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Pixies 'Doolittle' @ The Palladium 11/4/09
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The Bravery @ the Wiltern 11/05/09
By now, you've probably noticed our new profile system that rolled out earlier in the summer. In the system, people who comment on LAist are segregated into two groups: those who have registered for a free account to leave a comment (who have their name attached to each comment) and those who haven't (who are universally called "guest"). As of this morning, LAist's publisher Gothamist has rolled out another change, whereby guest comments are automatically not displayed for all users. They are not gone forever, indeed to display them, all you have to do is click "Show Guest Comments" below any post to display them, and a cookie will be set on your computer to always display them.
That small change is the next step in a slow phasing-out of anonymous comments here on LAist. Soon, guest comments will be disabled altogether and the only people who will be able to comment on LAist will be those who have signed up for a free account. This is a natural and necessary step forward, and, really, it takes like ten seconds to register, it's free, and anyone can do it. Please do sign up if you haven't yet.
If you're a registered commenter, you'll also see something new when you click "Edit Profile" in the top left corner: you can now upload a 100 x 100 avatar. For now, that icon will only be displayed on your profile, but soon it'll be used to identify you in the comments for an article.
LAist provides its readers with over 20 posts a day about music in LA, food, current events, politics, sports, technology, art, traffic, housing, neighborhoods, and so many facets to living in this great town. Our writers volunteer their time to go to neighborhood council meetings, protests, restaurants, concerts, community events, and quite frankly deserve the respect that many registered commentors give them.
If you are attached to the idea of being able to be a negative anonymous commentor, however, you will soon have to do that somewhere else. But have no fear, the blogosphere has 88 million blogs. If you need to get your anonymous fix, you have a wide variety of other places to haunt.
For the rest of you, if you have always needed an excuse to spend a few seconds to register, we hope that this provides that excuse for you. We do want to hear what you think. Even if it's negative, and even if it's positive. Remember, if you don't tell us when we're being good, who will?
If you have any questions or concerns feel free to drop me an email at tony @ laist
Original photo by dviousto from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
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Well done!
I will be missed. You will see.
Oh all RIGHT.
-Will Campbell
when i click "show guest comments" i still can't see them
Sigh.
"Remember, if you don't tell us when we're being good, who will?"
lol, you will
"If you are attached to the idea of being able to be a negative anonymous commentor..."
What if we're attached to the idea of being a positive anonymous commentor?
Tony, are you going to stop being so hostile to negative commentators once everyone has to register?
I think what will happen is far fewer people will comment because it's not worth the time to go to another page, log in, go back to find the post you were looking at, and then comment.
For example, even though I'll keep reading LAist, I'll probably stop commenting, because my desire to contribute doesn't outweigh the (admittedly minor) pain in the ass involved every time I feel the urge to say something.
In any case, I would like to see the "constructive comment" counts before and after the change. Maybe a digg-like system of voting for constructive comments (and hiding negative ones) would work better?
Does this mean that all laist editors and staff will be forced to use their real names? "Anti", "April Smear" etc?
Or will the a double standard be promoted here?
"LAist provides its readers with over 20 posts a day about music in LA, food, current events, politics, sports, technology, art, traffic, housing, neighborhoods, and so many facets to living in this great town.
This is such bullshit.
Tony Pierce is the most incompetent "-ist" editor of them all and his staff writes crap like drug reviews, "my dick is burning" and "sex during your period" entries that have NOTHING to do with living in L.A. specifically.
Tony Pierce, you stink. (although I see you did manage to post a self potrait with this entry).
Same here. The "Show Guest Comments" link doesn't work...
Woah! #11's going to hell.
update: it works on my internet explorer, but not on my firefox. BOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
"Or will the a double standard be promoted here?"
can't see why it wouldn't be
-diana
#11 you are a narrow-minded selective reader.
please review the entries of the last week and explicate for me the number of: 1) entries on food, 2) entries on film, 3) entries on art, 4) entries on sports, 5) entries on politics, 6) entries on the amazing exciting wonderfulness of human existence.
oh wait, you don't know what it means to be excited about human existence, scratch that.
Gee, if one can't remain anonymous on the internet of all places, then the terrorists have won. Ironically, I blame Bush.
Not anonymous,
Lucio