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New York Times to You: “Drop Dead” – Boycotting Times Comments

November 10, 2011   ·   5 Comments

Source: NYTX

[NYTX Editorial Note: The Times letter to its "Trusted Commenters" sent on November 7th was also submitted to us. It is located below this article.]

By Marie Burns:

In its never-ending quest to classify and categorize the hoi polloi, the elite Arbiters of Worthiness at the New York Times have created a new class of Worthies.

A number of commenters received notification earlier this week that they had been designated “Trusted Commenters.” The Times is publishing comments from these commenters without moderation. This means that comments from these writers will be posted hours before comments by Unworthies.

What? You’re not one of the Worthies? Neither am I.

When I complained that popular commenters — including Yours Truly — were not among the New Worthies, I received a response which read, in part:

I don’t know the details of your comment history on the times (and I don’t have any way of finding out), but just so you know the invitations [to become “Trusted Commenters”] are sent out automatically based on an algorithm that takes into account a number of factors. – Aron Pilhofer, Editor, Interactive News, New York Times

One of these Algorithmic Worthies is “tom” from “pittsburgh.” Today tom wrote a short, innocuous comment (on Dowd’s column) that begins:

The power of the press for good, is why the constitution is important to protect. …

… and doesn’t get better. But, hey, that’s how the algorithm crumbles.

Unless and until the Times sees fit to deem hundreds of us among the Worthy, I will neither comment on Times columns nor read the comments (since the Times receives revenue for every click on the comments pages). Please consider joining my boycott.

Letter sent to Times “Trusted Commenters”

From: NYTimes.com <[email protected]>
To: Omitted
Sent: Monday, November 7, 2011 3:50 PM
Subject: Invitation to Become a Trusted Commenter on NYTimes.com 

Dear Reader,

Congratulations! As a dedicated New York Times reader with an outstanding  history of sharing great comments on NYTimes.com, you’re invited to become  an NYTimes.com Trusted Commenter.

If you choose to become a Trusted Commenter you will have the privilege of  posting comments on articles and blogs without moderation. That means your  posts will show up on the site shortly after you submit them.

You are among a select group of readers who have earned the privilege of  testing this new system before the Trusted Commenter status is fully  launched later this fall. At that time, there will be lots of new features  and an entirely new design that will make commenting on NYTimes.com a better  experience.

In order to take advantage of this enhanced role on NYTimes.com, we ask that  you verify your identity by connecting your Facebook profile with your  NYTimes.com commenting profile. Your Facebook name, profile photo and  location will be imported into your NYTimes.com commenting profile.

We take your privacy very seriously: We will use your Facebook information  only to verify your identity. No other Facebook data will be accessed or  saved. Read more about our privacy policy and about the Trusted Commenter  program in our FAQ.

The NYTimes.com Community team is very interested in your feedback. Please  e-mail [email protected] with any comments, questions or  suggestions.

Sign Up to Become a Trusted Commenter

Sincerely, Aron Pilhofer Editor, Interactive News

This e-mail was auto generated. Please do not respond.

2011 The New York Times Company | 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018

By admin

Readers Comments (5)

1. Thebigkate says:

   I am an FOM (Friend of Marie), a once prolific–now semi-retired–NYT’s commenter.

   For those who are not familiar with Marie Burn’s writing, she is without doubt the top commenter and vote-getter on the NYT opinion page. And she is excellent. Some fellow commenters have suggested she replace Maureen Dowd or Frank Bruni, since her political, historical knowledge and keen wit are always in evidence, and she never “phones it in.”

   Marie has her own website: http://www.realitychex.com, which is a compliation of current news and observations you will not find elsewhere (well, now that I have discovered the eXaminer, no doubt there are many here).
   She also has a reader comment section called “Off Times Square.”

   I hope you will publish more of Marie’s writing. She deserves a wider audience.
   And did I mention, she is really funny!

   2:20 pm on November 10, 2011

    Reply
   • Isaiah says:

     I have been reading and writing in the NYT comment area for years. Marie Burns and Karen Garcia author the best comments on the most important and complex issues of these vital times. I am here because I have learned that Marie is now here, and this, therefore, is where my brain needs to be.

     5:32 pm on November 15, 2011

      Reply
2. johnc says:

   One of the only reasons I read the NYT every day is to read the comments of Marie Burns and Karen Garcia. I look forward to their future comments on this site.

   9:01 am on November 11, 2011

    Reply
3. Nobull says:

   Amen. Marie says what I want to say but better. She’s no Elmer Fudd even if she is a Weader. So please wead her. I mean read her. And no the Wabbit didn’t die-it ran for its life. It wants to speak. The Wabbit is NYT. But right now they are fudd-ing everything up.

   2:55 pm on November 15, 2011

    Reply
4. Mushiba says:

   Marie, when I read this article on your own site, I clicked on the link you gave for NYTX and knew immediately that this would be a significant news source for me.

   Your comments on articles in the NYT were ones for which I always searched. And, while I was becoming increasingly disenchanted with the views of The Times, I had received a free subscription as part of their initial promotion for their pay wall, so I continued reading The Times. That promotion expired on December 31 and I have, essentially, stopped reading The Times unless prompted by an article on NYTX or RealtyChex (I LOVE your site!!).

   What WAS The Times thinking when they did not acknowledge you as a Trusted Commenter?

   My resolution for 2012 was to donate to NYTX what I would have paid for The Times. So here I am ~ and, this is the first comment I have ever left on a news site.

   Thank you for all that you write ~ the depth of your knowledge is awesome and fits perfectly with NYTX, which is, I believe, equally awesome and fortunate to have ‘grabbed you’ as a columnist. I expect that your following is increasing by leaps and bounds!!

   3:44 pm on January 3, 2012

    Reply

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