Announcements

Design Changes & New Comment Voting Feature

by on Monday, February 23, 2009 24 comments

Many of you have notice that I have made some changes to the website during this last week since the new redesign last weekend. I have listened to some of your thoughts and here is a list of some new changes:

chinasmack-version-22-home

Recent Comments Minimized

The Recent Comments on the home page is now automatically minimized so it does not take too much space for visitors who do not want to see the comments. If you want to see the most recent comments on the home page, you can just put your mouse over it and it will show you the latest 9 comments. If you put your mouse over a comment, it will also show you what post the comment is in and if you click on it, you will go directly to that comment.

Recent Readers Removed

I have removed the Recent Readers from the sidebar and now there is only the Google Friend Connect. Please consider joining chinaSMACK as a member. We will do special things with this feature in the future. The sidebar maybe look a little ugly right now but I hope to improve it soon.

Featured Content Gallery

There is a featured content gallery on the home page and on the top of the sidebar for every other page. This is similar to the old Featured Posts area but will show the newest posts from the last week. You can click on the picture to go to that post, or click on the left or right of the picture and the Featured Content link to see more posts. I hope it will make it easier for visitors to see what is new and what else is on chinaSMACK.

Comment Voting

This is a feature some visitors have ask for before. You can now vote up for a comment you like/agree with and vote down for a comment you do not like/disagree with. If a comment receives many negative votes, the comment will be hidden but the will not be deleted and can still be viewed if you choose to do so.

I am not really sure I like this idea  but I will test it for some time. This feature will only be good if everyone uses it correctly and respectfully. I hope there will not be a lot of negative votes and hidden comments because people will think and write carefully before they comment instead.

If people misuse this, I will remove it. I think it is good for people to say what they think and it is good for other people to hear and respond. People should learn how to peacefully share ideas and mutually communicate. I do not like the thinking that people should control if other people can speak or not speak. However, I also do not think it is right to bother/harass other people. It is okay to disagree but it is low character to do this kind of thing and I have banned people in the past for doing this. I know we cannot stop everyone from being rude or bad-natured, but I hope we can try our best to respect each other even if we disagree about some things.

comments-voting-example

Please let me know what you think and any helpful suggestions you may have in the comments below. Thank you for your support.

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24 Comments

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  1. Mau Mai
    Monday, February 23, 2009 at 3:28 pm

    Hello Fauna,
    I try to answer to your question: I believe that a little “discipline” would help. I do not mean censorship of ideas, but real vulgar language should be monitored in my opinion. Why should we throw garbage all over in order to respect freedom of speach? I am for some code of taste and common sense manners.

    Reply
  2. Kai
    Monday, February 23, 2009 at 3:40 pm

    I left my comments on the previous thread regarding some of the changes.

    The comment voting (aka crowdsource moderation) will be interesting, to be sure.

    Reply
  3. smickno
    Monday, February 23, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    @Mau Mai
    My reply to your comment can be found in my reply to Kai.

    @Kai
    I do not know which comments in which thread you are referring to. You seem to be everywhere and I am too lazy to go and read them all up to find out, especially when your comments run to thousands of words.

    But I will just comment on one of your comments, which is to have some sort of a moderator for this site. First of all, we know that the “news” posted by chinasmack can also be found elsewhere. What made chinasmack successful is that it allowed all kinds of trolls to post whatever they wanted (at least previously) and this made for a free and open marketplace of ideas and rubbish. It reflected the real world in an unreal environment. It allowed trolls to say what they really think and post their comments.

    So, we got trolls who are intellectual and vulgar like you, deliberately being antagonistic ones like Rick, and some others like fcuk da lu ren vulgarly expressing their disillusions with China , and of course smickno who would do everyone a big favour by writing less …..and at one time was even trying to test your EQ with the most vulgar and offensive comment ever, to see how you will respond, but that we all know got deleted. Mamma mia. No fun.

    And the trolls debated, they fought, some of them writing in bad English like you, and others writing good English like me, and that was a huge entertainment for those who sat by the gallery, more entertaining that the articles themselves. Take that away, chinasmack tells nothing new, except for doing some non-Chinese speaking trolls a favour with its not too bad translation of Chinese “news” which are more of the kind which gossipmongers like to listen to, when they have nothing better else to do after dinner.

    If chinasmack is going to have a moderator, then the rules will be defined according to what that moderator deems to be in line with what chinasmack intends itself to be. So, the moderator sets the rules. Behave yourself, toe the line or you are out. In that case, I see only one outcome: It would end up being a club only for people who must write proper English? Or a club for people who must not use vulgar language? Or for people who must respect others’ ideas? Or the contrary? Or all of whatever trolls wishes to troll?

    If chinasmack takes a rigid approach and lays down rules as defined by a moderator’s concept of what’s correct and allowable and what’s not, wouldn’t it be no different than the situation in a repressed China when one had better look behind his shoulders before saying certain things too loudly? The CCP moderates what cannot be said, and what MUST be said. Does chinasmack want to go down that road?

    As in the real world, there will be ladies and gentlemen and there will be trolls whom we don’t call ladies or gentlemen. If you walk down the street, any street, you will see all kinds of people: educated, not so educated, totally uneducated, polite, rude, stubborn, sensitive, idiots, fools and morons. If you only wish to see a specific group of people, go to a club.

    Does chinasmack want to hear everybody’s voices, or does it want to become a club comprising only members/commenters who must fit a “code of conduct” otherwise….well, this comment will be deleted?

    Reply
    • Mau Mai
      Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 9:23 am

      I believe that sharing ideas or thoughts always requires some “criterias”. That doesn´t mean strict or repressive censorship. Let us have some common ground, some common rules of expression we can agree upon.

      Having done that, we can all say whatever we want. It doesn´t have to be a restricted club but, I believe, we need to draw the line between “anything goes” and some respectful communication. In a wide open arena, there are sensitivities we need to respect after all and not just slam stuff in anybody´s face.

      On the other hand, if we say: who cares about any rules? In this case, I will see Chinasmack becoming: “Chinasrubbish bin”. That ain´t a fair picture of China either.

      Reply
      • Rick in China
        Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 11:24 am

        RE: “In a wide open arena, there are sensitivities we need to respect after all and not just slam stuff in anybody´s face.”
        That’s the beauty of the internet, hon, is that it allows people to slam stuff in anybody who wishes to read its face – without truly causing any direct damage. You take from it what you choose to take from it, and as much as you may claim to be adult and mature about issues, those who truly are have no problem being a filter on that which they take part in, reply to, discuss, or absorb in any way.

        Alas, the internet, a key tool in true expression and freedom.

        Reply
        • Kai
          Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 3:51 pm

          Rick, the internet is a medium of free expression insofar as anyone is largely free to make their own website and have their say on that. This does not mean private websites or their owners have to accept or tolerate what other people post on their website that they pay for and operate just as you have the right to kick out people you don’t like from your own home. A website is effectively private property with access conditionally granted, but some people have a mistaken notion of entitlement that they can spout whatever they want on other people’s websites without consequence or censure. Now, some websites will offer a TOS or a comment policy they abide by but they don’t actually have to. Visiting and participating on any website is done “at will” with very few legal or implied “rights or freedoms” for the visitor/participant. THAT is the reality and beauty of the internet, darling.

          smickno is only bringing up the issue as moral blackmail in hopes others here will accept and defend his behavior. I highly doubt Fauna is going to buy it.

          Reply
          • Rick in China
            Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 4:39 pm

            Actually, Kai, I never said that people are not allowed to censor or to restrict anything on their website, did I?

            Creating a public forum which allows people to post, however, is creating a medium for which people can say what they want. Sure, moderators can remove posts and … eh, moderate discussions, but that doesn’t mean people are not able to *express whatever they want in the first place*.

          • Kai
            Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 7:53 pm

            Rick, any flippancy (“darling”) in my previous comment was just mirroring your’s (“hon”). It wasn’t meant to be personal, as I’m sure you and I “get” each other after so long. You’re right that you didn’t say that (smickno did), so I should have been more clear with offering my thoughts on the general issue regarding “free speech/expression” on websites.

            To respond more accurately to your thoughts specifically, I don’t think Mau Mai is suggesting people not be able to “express whatever they want in the first place.” I’m sure Mau Mai understands there will always be people who break the “rules” even if they are stated, much like in reality. But I think she’s just suggesting that a comment policy be articulated for the good that it will minimally do, which is a reasonable and well-intentioned suggestion.
            She is more or less appealing to everyone to be more mindful of themselves, and adhere to the unspoken social rules we usually have offline in real life. You and I both know there are a lot of people here posting stuff they’d never say in the real world when they can’t hide behind a keyboard.

            I also know you don’t honestly and completely adhere to the “anything goes on the internet” mantra, and that it doesn’t cause “direct damage”. Remember your arguments about the teen beating videos that were posted on chinaSMACK?

    • Mau Mai
      Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 9:29 am

      Let us have a set of minimum rules/criterias we can agree upon. Having done that, we can say all we want without slamming stuff on anybody´s face. There are sensitivities we need to respect in a worldwide arena. Otherwise this web page will become “the club of the vulgars”.
      Avoinding that will probably turn Chinasmack into “Chinasrubbish bin”. And that ain´t a fair view of China either!

      Reply
  4. Chery
    Monday, February 23, 2009 at 5:46 pm

    Good work Fauna. Keep going!

    Reply
  5. DKwan
    Monday, February 23, 2009 at 6:31 pm

    Looks good. I like it.

    Reply
  6. shopgirls shanghai
    Monday, February 23, 2009 at 9:12 pm

    I just want to say that I LOVE this blog!
    so tired of reading the stupid threads at shanghaiexpat.com and so on.

    Reply
  7. smickno
    Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 1:11 pm

    @Mau Mai
    I think you miss the point which Rick and I were trying bring across. But your very replying to him and me makes you exactly what we hope chinasmack should and would be. You offered your opinion, some people will agree with you, while others won’t. Seeing that you are who likes to see some civility, count yourself lucky that Rick did not slam his trademark vulgar expletives at you, eh? If it had been me, he will slam his half bucket of shit in my face…….no holds barred.

    It is in the internet where you see the real world, the real ideas, the real thoughts, what you sometimes don’t see in the real world itself because there is a moderator (the government). There will be trolls and gentle PEOPLE as there are in the real world. Let chinasmack be noisy as it is.

    If everybody is going to write like kai (minus his occasional use of words like fuck and twisted panties), I think chinasamck is heading the way of an elite club for intellectuals who enjoy commenting on gossips.

    Reply
  8. fireworks
    Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 1:24 pm

    The most famous Internet phrase is still relevant today as it was years ago.

    Arguing on the internet is like running in the Special Olympics

    Reply
    • Kai
      Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 3:02 pm

      To be fair, you have to differentiate between arguing as an fruitful exchange of ideas and arguing for the sake of harassing others. That’s the difference between Mao Mai’s +3 and smickno’s -8.

      Reply
  9. Kai
    Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 3:07 pm

    BTW, I dig the new Related Posts with thumbnails. I’m guessing it’s a plugin, right? It’s a little funny when viewing old posts where there are two sets, one ostensibly manually inputted, and the other generated by the plugin. It’s amusing to see what the algoritm sees as “related.” Sorry, its the design geek in me.

    Reply
  10. smickno
    Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 3:11 pm

    @Mau Mai

    So you got it? I said half a bucket of shit, and Rick is looking for a whole bucket.

    Reply
  11. smickno
    Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 3:15 pm

    @Kai
    Are you holding the other half bucket of shit? You seem to be chasing me all over chinasmack.

    Reply
  12. Terry
    Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    Am loving the new look. Thank you… and I hope some of the regular posters/flamers going back and forth and back and forth on things ad infinitum do find something else better to do with their time… but such is life…

    Reply
  13. smickno
    Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 5:17 pm

    @kai

    YOU’RE ONE TO TALK. If it is possible to search and match, it shan’t be too hard to find how many times fcuk and panty twisting can be associated with your name which is the point Mao Mai was trying to make.

    Anyway, I agree with Rick. You should have at least noticed that when replying to Mao Mai, Rick had done a fair bit of self-moderation in his choice of words. It’s pathetic that you don’t seem to know when a post is meant for trolls, and when serious feedbacks are invited. Your trolling here is wasting everybody’s time.

    @Terry
    Those posters/flamers are employees paid to troll, to give life to chinasmack. Take those away, chinasmack is nothing but Chinese gossips translated for the benefit of non-Chinese speaking laowais. But there is no such thing as a free lunch. Somebody’s got to pay for it, and it’s the advertisers, eh? And advertisers are interested only in sites with high numbers of viewers.

    Reply
  14. Mau Mai
    Friday, February 27, 2009 at 2:12 am

    I suggest to keep Fauna’s request (the title) visible on the “home screen”. So you can get more opinions on the format-changes issue. I am for some substance, not just gossips or scandals. It’s good to have fun news, but not good to alienate ourselves from mainstream issues of China.

    Reply
  15. Copper Hood
    Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 5:43 am

    Given that this is a respectable site, there should be a respect and code of conduct to maintain. Changes are good and I like the new changes here.

    Reply
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