I don't mind the blog pimping. Sometimes it's the only messages I get. : )

I'm guilty of both pimping and being pimped. I pimped to you and Joan personally my own posts. I'll do it no more on a blanket level. It doesn't seem to have done any good anyway. I did want your opinion on the state of the Illinois budget crisis since it will see the very first domestic violence program in the U.S. close it's doors for the first time since 1972. This didn't seem to move anyone much.

Funny you should write this today, the first time that I have ever sent out such a message to some of my favorites. But, I thought that what I did was called "blog whoring". Please clarify this, as I really need to know what to call myself. :-)

You will be happy to know, though, that I left both you and Joan off my list. I thought, "They don't need to be bombarded with this crap."

You're welcome.

Seems to me the solution happens to be:

1) Take the lemon out of your mouth.
2) Respond to the sender of said spam with civility.
3) See if they oblige by taking you off the list.
4) THEN whine to management.

A simple line such as, "There's no need to send me this, I have added you to my favorites. Anyway, thanks for thinking of me." Likely works rather well.

THAAAAAAAAANK you!

I tried civility ...(I mean, I am not exactly known as a meanie here)...and the response was STILL snotty and rude. From a total stranger no less...someone I had never interacted with at all!

Gah. I say nothing now.

People can pimp their blog to me but should probably know, I automatically delete almost every such message I get. I often make a mental note when it's from a particular friend, and then I'll go have a look - but I eventually would have done so anyway, so the blogpimp isn't really serving its intended purpose.

I only open messages that I can identify are personal to me or a small group. I don't bother complaining about it b/c in the time it takes to complain I can just delete and ignore.

What about this. Reading Member A's post the other day, I was struck by its similarity in theme to one by Member B I'd read earlier in the morning. In a comment, I directed A's attention to it. (In fact, visiting the B entry later in the day, A had posted a comment suggesting that she had, indeed, enjoyed it.) Is that OK?

Kerry
I've never considered pm'ng my favs about a certain post I write as anything but a way to keep up with the feed. I accept pm's from many suggesting other blogs I haven't read or their own content which they feel is important.
If I offend with a mass-PM, I'm sorry. I don't do it often. Now you got me rethinking this. I guess I need to understand more about the inner-workings of Open Salon, the whole internet experience.
Again I'd like to reiterate how much I appreciate Open Salon and the efforts of all who work behind the scene to make this sight what it is.
I sincerely thank you.

I understand a newbies need for self-promotion, but if you've been here for three months or more and you still need to spam your posts, you're not getting the message: Your posts are not all that interesting. As far as I'm concerned, if you insist that every reader rate your post, it is equally evident of the quality of your content.

I don't mind the announcements. What does irritate me are messages begging me to rate and digg/reddit their own posts. Except under very special conditions, this just strikes me as -- lame.

There are so many great writers here that even with all the nice tools at our fingertips (THANK YOU) I still manage to miss a lot so PMs announcing NEW posts are welcome.

Personally I've pretty much stopped sending them out, but then again I've been doing more commenting than writing lately, except of course for my recently posted, OPEN CALL response, Jon & Kate - They're Going Down. Sorry Kerry, I guess I just blog whored, tee hee.

I don't mind the "blog whoring" because sometimes it's the only time I get to read other people's work. It too hard to make everyone my favorite because it can get overwhelming for me.

In fact, I've had to delete some favorites because he or she doesn't write enough to justify me keeping them.

When I do get mass emails at once, then I do take the time to read them and do my very best to leave a comment.

But for the vast majority of people on OS we do have lives and time for us is limited at best.

So the mass emails, for me, does cut down the time.

ocularnervosa: I fear you'll live to regret that comment!

Bobbot: That's the problem, though; it's used by so many people that it's not useful anymore.

Jeanette: To me, it's all blog pimping, a phrase that long predated Open Salon. I think pimping your own post isn't substantially different than pimping someone else's. And you're not going to catch me calling anyone a whore.

Gwool: That's a very civilized solution.

p13: You're welcome!

Sandra: That would describe me, too -- I don't particularly mind getting alerts. It *can* be tough to find the good messages in there sometimes, though.

AHP: Comments are great! Don't mean to confuse: I'm speaking specifically about mass messages through the Open Salon mail system.

MM: I'm not trying to crackdown or complain about any one member. I'm just raising it as a practice that might not be worthwhile anymore.

Kerry: Same as ocularnernosa. I appreciate getting alerts from folks who are invariably my "favorites," telling me about the posts they're most proud of. I've recently begun to do it myself -- sometimes keying on folks with particular interests, sometimes including everyone, including my first "friends," you & Joan. I've always gotten more responses to my posts when I've done this. For me, being able to reach out specifically to my favorites is one of the many glories of OS -- they're the people whose comments mean the most to me. I'm also guilty of promoting -- very selectively -- other folks whose sites deserve more attention.

But obviously, one man's boon is another man's spam. I'll be sure to take you off this list & only "promote" myself to you more baldly in the future, if that's how you want to be viewed. I'll also ask anyone else who feels spammed to just let me know.

Cheers

i won't blog pimp or bump my own posts because i want to know if my work is good enough to seek out and win readers on its own.

there's so much noise in the signal, and i don't expect anyone to adopt my attitude in the subject, but this is one reason i stopped participating on digg and reddit: people just dogpiled each other. instead of getting to read pieces on their merits, i would have all this advertising from one or sometimes both sides, and it corrupted my participation. it made it easier to be snarky and mean-spirited when there was a team to play to.

it pains me a lot to see that there is no commons left. when an issue is divisive, we're more likely to seek out opinions that validate our own beliefs instead of trying to understand or reason with individuals on the other side. frankly, i was disappointed that y'all weren't taking the o'reilly challenge more seriously, because it just reinforces the belief that liberals and conservatives can't reach any common ground because we're too busy snickering at each other with our own camps.

anyway, that was unwieldy and probably entirely too sincere... but the way we digest and produce content interests me. we should talk about it more, and i'm glad you posted about this.

At this moment I have nearly 800 unread mass mailings in my inbox. I'm thinking of hiring an intern to either go look at the posts in question or to simply delete them for me. That being said, the blog pimping doesn't bug me that much; I read and enjoy quite a few of the pimped posts, and I might have missed them if I hadn't received the notification.

I occasionally send an alert out to my favs. I do not send alerts to anyone who has asked that they not be included (only one or two have done so). There are simply so many bloggers now that new posts disappear from the feed on the right side of my blog screen in less than a day. For someone with a day job, that means you won't notice some of your favorites' posts.

So...I don't mind if someone wants to alert me to their post. I can choose to look at the message or delete. Either way, it's no big deal, and I'm not real sure why some take such offense to the practice. I would definitely be disappointed to learn that I missed the posts of several bloggers whose work I particularly admire.

Given what is given attention via the 'front page' of O.S. (Editors Picks), I can see why those who know that their writing is actually worthy of close attention choose to send out these P.M.'s.

In studying Editor's Picks, I have figured out how to make the front page:

1) Write a compelling sob story, even if it is poorly written and devoid of thought that penetrates the surface of life's experience;

2) Write about a current "hot" Reality Show (even better, write be Mary Kelly and write about "American Idol" and get on the front page nearly every day);

3) Write some sort of "plea for help" - a near-suicide threat is a sure way to garner sympathy, attention, and lots of non-professional, not-always-so-helpful comments;

4) Write some sort of gooey, "Hallmark"-style poem that reeks of sentimentality and dedicate it to a "died-too-early" relative.

I could go on and on, but I won't. So, if those who can REALLY FEEL DEEPLY, THINK DEEPLY, and WRITE DEEPLY (people like Mr. Mustard, James Emmerling, Newton F., etc), choose to send me a P.M. because perhaps people have loads of "Favorites" and so they may miss a new posting from an erstwhile literary comrade and friend, by all means, I ENCOURAGE THIS!

-Angie, the Poetess whose poems are rarely read and commented on, but who continues to value her Open Salon experience, just the same, due to writers such as those-I-mention, above.

Procopius wrote: " For someone with a day job, that means you won't notice some of your favorites' posts."

I wonder if you're using the Favorites feature? If you mark your favorite bloggers as a "Favorite," you can track their posts pretty comprehensively from the cover navigation, seeing all of their most Most Recent posts, as well as how they're doing on the popularity metrics (Most Views, Top Rated, Most Commented).

Thank you. Just, thank you.

I don't mind either way, but I'll bet Cartouche would have something to say, but she's out of town.

I'm the new kid in school here and I think I blog-pimped you once. I apologize. I don't like spam either. I guess I thought I had just written something really good and wanted you to read it.

I feel wierd sending out links to a large group - and have decided personally it's not something I will engage in. But here's the flip side.

I guess lots of the writers here are editors as well, so no matter what they post or the quality of it, they automatically get the EP. Is that how it works?

But for the rest of us, it's more difficult to get noticed.

Here's an idea though: If you and Joan removed yourselves as automatic favorites for new members (which is kind of wierd anyway and a bit of shameless self-promotion on your part) I bet you'd get alot less spam.

And if you read more of what's posted by writers here and not just by the editors and the "in-crowd" maybe people wouldn't hit you up as often.

But um - the favoriting thing doesn't really work that well! I have to ask people whose work I like to favorite ME, and then get a webmail notification of when they post.
I know, the right hand column on my home page alerts me to my favorites posts. I just happen to find it easier to be alerted through webmail. Which is why I repeatedly tell people - don't worry about pimping or whoring! I request it!
But - to each his/her own. I rarely do it - although I did it a couple of days ago, and then fully thanked people who responded for acknowledging my begging.
I'm sort of of the opinion that a complaint about "Oh, dear me! These messages are clogging my inbox!" is just another way of saying you're really popular. I have 538 friends, etc. (Not you, Kerry or other editors who are PAID TO PUT UP WITH OUR PIMPING AND WHORING.)
Like, how hard is it to distinguish these messages - in my OS world, I am only alerted to "real" PM's through my regular email - the pimping and the whoring goes straight to the OS inbox.
Sometimes I don't read any of the posts - sometimes the titles alone tell me what one of my favorites is up to.
I guess I think it's a non-issue. Make your claim for or against and carry on. Does deleting really exhaust people that much? Is it that difficult?
C'mon over to my blog, pimp's and whore's! The door is open!

Another tempest in a teapot. I tend to favourite people and read them that way, but I also routinely peruse the Most Recent feature and the feed. I like to read all kinds of stuff, and not just from my people whose work I know and like.

I don't get all that many blog pimps -- at least not enough to cause me grief. I am convinced that some people just like to complain.

OK. I won't pimp my Fashion Show blog, then, Kerry. Not at all. :-)

Also guilty of deleting 85% of these, unless I particularly adore the sender.

I would have guessed that blog pimping pimping would be when you send out spammy messages on behalf of someone else's post, while blog whoring would be when you send them out on behalf of your own booty. But I'll go along with whatever works best. By the way, everyone, notice that I learned how to use italics in comments from Rob St. Amant's recent post. Maybe I should send out a little email plug for his post here.

I don't mind the PM's about new posts (though I probably don't get as many as a lot of you) but I do love the Favorites feature and usually find the posts I read the way Kerry has suggested. I go to the cover, click on most recent, and then favorites, and up pop the new posts by those I have selected as favorites. Easy and painless.

We’re relatively new to OS, but I’ve already started a desiderata for feature requests, most of which seem like they would be pretty easy to implement. Michael and I were thinking about discussing these in an upcoming post, but it seems some of these might actually help alleviate the concerns you’ve raised in this piece, so I might as well bring them up here.

If Maintaining Community is So Important, Then . . .

Don’t disappear the updates as soon as they fall off the feed! Let us click at the bottom to view an archive of updates—covering all of our Favorites since we first began following them. This would eliminate the risk of missing posts that pass into oblivion before we even know about them, and then people might not feel so compelled to subject themselves to messaging prostitution.

Same deal with “My Recent Comments”! I mean, the data is obviously there, it’s hovering on the feed until vanishing forever into the OS ether. Why not capture that data and create an archive so we can click and view a history of our comments. That would make it SO much easier for us to see if anyone has responded to a comment we’ve left. And we wouldn’t have to worry about coming off as rude because we haven’t reciprocated when a response is expected.

And along those same lines . . . I know people are already irked by the influx of messages in their Inbox, so perhaps there’s another way to indicate this (maybe some typographical notation in the wished-for Comments Archive?), but it would be nice to be notified if someone has responded to a comment we’ve made on their post.

Speaking of comments, why doesn’t your search engine include them? I know google’s does, but given how vital commenting is to the OS community, you would think your search engine could be smart enough to find them. I mean, that can’t be difficult. Can it? Maybe give that as an extra filter option—people could choose to search articles only, comments, or both. Just thinking out loud here.

Well, that’s not too huge of a wishlist after a month of being submerged in the OS waters. But I think each of these features could contribute immensely to cultivating community—and cutting down on all the spam in our inboxes.

Thanks for listening—and considering.

—Melissa

I have absolutely no problem with people sending me references to their blogs or anyone else's. In fact, I wish more people did it.

And on the (very) odd occasion when I write something, I have no hesitation in letting my friends know. Like me, many of them are busy and miss things on the too-short right-hand feed on my blog.

That said, I also include a rider -- that anyone who doesn't want the notification can opt out. So far, no one has, but I'll make sure to drop you and Joan from the list, since you're already swamped.

Guilty as charged! But, I also do not mind when people send me theirs because often times the updates column moves so fast I don't get to read some writers I truly value. I have tried to lay low lately since I realize people are getting tired of it. Can't blame them... duly noted!

@ Kerry, I see that now. My thing from yesterday was a special circumstance. It seems that abuse has rendered it invisible. I'm not complaining. I can't begin to imagine what your inbox must look like.

Seems there is a chicken and egg problem here that rewards those who happen to please the powers that be of the moment without thought to the fact that if OS self-selects too much, then it is no better than the echo chambers of the Right, which defeats what could be truly productive about the medium.
Oh well, Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss.

I used to mind, but recently I just don't get notices in my email when people send me OS messages, so it's less of a nuisance. Some very cool people blog-pimp me all the time, so I don't want to tell them off, but I barely have tome for what I already do on OS, which means I am most probably not going to read all those posts you recommend if I hadn't anyway, and I am definitely not going to do all the digg/reddit/what have you. Sorry. If I had the time, I'd be promoting my own sorry ass.

This seems to be an endless discussion here at OS, and there is obviously no single perspective on the matter. I invite people to read my latest posts because I don’t post as often as some people. Occasionally, I’ll include a request to let me know if some wish not to receive such notices; most people say the appreciate receiving them, some merely “don’t mind”, and others just ignore. I’ve had several people ask me not to do so, and I respect their requests and don’t send them invitations.

I don’t mind receiving them, and have on several occasions asked certain writers to continue notifying me of their new posts simply because I can’t always keep up with everyone I enjoy reading. Occasionally, I may go days without viewing OS, or only click in for short times, and might miss the “feeds” and so I wouldn’t see their new posts on the feeds which normally would notify me.

I have had some occasions when someone to whom I have sent an invitation arrived long after the comment thread on one of my posts has died down and say they don’t know how they missed it in the beginning but wish they had not. Go figure …

One postitive result I’ve experienced as a result of sending these notifications is that on a few occasions my having sent the notice opened up a line of communication that carried on over several messages.

This needed saying. I hope my "favorites" will trust me to find them. I repeat myself now, but thank you to all the IT people for coming up with these various lists and filters.

What if we make the updates column longer and limit ourselves to one post a day :)

i've never been able to understand why people get so bent out of shape over a message. the delete feature works really well.

Beth Ingalls wrote: "And if you read more of what's posted by writers here and not just by the editors and the 'in-crowd' maybe people wouldn't hit you up as often."
As I've said before, we probably do occasionally fall into reading patterns and habits. But we try to surface the best content, and pay close attention to the Popularity metrics (ratings, views, comments) as another way to do that. Mass emails just isn't a useful tool for us, and from what I'm hearing, many members.

aim: ". . . (Not you, Kerry or other editors who are PAID TO PUT UP WITH OUR PIMPING AND WHORING.)"

On the off-chance you're serious: We're not.

mamoore: Bless you.

Melissa: We have a new round of navigation changes we're testing for rollout that actually anticipate most of your requests here, I'm happy to report. Look for an announcement within the month.

Emma, MAWB, RickyB: I'm not opposed to people sending mails, or self-promotion. I'm trying to say that there are more effective ways of doing it, really, on Open and off.

Is there a way of making a distinction between pimping and pitching? As someone who's been a freelancer, and an editor for most of my working life, I don't hesitate to pitch my work. And I depend on writers to pitch their work to me.

What I don't do is simply send a link to someone expecting them to go to the trouble to cut and paste it simply because I write "this is personal!" or "please read this guy. He's great!" And I don't feel obliged to cut and paste anyone who sends me nothing more than a link.

I also don't expect everyone, even those who have me as a favourite, to visit every post I write. So when I write something that I think certain people will like, or everyone will like, or the editors will like, I take the trouble to write a short paragraphing explaining the thrust of my post. I like to think it makes life easier for my readers, and for the editors.

I don't think of that as spam, and I hope other people don't.

Kerry, These suggestions truly need to be considered, especially about finding another way to notify writers when one of their Favs has posted.

Why not generate private (home) emails notifying writers of each post. This worked beautifully at another interactive writing site for years. It would totally eliminate the OS PM's.

I've sent PMs on every one of my posts because it was suggested when I first came here that that's the way it was done here. I have to say, as well, that I enjoy getting the notices because things go so fast here, that I usually miss them while I'm floundering around trying to find where I commented, when and to whom.

Please ponder Melissa's astute suggestions:

@ Melissa: Hear! Hear! I've been thinking about doing a post on what's missing from OS and you've put most of them out there with your comment. Thank You!

(1) Don’t disappear the updates as soon as they fall off the feed!

(2) Let us click at the bottom to view an archive of updates—covering all of our Favorites since we first began following them. This would eliminate the risk of missing posts that pass into oblivion before we even know about them, and then people might not feel so compelled to subject themselves to messaging prostitution.

(3) Same deal with “My Recent Comments”! I mean, the data is obviously there, it’s hovering on the feed until vanishing forever into the OS ether. Why not capture that data and create an archive so we can click and view a history of our comments. That would make it SO much easier for us to see if anyone has responded to a comment we’ve left. And we wouldn’t have to worry about coming off as rude because we haven’t reciprocated when a response is expected.

(4) And along those same lines . . . I know people are already irked by the influx of messages in their Inbox, so perhaps there’s another way to indicate this (maybe some typographical notation in the wished-for Comments Archive?), but it would be nice to be notified if someone has responded to a comment we’ve made on their post.

(5) Speaking of comments, why doesn’t your search engine include them? I know google’s does, but given how vital commenting is to the OS community, you would think your search engine could be smart enough to find them. I mean, that can’t be difficult. Can it?

(6) Maybe give that as an extra filter option—people could choose to search articles only, comments, or both. Just thinking out loud here.


—Melissa
metaness
June 19, 2009 04:41 PM

I love my favorites pimping their posts I often don't see them in my faves bar and miss them and wish they would pimp themselves. If you don't want these PM's I'm sure that a simple please stop will suffice. I don't feel that when Monte sends me a message that there is a new post it is junk mail or inefficient and I finally got a pm from Scoubidou announcing his posts and hope he is not discouraged from doing it again. He really deserves some editorial/front page attention as it is a shame that such amazing writing is going un noticed. PMing, is in fact more efficient than most other methods.
I can save the pm like a bookmark or just a reminder to go there if I don't have time at the moment. I do receive a few from people I don't really read but I don't mind deleting. I don't send out a notice for every post but about every third to fifth one and I notice a major difference when I do so it must be reasonably efficient. So I guess I disagree with your conclusions but welcome anyone to request that I take them off of my list when I announce my posts. Thanks for weighing in on this now go read some Scoubidou over that cup of coffee and give him some ED lovin.

Years ago, as a summer camp counselor, I continually yelled at my campers. The head counselor suggested I not do so. His reasoning was that if I continued to yell, the campers would come to regard my yelling voice as my speaking voice.

There is a point here somewhere, but I think I’ve lost it.

I really like OS and all the great writers. Its also fun trading perspectives and offering input to others who simply enjoy being part of an on-line community. As a hobbyist, I appreciate that members have taken the time to read my posts and offer feedback.

The only part I could do without is when posts go viral and people’s feelings get hurt. I’m a thick skinned New Yorker, but everyone isn’t built that way.

I disagree about the time being passed. There needs to be more navigation choices before that can happen.
1. My "Favorites" on my blog only shows eight people. That means I get the links from the eight most recently posted people. If someone posted twice, I only see their most recent post.
2. When I list all my favorites, all I get is their names. I don't know who has posted most recently, and what.
3. Is there some sort of "degree of favoritism", or did there used to be? If so, I can't find it now to edit relationships. If I remember correctly though, it was "acquaintance", "friend", "best friend". Which doesn't really apply when what I want to say is "always enjoy", "worth a look", etc.
I don't get a lot of pimpings (or any other PMs, really), so I definitely appreciate them. I can understand that the really popular people probably hate getting so many.

In response to Beth Ingalls, Kerry writes:

"As I've said before, we probably do occasionally fall into reading patterns and habits. But we try to surface the best content, and pay close attention to the Popularity metrics (ratings, views, comments) as another way to do that. Mass emails just isn't a useful tool for us, and from what I'm hearing, many members."

In regard to paying close attention to the Editors of O.S. paying close attention to O.S. Popularity metrics, I offer you the following concept (not original, of course, but perhaps helpful, just the same: "The Tyranny of Mediocrity." Said differently: Does Kerry's comment to Beth imply that O.S. is simply reflecting our current society's obsession with catering to the model (informational) megaconsumer?

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity Kerry has given us to dialogue meaningfully on this matter, if indeed this is an actual "dialogue," versus a "friendly reminder" (aka bureaucratic 'dictate'). If this is indeed a dialogue, and not a 'dictate', I think Melissa brings up some wonderful points and offers meaningful suggestions that are worthy of further consideration.

I had one of the members who reads my posts all the time suggest that I "Blog-pimp" I didn't know that is what it was called. I did this today to about twenty of my favorites. Sorry. I guess I didn't mind getting these messages. I surf and read a lot and it was just another avenue to find something to read.

Wow, people are so opinionated about this (how surprising is that here at OS). I don't mind being sent mail, I haven't done any pimping. I enjoy trawling the blogs, the serendipity of finding something interesting, of reading a well thought out, considered idea, seeing a beautiful photograph, etc. If no one reads my posts, no problem...I blog because I like documenting finds and ideas; and having acquired favourites, this is now much easier.

The eternal question. To pimp or not to pimp; whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of being ignored or to take arms against a sea of indifference and send out mass PM's. Do you want to become the Open Salon version of the Toyota Corolla or would rather market your work like Lotus markets its little sports cars -- almost strictly word of mouth. I guess that depends. Are you a Corolla or and an Elise?

Back when I was working as a Reporter, I interviewed a broken down old guitar player, and I asked him if he could live his life over again if would do anything differently. I'll never forget what he told me: "When I was young I always expected to be 'discovered.' I never realized that it was up to me to manage my career as a musician."

Something to consider? Or just one more thing to drive you nuts worrying about.

Thank you.

To be sure I am guilty as the next whore... but I actually appreciate the PMs with all their sluttiness... in some cases it is the only way I find out about a post. My RSS reader is already full of all the non OS people I read...adding all the fabulously crazy people on here would, I suspect, cause the damn thing to spew smoke and cough.

The Updates list is too short to encompass all my favourites...and the favorites list is not conducive to browsing to find the recent posts. Perhaps if the most recent post were linked next to the name of Fav some place other than the Updates? Perhaps if the updates list were longer - maybe a different format (less icon, smaller font, more names and more posts?)

Thanks, Kerry, for providing a central forum for me to blog pimp T. Michael Stone's latest piece: http://open.salon.com/blog/t_michael_stone/2009/06/19/exercise_61_the_heavy_weight
This saves me all kinds of trouble sending out PMs.

Best thing here? We're DISCUSSING it! Which ever way it goes--OK by me. Thanks to Kerry for bringing it up.

Well that certainly makes me wish I could go back now.I thought you were sending me endless blog pimps but it sounds like they were all PM's from you I deleted.
oh well.......

It would be nice to see new posts by my favorites in the same compact list form, as "Most recent" or "Topics". That would be nice.

While I'm making requests...
I'd like a "random post" option somewhere. I think it would be a cool way to discover new people. Either as a list of say 20 random posts, or kinda like Google's "I'm feeling lucky" button and show me the whole post. There must be tons of good stuff I've missed.

Shorter Kerry: Don't send out PMs to pimp your latest post; send out PMs asking people to put you on their Favorites list.

I'm kidding, of course, but there's a more serious point underneath. My take is that the latest refinements to OS have concentrated on making it easier for readers to find information they want (e.g., I've bookmarked the list of recent Favorites' posts, very convenient), rather than making it easier for posters to tell others about their new posts. I mean, the latter functionality is there; posts and comments can be seen on the side bars, and some posts get highlighted on the cover. But the design changes seem to be reader-centered rather than poster-centered. At least that's my impression.

(While I think that this is probably a good idea overall, it has drawbacks. Like my personal laziness, in adding Favorites and so forth. If you want me to read something, send me a message, because otherwise I might miss it. But that's just me.)

(Oh, and if I haven't put you to sleep already, you might find these reflections in a similar vein interesting. Or not--they're ancient, from October of last year.)

I don't mind people pimping their own blogs, but what I don't like is being ordered to read a *great post that deserves all of our attention.* If I don't PM people about my posts, they never get read. So.

I actually like getting PM's about new posts. I only get about 5 to 10/day, hardly overwhelming. I follow up and read about half of the posts that are "flogged" in the PM's. I have no trouble deleting PM's as needed (with or without reading). I doubt very many people get that many PM's a day that it should be a real problem for them. The Editors of course, must get tons, which is very different.

I notice that some of my favorites who are also very popular bloggers here (get on the cover regularly etc) send out PM's on many of their posts, so I disagree with the idea that if you need to PM people, it's that your writing isn't good enough. These people are great writers and popular and yet even they have to "fight the feed." That says something about the enormous volume of posting here. and let's not even discuss newer people who write great stuff and get totally lost.

I'm glad my favorites PM me - I'd often miss their posts otherwise, since I have to make sure to check every day and see if they've posted something new (whether by going to their blog or to the Cover page and searching on Favorites). Why should I object to something that makes it easier for me??

But I always have mixed feelings about PMing folks about my own posts. I feel guilty every time, even though I usually only post once a week. But honest to Jesus, it makes a huge difference in how many people read a post, even among folks who often read and comment on my posts. I've tried not PMing and waiting a day or two and letting nature take its course....I generally get little action on the post. Then I PM and...bang, lots more readers. Hard to stop doing what works, especially if our whole goal in being here is to get read! It's human nature to repeat what brings gratification.

I also second the idea that successful writers market their work. Most of us who haven't succeeded have trouble with marketing ourselves (on top of perhaps other deficiencies!). I see OS as a way to practice the marketing-self muscle, and that should theoretically be a good thing. And marketing in the form of Digg and Reddit is actively encouraged here. Contradiction?

I agree that people need to exercise discretion. Most of us only post something on our blog once or twice a week (some folks even less). It seems unfair to ask people to not promote a single post a week, doesn't it?

There's a stronger argument with people who post more often, and PM every time. And some people are rather bullying in their PM's, almost demanding reading, rating, Digging, etc. (often on behalf of others, not themselves, it should be said, but just as problematic). I hate that, and I think it's counter-productive. In any case, it is for me - I avoid reading posts that are marketed that way, even on behalf of someone else. I do read posts when the writer invites me to read the post, if I'm interested. (I appreciate when they tell me what the post is about, so I can decide whether to go read it.)

Sorry this is long but obviously it's a big issue here, and everyone has their own take on it. This is mine.

"Blog pimping" is also known as "blogwhoring," and extends to hyperlinking your own blog posts into comments on others. Some blogs are more tolerant with the practice than others. Usually you won't get flamed or banned if you stay on-topic. Usually.

...and it would be nice if the "My Recent Comments" section had more than the five most recent..at least 20.

*sigh* I guess if I have to suffer personal attacks, they may as well come from a Dorothy Parker lookalike. Could be worse. :-)

One more time - how to make sure you do not miss any of your "favorites" posts (without needing a blog-pimp PM or a longer Favorites post list on your blog page)

1) Home Page
2) Most Recent
3) "Show" drop-down menu
4) Click the drop-down and select Favorites

Viola! A concise list of all of your favorites' posts for the past few months!

The Home Page nav bar is a fairly new and excellent addition to the site. There are many ways to sort through posts there. IMHO, if more people learned to rely on that, the activity feed would not be as important as it is made out to be now.

This suggestion I forwarded more than a month ago, so I'm not sure whether you received it considering the problem you raised:
_______________________________
What I noticed is that most posts only have single comments and that interesting discussions hardly ever develop.

To facilitate this, perhaps it would be useful to have a Discussion link next to Topic on the main menu. This would then show the post with the latest comment posted, as opposed to the latest post only as in the current Topic link, this could also be categorized per Tag as in Topics. I would suggest that only the posters name and the commenter name be displayed, together with the topic name, the rating and numbers of comments received.

A further advancement could be that a Discussion section be included below Favorites that would allow any member to tag any post for discussion. In this submenu, only topics tagged would be in this menu, let’s say the top 5 topics with the latest one listed above. This would be a more courteous way to include a member in one’s blog. This would also illuminate the problem of having to removing member who may later fall into distaste. This could then be done on a per topic basis, as well as with the existing Favorite basis, but that member’s won’t necessarily a permanent fixture when using this method.

I trust you will find these suggestions workable.

All the best,
Newton

'Tis pity I'm a whore.

Ditto what Sandra said.

Thanks for this, Kerry.

*Real tears in my eyes* The one and only time I post-whored myself out and sent you and Joan a message was this week and it was because I mentioned, you, Joan and Bill O'Reilly.

And the same week, you post this.

*even more tears* I WILL NEVER DIRTY YOUR PRESENCES AGAIN......except now..in this comment..and maybe later, in some more comments and articles, but never a PM, because, well, you can't say BLOG WHORING...

~runs off stage left~

I'm guilty of "pimping." Most of my posts are very well received by both "Favorites" and strangers, but I've found that if I don;t do a mass email I don't get nearly as many reads.

But I will stop them for now to see how it works out.

I've never pimped or whored (on OS, at any rate -- ha!), and I don't intend to start, but that's me. That said, I've read some wonderful work that came to my attention only because someone sent me a message about it. I don't really get as many private messages as some of the other commenters on this post; I get kind of excited when I see I have one waiting for me.

What kellylark said.

I drew some fire when I complained about this more than six months ago.

Kerry has said: "But we try to surface the best content, and pay close attention to the Popularity metrics (ratings, views, comments) as another way to do that..."

I'm sorry I have to say this, but I disagree. Personal experience, you know...

How exciting! OS is coming out of its toddler years.

Just turn off multiple recipients and everything will be a LOT better almost instantly.

Some more from me:
@ Kerry: hmm - I DID think you guys got paid for being editor's. Sorry! Did not mean to snark!
Re: Digg and Reddit - I have signed up for both, and I'll do it if someone requests. But I am SO happy that my post about abortions was NOT Digged or Reddited. It was enough to handle just within OS - and it got a LOT of views.
I think we just have to be clear about what we do or do not want. To each other - not to the editors.
*A big note to Kerry and Thomas and Joan and all the folks who make it work - it works! I might be an idiot who navigates in my own special way, but it works. I've onlybeen here six or seven months, and it's home. I DO appreciate all the hard work that goes into OS. Should I start paying you guys? I'm not rich, but I could slide ya some beer money...

I totally agree with Sandra Stevens.

I've never done it, I don't intend to do it, and for the most part, I think they are totally useless.

Delete and Ignore.

Hmmm. I'm also a newbie and ventured into my very first blog-whoring this morning. (It was great; you were all very gentle and I felt like Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman.") I will admit I hesitated, because I didn't know how people generally regarded such emails. And now I know...er, um...well, that, as they say on the local news, opinions might vary, but we know this for certain: only time will tell.

Actually, I'm just glad I didn't do the equivalent of mistaking the modern sculpture for a urinal. Again.

Kellylark, thanks so much for the "most recent from favorites" instructions. This might be a usability thing. I have never thought to check there, because that toolbar seemed (in my mind) to be a "site-level" menu bar, having nothing whatsoever to do with me. I always go to View Blog to view things that are specific to me. Can we make that command available there too?

Ha! I found it. Thanks Rob St Amant. That solves my only dog in this fight. Now I shall delete blog pimps from my favorites with complete impunity.

Kerry-

How about bestowing a few more EP's. It occurs to me that the recent post crowing about every OS staffer being on the front page is the WRONG signal to be sending. The whole point of OS is so that OTHER writers can get read and occasionally recognized. Its the same people over and over who get the rewards. And let's be real here. I've read those posts. Sometimes they're really good. But a lot of times they're just really popular, or are on "Hot Button" topics and would have risen to the top anyway.

Your thoughts about blog-whoring / pimping-- whatever you want to call it are noted. So how about taking some constructive advice yourself and revamp how people can get exposure.

@Kerry -- "But we try to surface the best content, and pay close attention to the Popularity metrics (ratings, views, comments) as another way to do that."

Your metric calculations aren't perfect either. I've sent examples to your help desk to point out erroneous results.

catnmus I didn't pick up on the fact that you can sort it for your favorites right away either. Sometimes I wish it appeared on every page I am viwwing so I don't have click back home, but remember ... this site is free to us, and so far Salon isn't making any money from it. I am grateful for what they give me for free still :-)

i hate this term, but whatever. i LOVE getting these alerts. these are the first posts i read, but i have brain damage and need the assist in finding new posts. and when i alert people, i do tend to get more readers. but i will certainly think thrice about it in future. now can you guys fix the feed?

I have found that the easiest and most efficient way to keep up with favorites is to RSS them. Then when you go to your feeds, you get a pop-up at the mouseover that says "2 new" or "20 new". It's quick and automatic and you don't even have to log into OS to read them.

I am guilty. I have found that some of my favorites like the PMs and others don't. I always try to make sure I don 't send it to the ones who don't like them, but unfortunately I get into a hurry and forget. I am sorry if I have offended anyone by doing this. I myself like them because I get busy with life, and it helps me keep up with my favorites' posts.
I think it is a matter if someone doesn't want the PMs they should just ask nicely to be removed from their PMing list.
Thank you for the great post and all the hard work you all do for us.

why don't they just go onto Craig's List and add it in the forums area?

If I hear the word "cover" one more time I'm going to hide under the covers. It is so agitating.
Cover Cover Cover Cover. Ok! I had to get it out of my system. It must be fashionable to be on the COVER and it seems some people can't enjoy their experiences here unless they or some of their friends are on the "COVER"...
Sometimes, it is just nice being on the inside...After all, it is the heart that sails the soul!

I appreciate getting notifications from posters whose blogs I've commented on. It's fine, send away and I'll read your post if I can. I'm not on OS as frequently these days and it all just flashes by quickly.

But if I've never commented on your blog, I don't understand why you would keep sending me notifications.

I only send notifications to people who've commented on my blog in the past and told me they enjoy my material.

If anyone receives an unwanted notification from me, it may have been a mistake on my part. Kindly let me know you don't want them. It doesn't take extravagant social skills. Gwool has some great tips in that regard, above.

RE: Others' Blog Whoring - I am among those who like to get PMs announcing new posts from my favorites, especially those people who don't post often. I have a number of blogs I like to follow and even with the tools now at my disposal, and trying to use all of the tools you mention, Kerry, would miss some posts were I not PM-ed, particularly during those periods when work prevents me for logging on for several days. And in a world which demands that artists engage in self promotion, I actually appreciate those who openly admit to wanting a readership. I do not enjoy having someone ask me to rate, reddit or digg their own post - that does seem in poor taste, as does someone promoting their own post within the comments they make to someone else's - occasionally, I have found that it extends the dialogue, but usually it doesn't.

Re: Blog Whoring / promoting my own posts - guilty as charged, although I don't send out a notice of every post, particularly when I have the time to write several over a week, I have noticed that I get fewer readers when I don't PM folks. I ask people to let me know when they'd rather I not PM them, and am happy to take anyone off the list - no offense taken - when they make such a request. As for staff, I figure that you have enough reading to wade through on a daily basis without my adding to the pile. I have PM-ed staff on a new post once or twice, when it seemed appropriate (for instance, I recently emailed Joan to let her know I'd photoshopped some hats for her).

NOTE: I have noted those people who have commented that they don't appreciate PMs to whom I have announced posts before - promise to take you off of my list.

Re:Blog Pimping (pushing someone else's post) - I do appreciate some of the notices that I get. I don't find this objectionable, although I would prefer that the decision to reddit, digg, etc. be left up to me. In that vein, I appreciate Cartouche's announcements of newcomers' posts - while I often peruse the "most recent" listings when I log on, there are so many new folks joining this community that I would miss learning about many of these folks without such notices.

Whoring is my day job.

Most think i'm too nasty so why bother?

hi kerry, Im a software engr, and I feel that a lot of issues could be resolved with some tweaks to the site software. could you open up that process a little? its very mysterious. who works on it? what are the priorities? what are the features coming along? can you allow readers to make suggestions & rate/rank them?

I know its expensive and hard to chg the software.. but its worth it.
I would apply for the job, but unfortunately I dont think the journalism industry can support my typical rate :(
anyway, keep up the good work.
to a large degree, its a scalability problem. you only have a finite amount of front page real estate, and a burgeoning set of users.

Point well taken.

PS: aim is picking up my tab! Thanks aim.

this was written like a very gracious teacher (talking as it were to young adults and so many of us are in terms of what we really know about the world wide web, so many of us are still in learning discovering, exploring mode, that your tone, content made sense) - you made me smile.

Er, could we get a comment edit feature please at some point? I do not mind waiting.

Or at least a PREVIEW feature before one 'posts' comments...

Legit Promo, using in built Promo Features like linking upto other blogs to follow them or be seen makes sense - thanks for this post Kerry.

Meliss nd Newton hve a point, and we look forward to the changes you say are about to roll

No probs Grif! You're a cheap date - everyone knows that.

I don't mind PMs about posts at all. If it's from or about a Favorite, it's unnecessary, but it doesn't hurt anything.

I've sent PMs several times about my posts, even though it makes me cringe a little. It does make a difference in the number of comments I get though. I think I've only PM'd those who have commented on a post of mine.

As a reader, the Favorite system works well. By filtering Favorites from Recent posts, I can be assured that I won't miss anyone's posts. When I Favorite someone, I make the commitment to always read them if I have the time (the only exception would be on the occasional topic that's not interesting to me.) Because of that I don't make people Favorites very casually.

The obvious limit is in finding the worthwhile and interesting post of others. For that I sample from the feed.

As a writer, the problem is that I simply don't write frequently enough to get any real traction on OS. Then it becomes totally random whether what I write gets any attention.

Kerry,

Please note that Melissa (and others) pointed out the MOST IMPORTANT missing features in OS:

(1) Access to MY COMMENTS archive all the way back;
(2) Access to everybody's COMMENTS through NAME SEARCH;
(3) Access to a longer UPDATE archive;

OS, in general, is a pretty good platform, but without these is not fully functional.
Thanks,

I'm looking at the comments thread for this post, and I'm looking at all the empty real estate in my right-hand favorites column. Why, when there are upteen comments in the thread, are there are only the most recent 8 favorite links? A number of people have given you clues about why they pimp their work: for the most part, it is extremely difficult to get into and stay into the feed. There is no reason besides incremental increases in bandwidth that you cannot, if you are suggesting using the favorites feature, support increasing the number of favorite links that are visible. I have a lot of favorite writers: relatively fresh material can roll off my personal feed on the same day. Pimping is about getting exposure, in a land where all of the front page real estate is clogged with writers you have chosen, Kerry. Don't grudge people whatever tools they have to get noticed if you aren't going to help, and are in many ways, actively hindering.

If you want to PROMOTE SOMEBODY ELSE'S post write a COMMENT to PopSmiley's blog. This is a "grassroots best picks" list.

PopSmiley does NOT override your pick: whatever you present in your comment will be included in the list. Show the link and a one-liner stating what is good in the post.

Very good points Rich.

I was going to suggest that the html links posted by "blog pimps" be enabled so that I can just click on the story rather than having to then go hunt for the piece. I often discover them days later but want to do the courtesy of checking the writing out.

I do not mind the PM , even though I do not use it., but
If you PM someone, you should as least have the civility to read "their posts" as well.
If you PM about your post, you should at least have the "kindness" to read and comment on a newbie's post. Everyone likes a compliment!!

I'll add my voice to the small chorus who believe that part of the issue--which isn't one for me--is that so many truly provocative or learned pieces never see the light of the day beyond the blip of being listed in the most recent posts. Without some of these mass IMs, I'd never hear of or read them, usually because the front page is generally occupied by the same writers week after week. Sometimes their blogs are wonderful, too. . .usually they merely seem to impede the discovery of much more worthwhile material. I'm much rather discover a new writer with something urgent to say than read the next installation of only mildly humorous anecdotal lives. That's what the Favorite function is for, as well--if I like a person's writing, I will make him or her a favorite. There is no need to continue slapping nearly everything this person writes on the front page. Leave that page as the undiscovered country.

Or better yet, and I'm no techie so perhaps this is too unwieldy to do, why not have more than one Front Page? Why not have one dedicated to current events, one to humor, and one to literary writing? Just one new front page with it being designated as a no repeat EP (if you've been an EP on that page then you can't be one again for at least a month) would be better than what we currently have. For that matter, if the current front page EPs were limited in a similar way, perhaps that would allow more fresh voices to be heard over the din of the tried and true we currently experience.

I enjoy OS, even in all its flawed form, for it's a marvelous place to express, learn, and share. Still, there is room for improvement.

I was surprised to see people whoring their own posts when I first came to OS. In Norway, this is simply not done, unless it's a case of someone alerting a blogger that they have written a post that directly concerns something you have written. We are modest people, and don't like to sing our own praises. My posts will have to speak for themselves.

Pimping other people's posts seems more innocent. At least, that is done without any hope of "profit" for the pimp. And sometimes you do want to share something good you have stumbled upon.

When I joined OS, one member welcoming me suggested I engage in"blog pimping" as a kind of "marketing". Since I suffer from reticence when it comes to blogging, and since the "if you write it, they will come" has never worked, I assumed that to be heard above the crowd, you had to shout. Um, yikes. I'm confused enough to want to beat a hasty retreat and return with a new name in a few months.

Random thoughts:

What an odd conversation to be having when Joan Walsh is one of biggest, baddest, media whores ever. I say that with all due respect. I dig that about her. Can't figure out why she isn't the director. Or maybe I can.

What an odd conversation to be having when the new 'open call' is about Jon and Kate +8.

I feel like I'm working in a large corporation and the CEO is slapping my paws.

I have always loved a good whore. Bring it!

Cartouche would make a great agent and editor.

So, you want us to continue to provide content and revenue, but keep our mouths shut about what we're providing? Oh. I knew I left those big corps for reason.

I think it's a good idea not to send Kerry mail so then he might focus on a better open call than the Jon and Kate thing.

I still like it here. Largely, because the tide can't be stemmed.

Blog betta' have mah' money!! *pimp-smack*

Blog pimping makes up 99.9% of the messages I get. I suppose it would be an annoyance if I used the messaging system here, but most people simply don't message me - and I try to make it clear to just email my regular address.

That said, I think something that could cut down on BP would be shaking up and making additions to the way one views their "favorites." Instead of just simply seeing their screen name with a "send message" option, why not the title and/or link of their last post? I'm actually okay with BP at the moment, simply because it means that I don't have to scroll through each one of the 7 pages of favorites I have.

I realize that's only tangentially related, but I figure since everyone else in the thread appears to be adding tangential subjects, I may as well go with the flow.

Wow. The Great Pimp Wars of Summer Oh-Nine. Let's all take a breath, k? Staying on topic would help too.

Kerry's suggesting (yeah, a little heavy-handed but you've bitch-slapped him enough) we combine Open's proprietary technology with Internet solutions, RSS, Digg, Twitter, etc. to promote our work and boost readership.

It's guerrilla marketing advice, not a personal attack.

Later adapters will find tech solutions in their own time. It'll get easier as OS continues to evolve. Kerry's Open Salon Tips add to the learning curve. So do Rob's.

Meanwhile, send notices on your posts or don't. People will read or they won't. I don't mind getting reminders. Now I know better who does.

I get emailed daily to read people's posts but then they don't rate or comment on mine. WTF? Glad you called them out for pimping instead of sharing.

rated

Ok, tried the "you are favorited and I promise to read, so you don't have to send" letter I usually send..and once again I have been questioned as to why I have requested it, and also my favorite list was checked to make sure this REALLY HAPPENED.

Two different people this week.

I give up.

I didn't know this was a problem. I thought it was what people did.

I don't mind personally receiving these but can understand how other people who get lots of mail might be offended.

Ohhhhh. Now I feel bad. I'm not retracting, but I have to add that I am never hounded by anyone....no one has ever insisted or checked or whatever thing...and that's with me having that "Of All The Gin Joints in All The World..." post being read a lot for some reason. So, I guess, for the prettier popular writers xox I can see how this is troublesome. I don't know what the answer is, except to delete unwanted mails. At the advice of my BFF, Chris, I won't whore anymore, however. He gave me a good reason why, and I accepted it.

I'm 50/50 on the subject

Because of my work I may be here all day or once a week. So if you write a part 1 there is a chance I will ask you to let me know when you do part 2, or part 57 depending on who you are. If you don't remember to tell me you did it, I won't see it.

I completely agree. I have never pimped my own blog to anyone. I hope my friends tune in and some new people too. That's my best shot. In addition, I delete the blogs pimped in my email. No offense to anyone intended--just the way it is.

Robin is extreeeemely attractive, so, you know..there goes that theory.

People blog pimp because you don't give them enough control over communicating with their readers about availability of new material. There is no subscription mechanism other than RSS, which is not something that works inside the site, and many don't want to read OS through RSS.

The mechanisms available to see new posts are what's on the cover, what's in the comments on the left of one's blog, and what's in the favorites' posts list to the right of one's blog. The cover is in control of the editors mostly (in spite of the You Make the Headlines thing, which has to be the most sadistically not-true piece of marketing non-truth I've ever seen—you probably can't understand how much it frustrates me to report bugs day after day after day in the way all this works, only to have you advertise it as if it's us making the headlines). The favorites list lets me control favorite people but not which of their posts are my favorites, so it misrepresents me, and it makes others worried they are not getting their due—certainly I have no ability to recommend posts by anyone other than in mail. I can't even rely on the system things because those things are buggy.

Just a little while ago, I checked the Top Ten Posts Last Day list and only 1 of the 10 posts was even posted in the last 24 hours. The rest were posted in the last TWO days, and most need to get out of the way to make room for new posts. By showing them longer, you refer new readers to those saying "this is the best we have recently" (which is not true because it's not showing recent stuff) and you get extra votes for those and fewer votes for others, making the discrepancy appear artificially wider because you assume they're continuing to get votes because they're well-written rather than because they're just advertised more. I'm sure they are well-written but the point is that other well-written pieces would ALSO shine if given enough advertising.

So is it any wonder people blog pimp? I hate sending blast messages and refuse to do it, but I know in avoiding it that I am sending myself to the bottom of the trash barrel with everything I write because there is no way to get any decent visibility.

I'm contemplating a few meta posts explaining this in more detail this week, but at the same time as I'm doing that, I'll be shopping for other web sites to frequent who are more committed to my needs. I'm getting tired of this. I may still continue to post here some, but I can't any longer afford to make this my principal activity because I don't feel I'm getting back what I put into it.

I beg to differ. I mean we each have our preferences and yours has been noted here, but I, personally *want* my favorite bloggers to PM me with a new post alert. The reason for that being that my favorites list is *so* long, and there are what, 8 slots for favorite bloggers' new posts? It's just not enough and I don't want to miss anything or overlook someone whose blog here is important to me. I also realize you can't just elongate that column. Well you could, but it would just be a weird layout plus then you'd be dealing with frames and well.... So sometimes I flat out *ask* them to pimp-mail me with their new posts so I will be sure not to miss anything.

When someone does ask me to remove them from my list, I do and I do not have any hard feelings regarding the request. Maybe this is the answer for those receiving pimp mail that have no interest in receiving it?

Apache, the issue is opt-in vs opt-out. If you've asked someone to send you mail, that's fine. At that point, opt-out to get them to stop seems fine. I get a great deal of mail (and the Editors surely get a great deal more) that I did not ask to get. I resent being put in the position where they're entitled to do it unless I have taken my time out of my day to affirmatively tell them to stop given that I never asked them to start. They just decided I would like it. I refuse to tell them to stop since that implicitly endorses the opt-out paradigm as the legitimate one. I don't think it should be. That turns this whole site into a circus of who has time to email the most users.

Hi, Kerry. I will drop you and Joan from my notifications list.

I send out notices of new posts. I encourage all of my favorites/friends to do the same.

All of the people on my list are there by MUTUAL consent. I never add someone to the list who does not have me on their list and who does not know that I send notices, and has likewise been encouraged by me to notify me when they post.

In my notices I say that if they have changed their mind and want me to never send notices then just tell me and I will remove them from the list. Yes, this is "opt out" but only to those who have already opted in.

Since I joined in November I have had two people ask me to drop them. Two. That is it.

I WANT to get notices. Most days I can only read a few posts. I start with those who have taken the time to notify me.

I believe in the OS community and think that notifications are one way to keep up with what my friends think that they write is important.

I use the recent posting list of favorites when I can, which is not that often. It is useful to a point but not the only way to keep in touch.

I am concerned by the ever increasing attempts to make our interrelations less common and, for me at least, more sterile.

Your contrarian friend,

Monte

Oh Miss 13....my.

Pimping? Whoring? I thought this was a family site.

Kerry,

Add a new button with the label "I like it" next to "Post a comment". It will...

(1) ADD A RATING UNIT TO THE POST;
and
(2) INSERT A NEW PERSONAL COMMENT THAT SAYS: "I like it".

To implement this feature will take less than 3 hours of engineering work, that is peanuts.

Explanation:
Authors want identifiable feedback. The rating click alone is impersonal, and readers often don't feel like commenting with lengthy analysis or simple platitudes.

I thought of doind something like starting out the message header with BA: for blog announcement, so people could just click on the name link to see my last post rather than read the message itself. If there were links in the message though it would be faster than backing out to their name or pasting the address in themessage inthe ad window. Now I rarely bother with announcements since everyone is already inundated with this crap. Over 90% of my inbox are BAs.

Thanks for all the smart, thoughtful comments. Some suggestions are already in development -- so that's good. Others aren't -- but might be soon. In any event, we'll take it all under advisement.

I'm going to turn off comments now, but before I do, I want to emphasize my primary point in the post above: Mass email promotion can be really irritating -- and the complaints I get about it trumps any other complaint about the site, ever (and, as you can imagine, that's saying a lot). They don't personally bother me -- but I get so many of them that they are rendered pretty ineffective.

One last reminder to users irritated by constant Open reminders in you email: You can adjust the settings in your profile so you won't get those if you don't want them.