It comes to all of us with age. As hairlines recede and waistlines expand, cosmetic surgery becomes more attractive. While this blog is just around 2 years old, in human-to-blog years that is almost middle aged. In the last few weeks, various regulars have suggested that the site needs work to handle the large number of visitors and entries. This is an attempt to see what you would like to do with the site. I view this site as belonging to all of the regulars and I would like to solicit your thoughts on changes that you would like to see from different cosmetic touches to different structure. This entry will also allow discussion of those things (not people) that you least like.
I cannot promise immediate changes (I am swamped in litigation), but it seems like the regulars would like to see some changes in structure etc. Remember: I am a chimp. I have little skills or knowledge in this field.
Everything is on the table (beyond my removal and forced retirement), so do not hesitate to recommend anything from the most mundane to the most magnificent.
Yes, Kudos to Professor Turley for maintaining such a wonderful site!
I genuinely love visiting here and enjoy all the “regulars” original and nouveau. My respect, admiration and fondness for you all continues to grow daily.
As a dedicated aficionado I too hope this site will not change too much; but knowing change is inevitable and maybe even desirable (like the ability to respond to a specific comment)
my only wish is that you undertake the renovation ever so slowly. Maybe introduce just a few changes at a time and allow for further adjustments and tinkering as time goes by…
I would agree that a calendar of upcoming media appearances would be nice. I agree with Lottakatz that reading the replies in historical order is better than having the most current one on top. I like the site the way it is now and would not change much. Kudos to Prof. Turley.
How about Turley just getting a life?
The ability to delete a post that you would like to correct. Your own of course.
I would like to have the functions Mespo and BIL stated. I would like added to this the direct notification of the new article. i.e. have it sent to the registered account holders in box. Not that I do not go directly to this site the first thing as I am drinking my coffee. The notification of the new post is great.
This blog is pretty low-tech and home-made and for me that’s a big part of it’s charm. I wanted a ‘Son of Bio’ page but if this blog starts looking/acting like Raw Story or Huffington Post (which encompasses all of the suggestions made) or gets as weird and confusing as Daily Kos, where’s the virtue in that?
Most everything I’d suggest has been covered so I’ll just ‘vote’ on those functions I use elsewhere and would like to see here:
Reply function- yes. Ease of reading a big plus as long as a reply sub-thread can be opened within the primary thread- otherwise you end up leaving a thread, opening multiple pages and having to come back to the primary thread. Not so easy of a read.
Last to first post mandatory- no, Arguments on threads here actually evolve and I like to read that happening, I’m not bright so reading last to first is a drag for me especially if the blog moves to more than one page per thread but I can be fast with the scroll bar so scrolling down doesn’t bother me. Actually a scroll bar is preferable to me than multiple 20 posts a page pagination.
Pagination- no. Just no. 🙂
moderation- no. I like the avatar or login idea but I’m with FFNothing on being stuck in moderation hell. Also, if the moderator isn’t willing to sit around and moderate all day and night the postings end up out of order (if they show up at all) and any spontaneity is lost. The often-times conversational nature of this blog with rapid posting/response is part of it’s charm.
Moderation would take care of the trolls but it would take a heavy toll on the other aspects of the blog that are valuable IMO. Maybe a consult with Cheney could give us some ideas about handling the trolls.
Bio as Bio- sure. There are some interesting posting there but I can barely use the page because it has so many postings. Bio’s? So that’s what it was actually for? I’d be happy with it being just an intro. for Professor Turley and no comments allowed.
Open thread- yes. See how it goes. A thread set aside that mirrors the current function of the Bio page might be fun, apparently there’s a need since the Bio is full to bursting. Some of the Bio (now free-for-all thread) posters never make it out of the Bio thread though.
HTML etc.- sure. Go for it. All I ever use is 🙂 and it’s all I’ll probably ever use. Preserve the Smiley. For the love of Ghod preserve the Smiley.
PS- Daily Kos: DK is visual disorder to the max. I had a GP that furnished his office in the 50’s and never changed the decor. All of his wall lamps were wall mounted lava lamps. ! I asked him why he never had them lighted (in about 1995) and he said that he had them installed because he thought they would be soothing to his patients but he found that it made several of his patients uneasy to the point of anxiety. Turned out, based on his reading into that phenomenon, that visual disorder made schizophrenics anxious and he didn’t want to upset his patients (some of them did have mental disorders) or lose patients based on his lighting choice. Hmmmm, do you think having this page slip into a DK format would keep some of the trolls away? Just askin’.
If I had to distill my recommendations:
1.) Ensure that this blawg remains as it is now; this is, focused on Professor Turley’s original posts.
2.) Moderate excessively abusive comments, all irrelevant copy/pastes, and all CAPS posts.
3.) Archive for faster loading for those of us with slower Internet connections.
We could manage the remainder of items individually, especially if ‘extras’ add too much to the ‘overhead’.
After losing some very long, verbose posts, I usually type first in MS Word or another word processor which also serve for spell checking.
uh!?! well, websites that have an orginal thread and then sub threads can be better than cutting and pasting it also allows the subject to get out of hand
for spell checker… i downloaded a free spell checker for internet boxes like this one…i use it occasionally…though i prefer my manual paper spell checker book…
i think for ur background for the title of the blog could use some spicing up…just use paint to build a pic of law books then use a text box to put in the title…that is how i built the pic for mzravinblack.blogspot.com and my other ones when i am up to messing around with it
but, as it is with life we would all like something perfect in a non perfect world
good luck with any changes
Since this is a WordPress blog, there are moderating tools available, and the “off topic” rantings and ravings and trolling can be filtered out, however, I doubt that anyone should expect Professor Turley to be totally on top of riding herd in the comments. I am in awe of Professor Turley’s ability to be as prolific as he is with his blog postings, and find the time for his TV appearances, and find the time to teach his classes, and find the time to represent his clients.
Perhaps he could appoint a trusted third party to handle comment moderation, but, with all due respect to Former Federal LEO and Mespo 72, someone who engages with the trolls, is probably someone who should not be moderating. As much as one might want to take a swat at a troll, that is exactly what the troll is looking for. Trolls should be ignored by other commenters, and where appropriate, their comments can be removed through moderation, or they can be banned and blocked from access to commenting.
I also don’t understand some of the discussion about spell checking as relates to the comments section, I use the Firefox browser and Google tools, and they provide a spell checker to me, so as I am filling in this comment window, they are already flagging misspellings for me, why should Turley’s blog need to do that?
In terms of the “look” of the blog, its design template, I don’t pay any attention to it because I follow the blog through my Google feed reader. Professor Turley has the blog configured to feed out its entire content via RSS, which makes it much easier for me to follow his blog, along with the other blogs and web news sources that I follow. The only time I actually link directly to the Turley blog is when I want to add a comment. So the “eye candy” aspect of the blog would be lost on me.
I think I have visited the bio page once, and if it were my blog, I would exclude that page from comments. Open ended comments might be better supported using a discussion forum software platform. I don’t see the Turley blog as being an open ended discussion forum, a free for all where anyone can start up a topic. I see this blog as an extension of Professor Turley’s teaching efforts, his advocacy, and an expression of his values, and a place where he may share some personal tidbits. So, for me at least, it is a place where I can learn a few things, sometimes be entertained (in a strange way) at the sheer idiocy of other human beings as described in some of Professor Turley’s postings, and see many of my own values reinforced.
I’m not advocating this site, necessarily. I used it last week when I couldn’t find recent MSNBC Tiller footage on MSNBC.com
and notice it has some neat features. One can find JT on youtube, and anywhere else just about!
http://www.videospider.tv/Videos/Channel/YouTube/Category/News/Search/Jonathan+Turley/P/1.aspx
As you can see, we started kicking around the ‘On the Hook’ idea last summer. Mike S., you were around then. It was my attempt at a ‘Take it Outside’ approach since, there were a lot of ‘bar fights’, so to speak, in the run up to the election, if you recall.
http://jonathanturley.org/2008/06/28/exorcising-free-exercise-texas-supreme-court-rules-that-church-can-injure-minors-during-exorcisms/
#
Patty C 1, June 28, 2008 at 5:54 pm
I have an idea…
Instead of posting barbs on JT’s Bio, which seems inappropriate to me, perhaps, he would provide a Free-for-All ‘Chat’ section.
It could be fashioned ‘On the Hook’ – whaddaya say?
#
11 martha h 1, June 28, 2008 at 6:05 pm
boo
#
12 mespo727272 1, June 28, 2008 at 6:08 pm
martha h:
I always thought that since puberty I had “grown some.” that’s what gives me the courage to sally forth against the likes of you neo-cons and try to inject some thought into all that raw emotion. That’s my idea of helping those who cannot help themselves.
Patty C;
That is a fine idea. I second that.
#
13 Jill 1, June 28, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Can this young woman bring charges for kidnapping in Federal Court?
Mespo,
Sit down and shut up! The fossils say No!
Jill
—
Susan 1, June 29, 2008 at 12:45 am
Patty C, I like the “Free For All” Chat section too. 🙂
.
Former Federal LEO,
Please. This isn’t a law classroom, this is a place to debate amongst (anonymous) friends. I don’t think I’ve cultivated a reputation for being foulmouthed here; cursing is not my calling card. However, vulgarity is rarely useful, and when it is useful, I employ it. For the record, I think I would use the same amount of curses in a law classroom. So, in that light, perhaps I agree with your proposed standard.
Mike Spindell,
& is a failed attempt by someone to create an ampersand in an HTML-enabled field. & with a semicolon on the end is a valid HTML character code: http://www.ascii.cl/htmlcodes.htm I linked to this in an earlier post as well.
I would read this post about the redesign process that the guy who just did Talking Points Memo’s face lift.
http://www.shhhaw.com/?p=34
I’m for all of the above except for Mary’s and Batsheva’s comments, even though I know that some conflict. My major complaints are:
1. Being able to directly respond to a particular comment and a more easy way to quote it than cutting and pasting.
2. Some sort of rudimentary word processing function (bold, italics, etc.)would eliminate some peoples need to capitalize for emphasis.
3. Eliminating the ability to comment on Bio, since many have done it simply to try to besmirch you and others seem to be stuck there and not realize that is not where most of the sight is happening.
4. An understanding of why some comments are “awaiting moderation” so I can avoid the trap.
5. Somebody to tell me what “&” means since I see it so much.
I particularly agree with Mespo’s and Buddha’s lists (what else is new?)but the others also seem to have some good ideas which I’m technologically unable to comment on. I think tough that we must also realize that our host is a busy man and this is a seat of the pants site, so any changes must fit in with his schedule and needs.
As Charity stated, we need moderate comment moderation against irrelevant, long copy/paste postings such as we observe today by BATSHEVA et al. that break the logical continuity of threads.
I suggest that you allow one very trusted person to assist you as a moderator. Since Mespo72 sometimes prefers to engage the foulest of posters, I think he would be a very fair moderator and would know when lines of decorum have been crossed, especially during your absence. Another option would be using one law student who is well versed with—and a champion of—First Amendment rights regarding free speech. During my collegiate days, I often did extra work for extra credit and I learned more through that process. This might be an honor to which some of your law students might aspire—Turley’s Blawg Dawg.
To be clear, all of the regulars are strong proponents of free speech; however, I do not want the worst Internet cesspool flotsam infecting and dragging down the importance of this *law blawg*. Allowing the chronicling of out-of-bounds postings most likely gives the incorrect impression that Professor Turley sanctions outrageous claims and the foulest of language.
We all know that anything involving humans requires and deserves fair, although definitive, rules to ensure proper decorum. Intuitively, that is why we need laws, lawyers, and judges and to *not* establish laws/rules regulating a law blawg is exceptionally counterintuitive and counterproductive.
I oppose any “post your own” thread topic area (“Socrates Section”) because I prefer to respond to the topics/witticisms Professor Turley posits; otherwise, I think this site would become unfocused and diluted with disparate, rambling, and wayward headliners. The focus must remain Prof. Turley. Without his initial topics—along with his cogent and often witty comments—this site would not continue to be a must-read website, at least for me. When time allows, Glenn Greenwald is a must-read for me, although I always read this blawg first.
I have been one of the more ‘vocal’ proponents requesting some moderation. I simply want a unique site where others and I can learn more about—and discuss the applications of—the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and common, civil, and criminal laws as they pertain to everyday life and with additional assistance from the visiting attorneys who can explain the arcane aspects of all law.
This is an exceptional site now and appearances are that is will become even better.
Addendum:
I assume FFN used the opening loutishness of his post to “test” or make a point about threads that might receive automatic deletion or that get lost in the Ethernet. However, such vulgarity from commenters—unless the words are relevant to the original topic of a court case, etc.—should not be allowed in the comment section. Again, such sophomoric expletives—which we all know—are replete throughout the Internet; however, a learned person does not employ such words to express or amplify a cogent position. Feel free to use those words around your underage children, your wife, your grandmother, your Catholic priest et al. but there is no reason to use them randomly within this blawg’s commentary section.
Here is the standard I suggest. Consider this site a Professor Jonathan Turley’s distance learning law class via the Internet. Would he allow such vulgar discourse in his live classrooms? Of course, the good professor is the final arbiter.
(I can now imagine Prof. Turley thinking as he rubs his furrowed brow; one had better watch out for that which one asks…)
If I could ask for one single improvement it would be a standing thread for topic suggestions. I dislike posting ideas for topics out of place, and admit to doing so on a few occasions (like the taser / DNA swap case the other day), which JT did decide to run.
In a perfect world it would be nice to be able to click on a name and see all postings from the user.
As a participant for about two years I am very satisfied with the functionality of the blog and the level of discourse and participation.
Fucking shit, my comment is ‘awaiting moderation’ again, a purgatory that it never seems to come out of. How about eliminating that ‘feature’? (on the other hand, maybe not because it might guard against a lot of spam…) So, here’s a mostly link-less version of my previous post:
Good ideas:
– Sorting comments in reverse chronological order (newest first).
– Preview box.
– Per-thread RSS subscriptions.
– Hierarchical comment threads. (That is, your comment is indented below the person you are responding to.)
– Turn off comments on pages that don’t need them (bio, for example)
Not so good ideas:
– Spell checker. Most modern browsers come with that built in for text boxes (if yours doesn’t, go and download Firefox ). Carlyle Moulton is confused when he says ‘Your system already underlines misspelled or unrecognized words in red.’ This is the browser doing it for him.
– Word processor functions. What’s wrong with plain text for comments? There’s already plenty of ways to _highlight_ IMPORTANT *things* in the comments. Giving people power to easily italicize/bold is just asking for these features to be abused. (apparently the functionality is already there anyways, as C.Everett Kook has demonstrated)
– Other HTML-enabling functions. Do we honestly need any of these features? The fact that links are automatically linked is more than enough for me. Other HTML features just get annoying quickly (see above point). You think trolls are irritating now?
– Archives: you already have archive links on the sidebar, so I’m not sure what other people are requesting when they say ‘archives.’ As far as searching the archives goes, Google can do a much better job of indexing your content than any search you implement. For example: [LINK RETRACTED] (created with the query ‘site:jonathanturley.org torture’, which searches only within the jonathanturley.org domain for thinks related to torture. Read about more special google operators here: [LINK RETRACTED, search on google with the string “google hacking: maximize the effectiveness of your queries” (quotes included) and click on the first link)
For the comment improvements, I highly recommend disqus (and not just because I know some people at the company) for improving the quality of blog comments. Check ’em out. A lot of blogs are using them now, and they’d be a worthwhile addition to the site.
As far as the implementation goes, WordPress is a very popular blog platform and you should be able to find plugins that enable most of the features that people are requesting here: [LINK RETRACTED, search ‘wordpress plugins’]
Note to Carlyle Moulton: regarding the less than and greater than symbols, you’re forgetting the semicolon in your HTML character codes: http://www.ascii.cl/htmlcodes.htm
BIL: I don’t care either way for your ‘Media Channel’ suggestion, but if I may recommend something that may already provide for your interests: http://www.youtube.com/user/firedoglake
Test: Welcome to the blog! I look forward to your illuminating contributions!
Mr. Turley: thanks for providing this incredible blog, I much enjoy coming here both for your commentary and the insightful comments of others.
Good ideas:
– Sorting comments in reverse chronological order (newest first).
– Preview box.
– Per-thread RSS subscriptions.
– Hierarchical comment threads. (That is, your comment is indented below the person you are responding to.)
– Turn off comments on pages that don’t need them (bio, for example)
Not so good ideas:
– Spell checker. Most modern browsers come with that built in for text boxes (if yours doesn’t, go here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html ). Carlyle Moulton is confused when he says ‘Your system already underlines misspelled or unrecognized words in red.’ This is the browser doing it for him.
– Word processor functions. What’s wrong with plain text for comments? There’s already plenty of ways to _highlight_ IMPORTANT *things* in the comments. Giving people power to easily italicize/bold is just asking for these features to be abused. (apparently the functionality is already there anyways, as C.Everett Kook has demonstrated)
– Other HTML-enabling functions. Do we honestly need any of these features? The fact that links are automatically linked is more than enough for me. Other HTML features just get annoying quickly (see above point). You think trolls are irritating now?
– Archives: you already have archive links on the sidebar, so I’m not sure what other people are requesting when they say ‘archives.’ As far as searching the archives goes, Google can do a much better job of indexing your content than any search you implement. For example: http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Ajonathanturley.org+torture (created with the query ‘site:jonathanturley.org torture’, which searches only within the jonathanturley.org domain for thinks related to torture. Read about more special google operators here: http://chainlynx.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html )
For the comment improvements, I highly recommend http://disqus.com/ (and not just because I know some people at the company) for improving the quality of blog comments. Check ’em out. A lot of blogs are using them now, and they’d be a worthwhile addition to the site.
As far as the implementation goes, WordPress is a very popular blog platform and you should be able to find plugins that enable most of the features that people are requesting here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/
Note to Carlyle Moulton: regarding the less than and greater than symbols, you’re forgetting the semicolon in your HTML character codes: http://www.ascii.cl/htmlcodes.htm
BIL: I don’t care either way for your ‘Media Channel’ suggestion, but if I may recommend something that may already provide for your interests: http://www.youtube.com/user/firedoglake
Test: Welcome to the blog! I look forward to your illuminating contributions!
Mr. Turley: thanks for providing this incredible blog, I much enjoy coming here both for your commentary and the insightful comments of others.
Dangit.
Use >< keys
(I hope that works, if not they are the arrow keys above comma and period).
🙂
Batsheva:
“The handful of lefty “regulars” here use intimidation & name calling to make their “points”.
*************
I see very little name calling but lots of intellectual challenge going on. Maybe that’s what offends your tender sensibilities.
OK, so XHTML DOES work here. Sorry for the gibberish above.
Available XHTML for Andreas comments are below (where you see a [], use
[a href=”” title=””]
[abbr title=””]
[acronym title=””]
[b]
[blockquote cite=””]
[cite]
[code]
[pre]
[del datetime=””]
[em]
[i]
[q cite=””]
[strike]
[strong]