Since so many of my commentators are so interesting, I’m thinking of adding a bulletin-board type forum to the . They could discuss my cartoons, columns, politics, whatever they felt like. Do you think this would be a good idea? Is there anything else you’d like me to add here?
Website Requests?
Ted Rall
http://rall.comTed Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
Comments are closed.
12 Comments.
Excellent Idea!
Y_S
I think Aggie Dude deserves more space than he gets here. Marion Delgado as well.
I can get your cartoons and columns with nothing but a few clicks of a mouse,for free, what more do I need?
I would like the comments to be more like a discussion forum…like on youtube, but allowing quotes. That would be perfect!
You could also release spoken commentary, akin to your columns.
I think that your friendly vocal delivery is a great foil for your content. I still miss the radio show. Are we sure kfi is not looking to round out its lineup again?
Are you talking about the type of board where commenting takes place in real time such as the unmonitored chat room at Atrios' blog? If so, I can see pluses and minuses in that approach.
On the one hand, a board like this can create a community around a blog, commenters have the opportunity to engage each other, some may strike up fast friendships with each other, networking is easy for those who are inclined to engage.
On the other hand, troll infestation is a distinct possibility. Some commenters will be unable to resist engaging the trolls ( feeding them ), and thus ensuring that they keep coming back for the attention they crave.
Such threads will often devolve into some kind of a food fight like free for all with scant chance of any meaningful exchange.
I say go ahead and give it a try, you can always get rid of the feature later if it proves to be a pain, it's your blog Ted.
A forum would be great, it keeps the threaded format of conversations intact and allows more diversity for topics as well.
I am one of the boring commentators here, but I think it would be great to have a forum here. It would make looking at what good commentators have to say on a variety of topics without having to scroll down and remember what toon or column of the week you saw and thought of a pithy reply.
Forums are a great place to take a pith.
A forum would be a great idea, I was really kind of surprised you didn't have one all ready.
I'd love to find a place to discuss politics where ( 1 ) participants are civil, ( 2 ) there aren't more posts than I have time to read, and ( 3 ) moderators are not nazis. If you got something like that, I'd be a regular.
A fine idea, Ted, but realize you would be opening an entire can of worms. Unmoderated chat halls descend into nonsense almost instantly, but the task of moderator is onerous. I guarantee you wouldn't want to do it and nobody else worthwhile would either.
I don't know how closely you cartoonists pal around, but if you get the chance you might want to ask Gary Trudeau about his experiences with chat rooms on his website in the late '90's (clue: he no longer has chat rooms on his website).
Otherwise, I can't think of a reason why you shouldn't…
audio PODcast — we need a US version of Pat Condell!
I think that's a great idea, I've been gone for a week because of a funeral and cross country travel, but I'll be back participating in the discussions!
While I think it is a great idea, beware of the overhead needed to maintain and moderate it. As others have stated earlier, it can get a little crazy. The plus side is that discussions can be categorized and tracked much better. Big things to think about, for sure.
Troop 813 Eagle