny for the last few days. You might have seen an increase in the number of proxy errors you're confronted with, or found that you can no longer leave your URL along with your comment. Well, you're not imagining things. The truth is that the boys in New York have been fighting an avalanche of comment spam, and these annoyances are the visible expression of it. The spam-clogged system is responsible for the proxy errors; the URL issues are an attempt to dissuade the spammers. We're told that you can still leave your URL, but you'll have to omit the 'http://'. We're sorry for the inconvenience, but this stuff is largely out of our hands. If it helps, you can do like we do and put your childlike faith in the new comment system that we're assured is just around the corner, and which should include blockbuster new features like better spam protection, improved performance, and the ability to send mild corrective shocks to the chairs of authors whose posts you disagree with. It'll be a new golden age! Or so we're told. In the meantime, please bear with us. more ›

Sorry for the radio silence, everyone. All the -ists in the Gothamist empire were having some server trouble today, but it looks like things are starting to get cooking again. We could experience a few more issues of this sort over the next week as hiccups occur in some recently-implemented technology, so we hope you'll hang in there as we hold our breath, try scaring each other real real bad, and swallow giant spoonfuls of sugar. Anyway, we'll toss up as much content as we can get up for today, and make up for it tomorrow. more ›

Written by DCist Technology Editor Tom Lee. more ›

Item: Dear readers, the time has come for this editor to move on. As of today, I'll be stepping down as an Editor-in-Chief of DCist, and turning my set of reins over to Sommer Mathis, lately our Arts Editor, who'll be running things alongside Martin. In August, I'll be moving back to London, my home away from home, to pursue a PhD in Economic History. The goal is to make myself permanently unemployable, so I have time to focus fulltime on the blogosphere. more ›

Speak up, D.C. We know you have a lot to say, so say it here. DCist is accepting submissions for our Op/Ed section, Opinionist, which runs on Sundays. Send us your thoughtful, critical, constructive and articulate first person op-eds about almost anything and everything having to do with life in D.C. and its environs. Observations about city life, politics (local, national and international), arts, culture, food, music, metro, sports, et cetera are all valid provided... more ›

We don't like it or do it. more ›

Why so shy, D.C.? We've had our say, and now it's your turn. DCist is accepting submissions for our Op/Ed section, Opinionist, which runs on Sundays. We encourage thoughtful, critical, constructive and articulate first person op-eds about almost anything and everything having to do with life in D.C. and its environs. Observations about city life, politics (local, national and international), arts, culture, food, music, metro, sports, et cetera are all valid provided they express your... more ›

A year-and-a-half on, and today we celebrate 4,000 posts on all things Washington -- news, music, arts, food, sports, gossip and Butterstick. And of course, comments, comments and more comments -- almost 25,000 in total. Thanks, guys.... more ›

We'll refrain from comment on this for the moment, but we'd like to thank Fishbowl for shining a light on the page of a blogger whose design work hit a little close to home. Patrick Gavin goes to DCist Editor Emeritus Mike Grass for comment. Read his thoughts and tell us what you think. Should we be peeved? more ›

Here at DCist we're always looking to try new stuff, and today we're debuting something that should feature prominently on the site, henceforth. It's online voting, and we're pretty stoked to see what you guys think about all manner of stuff, from D.C. politics to who makes the best cupcake to which kickball league is the best. The possibilities are endless, but we're starting in a modest fashion. So to take this baby for a test drive, we want to know: Where do you all live? more ›

We'll blame it on the weather. Opinionist is taking the day off from airing our gripes and concerns about D.C. and enjoying this early taste of spring. It's just so darn nice outside that we can't be bothered to blog about the city's parking problems or Metro Access woes. At any rate, don't let us stop you if you've got something to say. DCist is accepting submissions for Opinion pieces. We encourage thoughtful, critical, constructive... more ›

There has been some recent discussion regarding our use of photos under a Creative Commons license. Some readers have objected to our posting of images with noncommercial restrictions, arguing that our parent organization, Gothamist LLC, is for-profit, and we therefore should not be considered appropriate users of those photos. more ›

Thank you to everyone who participated in the How Big is DCist? contest. After tallying up the votes, we can tell you that the average guess was 16,848 (thanks to a few entries with great confidence in our ability to reach the masses), while the median came in at 9,472, which was a bit closer. In the end, the victor was one Andrew Mast, who guessed 11,006. Last week, DCist averaged 11,092 unique daily visitors, not bad for being less than two years old. Andrew, we'll get you your shirt post haste. Readers, we appreciate your visits; thanks for the fantastic support. more ›

Yes, this is a bit self-indulgent; please don't point this out to us. more ›

Just kidding. But as you may have noticed, today's Morning Roundup did not include the usual comments feature. Before you get all conspiracy-minded, let us say that comments have been disabled for a perfectly legitimate reason -- technical difficulties. Not because we're trying to stifle our critics, much less because we are fending off an attack from he-who-shall-not-be-named, but an unexpected technical bump in the road. There seems to be a slight hiccup in our... more ›

Washington is a town that runs on background, on double secret cover information and fields of wild, grain-fed anonymice. Everyone knows what someone else said about something in D.C., and while we're always happy to receive tips on blockbuster scandals, sometimes you just want to chuckle to yourself about the guy next to you who's telling his buddy on the cell phone to meet him for drinks at Big Hunk. Enter DCist's Overheard. more ›

When we're not writing posts, we're tooling with the site behind the scenes. Recently, we've implemented a few changes worthy of mention. more ›

As we slowly awake from what was hopefully a memorable night of resolving to be better in 2006 than we were in 2005, DCist would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. more ›

Last week, we changed our comment policy to require TypeKey registration before a comment may be posted. We originally announced that this change would begin with a one week trial period. With the holidays came reduced traffic, however, and it's been difficult to tell what effect the shift has had on our commenters. With this in mind, we'll be extending the trial period through the first week of January before deciding whether to keep the TypeKey system in place for the long-term. Thanks for your patience, and please email us if you have any questions or comments. more ›

It's been getting a little quiet around the site over the past few days, as our writers head to other states, other countries, and the suburbs. It's going to get a little quieter still, as we move to a reduced schedule over the weekend, and take some time away from the computer for friends and family. We all wish our readers well over the holiday break, and we look forward to getting back to posting regularly on Tuesday. more ›

Yes, bloggers have families too. DCist will be publishing on a lighter schedule for the next few days as we tear ourselves away from our T1 lines and wireless connections to spend some quality face time with our loved ones and of course, stuff ourselves silly. more ›

Judging from the comments you leave us, loyal readers, you've got plenty to say. So say it here. This past Sunday, we launched Opinionist, our version of an Op/Ed section that gives our contributors and now you, the reader, a chance to express your opinions about the issues affecting your life. We encourage thoughtful, critical, constructive and articulate first person op-eds about almost anything and everything having to do with life in DC and its... more ›

...well, if we told you, it wouldn't be much of a surprise. more ›

If you've been getting a little bored with the static advertisement for LAist on the right side of our page day after day, take heart: hopefully the column will soon offer some visual variety. Starting today, you can purchase advertisements on DCist. They are affordable, targeted, and won't harm any trees. If you have questions, need more convincing, or would like us to woo you with jargon-laden talk of the importance of utilizing nontraditional media when constructing a viral marketing campaign to reach early adopters, drop Rob a line. more ›