Dear Naked Capitalism friends,
It’s fundraising week at Naked Capitalism which is when I think about how my perception of so many events is shaped by the posts and comments here. For the past couple of years, Naked Capitalism has been vitally important to my safety. Is there any other reliable source for COVID-19 information? Between Yves’s and other authors’ COVID posts, the daily links, Lambert’s in-depth posts on aerosol spread, wastewater analysis, & his compilation of charts in the Water Cooler, and the additional information contributed by our COVID Brain Trust and reliable commenters, I know I’m more up-to-date than anyone else I know.
That’s worth a lot to me – and I’ve always chipped in during Fundraising Week to support Naked Capitalism. For several years, I’ve donated monthly by PayPal’s subscription option. But I supplement that with a one-time booster donation (and sometimes two because the fundraising posts can be that enticing.) Please take a minute to make your donation – the tip-jar is here.
When I was asked if I’d be interested in moderating comments I was thrilled and honored. Because Naked Capitalism has the best commenters on any website, I knew that moderation was something taken very seriously here. And they thought I could be a help? Wow!
So it’s been a little over half a year and I think it’s going pretty well. I get to see the dark underbelly of the comments that don’t make the grade and might possibly get the commenter banned for all time. Which is interesting (trolls can be inventive) but not the best part. The best part is being a liberator of stuck comments; when I see the reason the comment is in moderation but it makes a positive contribution to Naked Capitalism and should be approved. That happens between 60 and 100 times a day, so it’s a big deal.
The dark underbelly? I don’t want to dignify that with a number. Besides, it’s nothing compared to moderating comments on a Hillary Blog through the 2008 election. THAT was dark. During the most intense period (the weeks before and during the 2008 Democratic Convention) The Confluence was targeted by thousands of trolls and spammers an hour (I imagined a huge floor in a Chicago Skyscraper filled with cubicles staffed with obsessed Obama supporters cranking out spam-generating macros designed to flood the site and bring us to our knees). Skynet couldn’t keep up. I was skimming the moderation queue to approve comments and deleting the rest in bulk action without a break for hours at a stretch.
That’s powerful but not impressive. Anyone can delete trolls. I do that here (NOT to that extent) But the part that’s interesting is getting to know our commenters. I’ve been a visitor at Naked Capitalism for over a decade – reading the posts daily and posting my own comments now and then. But I had no idea how many people comment on several posts every day. They aren’t just skimming the post and jumping in with a “First” or “+1.”
Naked Capitalism commenters live all over the world. They have the depth of knowledge to contribute facts, links and anecdotes, and stories (!! Speaking of contributions – you can contribute to the fundraiser by visiting the tip-jar over here!) that relate to our posts that provide an impressive amount of added value. Some of it comes from a lifetime of working in a relevant profession. But whether a professional or intellectual interest, our commenters are articulate, rational, generous, and mostly kind.
I love getting to help share their work on Naked Capitalism. And I love being a part of the Naked Capitalism Crew.
Please join me this fundraising week in making a contribution (just one click to The Tip-Jar) to Naked Capitalism.
Sincerely yours,
Katiebird
9 comments
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> And they thought I could be a help?
It’s the 12 Word Platform:
1. Medicare For All.
2. End The Wars.
3. Tax The Rich.
4. Jobs for Everyone
!! Wow – those were good times. I think at some point there was a 16 word platform but I can’t remember the addition.
I’m thinking that 5. Housing for Everyone need to be there.
(Edit to say that this was meant to be a reply to Steve H. @ 7:30 am)
Those who follow Steve’s link will see from my comment that the 12 word platform was developed at Lambert’s blog, Corrente. Some VERY good ideas were developed there.
Thanks Katiebird. I’m so happy you can be part of the nuts and bolts of this site. And I’ve enjoyed your comments back when you were just a pleb lol.
Keep up the great work.
Thank you! That is very kind
You must possess the patience of a buddhist monk! We need many just like you, keeping all the knuckleheads in line and in order. I include myself as one of them, a knucklehead, for the record.
I had to deal with a troll or two, where the moderator allowed them for his own amusement. He thought they were funny, but they were just miserable for the community. They weren’t banned no matter how much we complained until he tired of toying with them. He ruled using terror.
There’s a special place in…. never mind, probably already resides there with any luck.
I haven’t picked up on so much as a whiff of that here. Sardonic commenters, sure and fortunately also self-aware and funny. Sardonic mods, no, and thanks so much for keeping it that way.
I don’t suppose you watched ‘The Good Place’… there was this scene with a mod regarding a stapler. Still funny!
K-bird, thanks for all YOUR time keeping MY reading time as efficient as possible. Most commenters are talented, word-efficient, members of NC. Filtering those who are not saves me oodles of reading time.
Thank you, and a formal Welcome to you.
Wholeheartedly agree with the thanks to katiebird for making the transition from commentariat member to the other side (!) – and also to all the rest of the NC team, who keep this site sane and civil.