Thanks to our generous readers for making Naked Capitalism a priority when many of you are just back from a holiday break. Your quick action helped us meet our first target, for our IT essentials, in a smidge over 24 hours. This is the best we’ve done since we started fundraisers around Labor Day in meeting our first objective. You turned this around so quickly that Lambert had not yet put up his thermometer to track progress toward each target.
We are now $210 towards our second goal, of supporting the comments section. We are also 199 donations towards the fundraiser target of 1100 donors.
Your donations prove that you value this community and want a better debate and a better society. You are willing to invest to have us improve Naked Capitalism so it can be an even more effective voice for you. If you haven’t had time to give yet, please visit our Tip Jar to support our efforts. Whatever you can give, whether $10 or $1000, enables us to provide your daily dose of of extensive news overviews, pointed commentary, penetrating analysis, and heart-warming animal pictures, as well as a place to hang out with the like-minded.
In 2021, we made a big addition to Naked Capitalism’s services out of the “commentariat” budget, that of our monthly newsletter. As much as we like having you come here every day, we know you have important real world lives and ever if you keen about the site, might take some time off from us. So please take your hats off to moderator katiebird, who is also the major domo of the monthly newsletter.
Readers have been sending gratifying messages. From sporble:
I just wanted to say THANKS again for all that you do. Your writing, posts, analysis, scathing wit, humor and eye-rolling at all the shit we’re all trying to deal with helps me cling tenaciously to the silky tendrils of my sanity.
And now you know: the $ is on the way.
Wishing you all the very best outta mega-hot Berlin (really!)
And Keith H:
The check is for $250 this time. I would definitely be lost without NakedCapitalism. Thank you for your tireless work, and for all the efforts of the terrific NC team.
And Mark M:
Many thanks for NC and all you folks do. As of course you know, it’s so hard to read or hear critical, skeptical thinking anywhere now. And I particularly appreciate that your site is mostly for readers, not viewers. For myself at least, the difference in what is thoughtfully absorbed between reading vs hearing is huge. Just now I started reading ‘Future of Denial’ by Tad Delay (what an ironic name!); so far it’s promising. I’m a retired engineer; the ubiquitous denial of reality, not just climate change but also the laws of thermodynamics and logic, is driving me crazy. The community you foster at NC helps so much…
And katiebird’s, and semperloquitur’s heavy lifting, comments are freed faster than in the past. But the moderators also play an essential role in adjudicating cases, which are typically discussed among all of the site admins (as in with Lambert and me). They also correct inaccurate links and sometimes intercedes in comments. Katiebird maintains a spreadsheet of who is in various doghouses and why, which is extremely helpful when we reconsider cases. She is also the major domo of our monthly newsletter and semperloquitur handles some key administrative tasks
With the punditry and much of social media finding it to their advantage to sow polarization, the result is more cheap sloganeering and heated tempers across the Web.It’s taken more work to keep Naked Capitalism an oasis of sanity and civility this a media desert.
So if you appreciate the value of comments at Naked Capitalism, feel free to skip the rest of this post, go straight to the Tip Jar which tell you how to give by check, credit or debit card. Promote stimulating, vigorous, informative, and often witty debates among members of the commentariat
Managing comments has always come at a cost. Lambert and I once took care of the process at the expense of research and posting. We actually do try to light-touch but with so much understandable collective anxiety regularly producing overhasty and overheated reactions, it takes real effort. If anything, the cost has been rising because we’ve had to impose even more mod rules, which sadly means more comments go into moderation. So getting to them quickly is even more important than ever.
Managing comments does not mean just handling the moderation queue, setting up and tweaking the various rules (that sometimes, as you also know too well, operate in a Skynet-like manner, despite our best intent). That also means reading the comments, multiple times a day, and wading in as necessary, sometimes to de-escalate or act as referees, sometimes to clear up benign- or malign-looking mischaracterizations of what the posts or readers said.
We also spend more time than you think in dealing with borderline comments. We often discuss those decisions together, and review a commenter’s history to see if he/she is just having an off day, or whether the comment under consideration is part of a not-good pattern that we’d missed. And that’s before we get to trolling and non-organic drive-bys. (Skynet catches most bots, fortunately.)
This oversight cumulatively takes a lot of time but is a critical investment, since it helps keep the comments at a generally high level. Our efforts also help assure readers that they can express their views and supply important information as long as they adhere to guidelines meant to encourage not just communication but high standards of accuracy and rigor.
The proof of the success of this approach is the fact that we have a real community at Naked Capitalism where many voices can and do express themselves, despite the widely-recognized deterioration of quality of discourse across the Web. Naked Capitalism is even cited in journalism courses as an example of the sort of engaged audience that major media outlets think they want to have (and which they could have, if they’d stop toeing the line of important advertisers and elite interests). So to support these efforts, please give now. Whether it’s $5, $50, or $5000, all help meet our goals.
We have set a target of $22,000 which frankly only partly covers the total cost of comments moderation and the newsletter. So please do your part and chip in pronto! The Tip Jar tells you how to give by check, credit or debit card. And if you do send a check, please send an e-mail to yves@nakedcapitalism.com with “Check is in the mail” in the subject line so we can include it in our running tally.
Again, please invest in the commentariat! This goal is for all of us!
23 comments
Comments are closed.
I subscribe and recommend that to everyone who can do so, but of course I can never resist the fundraiser and MUST chip in for the commentariat!
Done!
I only give $50 a year. Sorry. ….. I love this site so much, even if I disagree with “illegal” immigration numbers. HAR!!! Had to throw that in there!.
Done!
Not check. Via Paypal
The check is in the mail. The day begins with Links and ends with water Cooler. All the rest is “filler.”
I just put the check in the mailbox. I very much appreciate the time and effort that Yves and everyone puts into the site, moderating the comments is a big task. I am impressed by Yves, Lambert, Connor and others take the time to read the comments and respond. It seems to be contagious as authors like Michael Hudson, Rob Urie and others also respond to comments.
There are a couple of other sites still around that feature comments, but nowhere near the number and quality – and they are posted very quickly here. Other sites will take many hours to moderate and post comments and often will omit or refuse without explanation. Yves and the crew are sharp-eyed for preventing cranks, trolls and “making shit up” which is rare. The Commentariat here is the best I have ever seen online. Another aspect to the site is supporting psychological and intellectual well-being – knowing that there are lots of others out there with deep insights and informed views (even though I may not agree with all) supports morale for critical thinking.
With all the negative and depressing stuff happening in these times, I also like the critter pics. This draws one’s attention to appreciate the natural beauty that we still have, which is easy to forget.
Thanks for saving me time. I agree. Very well stated!
My annual check is in the mail.
I’ve been reading naked capitalism as part of my daily routine for about 18 months now, and I don’t know what I would do without it!!
Frankly, I don’t know how I survived the media-landscape before I found it!
I just subscribed for a monthly amount. I agree with everyone else. This site is invaluable. First for dealing with serious topics from the right (at least to me!) point of view. Second for the atmosphere of respect and politeness it is all conducted in. That is hard to do on the internet, especially when discussing what seems like an endless list of truly terrible stuff. Almost bound to raise a few peoples’ hackles but that rarely happens here. That makes information and education flow much more smoothly and must be put down to, obviously, a lot of hard work supervising everything. But, after a while it can become part of the standard culture and achieving that is not easy.
Thank you Yves and Lambert and all your helpers.
For the past few years I have been feeling as though I am living in a madhouse, but this blog and a very few others keep me sane. It’s also one of the few blogs in which the quality of the comments is as high as that of the postings. Thanks for all the work you put in to make this blog possible.
Donated …
May I apologize to the our hosts and the commentariat, my mite has been consumed by the gnats; hope for something yet to come is not a strategy, but I maintain it nonetheless. This site is indispensable.
I got you.
:-))) (Alice blushes!)
Long live this fantastic site. All support is very welcome. I always speak of it to everybody.
Thanks for all everyone does. Someone else has already said ‘indispensable’, which I will just second that notion. The comments here are the best on the web, and reading about the behind the scenes efforts needed to keep that going is eye opening. We humans need editors/referees apparently to discuss stuff, and we have been told how much of a toll it can take. So thanks again for the behind the scenes efforts. Easy decision for me to donate.
I picked up on NC close to 10 years ago when Yves was on Harry Shearer’s Le Show. At the time I was closer to Jeff Spicoli than Mr. Hand, but I like to think I’ve turned that around. Not completely, mind you. Just as often as not what I’m reading is over my head – and that’s a good thing. Anyhoo, a modest donation from me and a kicker for someone who would like to donate, but cannot at the moment.
Thanks for the hard work.
$50 via paypal. I usually donate to things on Christmas day (ill do anything to avoid the family!) so you’ll get more then.
Check is in the mail.
After pledging $150 yesterday (50 of which was a “pay it forward” for those who were strapped – and getting a nice acknowledgment from Lambert) I went straight to the Tip Jar to make good on it. Clover rejected me (even with two different cards) returning “payment failed. Returning you to Naked Capitalism”. I held my nose and attempted with P-pal. It recognized my email and insisted I log in with a password- after guessing wrong and clicking forgot password it locked me into a death loop (“something went wrong, please try again.” Ad infinitum.) Reloaded Tip Jar to start over. Clover still ng, this time P-pal redirected me to a page to set up an automatic pledge to a charity of my choice- closer but no cigar! I rebooted my iPad- this time it allowed me to login with Google – took my pmt info then disappeared before I clicked ‘submit’. One more attempt- this time it let me click submit then went poof – no acknowledgment onscreen, no email notice. I opened up my bank’s online app, and, sure as s**t, the $150 pmt was posted twice. Rather than go through more agony with my bank (my account was hacked not long ago-all good now but enuff!) I take this as an omen to double down on my gift (mitzvah as Lambert termed it) especially as the current goal is to support the Commentariat (dat’s us!) – it’s better than nice to be acknowledged as an important part of NC’s ability to punch above its weight. Though mostly a lurker, I can proudly say this Commentariat Rules!! And major props to the mods and ‘admins’ for greasing the wheels!
It won’t be easy but as a Jewish friend from nyc likes to say, every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single Oy!
Economist Richard Wolff reminds us IIRC, that Marx never wrote a book about what we should ask the government to do or what we should expect from the government.
One egregious example is that medical research is largely funded by taxpayers but the benefits of the research is often unavailable or crazy expensive for many.
Still, people eventually rid themselves of kings, aristocracy, feudalism, the power of the church, and some of the worst excesses of capitalism for which we all benefit today. I’d say we have an obligation to continue the humane project and a place like NC can help make it possible.
Thanks for everything (especially putting up a picture of my cat!). The commentariat here is worth ponying up a few bucks.
Thank you, one and all. NC a samizdat (or a samurai) standing between us and despair. The widow’s mite now sent.
Hi, “sadiesing@gmail” just donated $$ via PayPal. I am morrisjumelcats@gmail.com when receiving daily emails. Confusing, I know. Great work! Carry on, NC!