Monday, December 29, 2008

Thought JT Couldn't Get Any Worse....

Thought the JT blogs couldn't get any worse... Think again. I just took a recent browse at the old site and was shocked to find commercialized blogs on the site! It seems that advertisers are paying to post blogs up now. I realize that the Lee Enterprises stock is only about $.50 cents a share now,but this is plainly ridiculous. That site is basically a ghost town now. Glad I'm here!!!

http://my.journaltimes.com/post/Businesses/Urban_Trends/blog/_introducing_eyelash_extensions_.html

42 comments:

drewzepmeister said...

There is a bunch of more adds like these as well.

kkdither said...

I went over to the dark side a few days ago. The top "hot blog" was 36 hours old. It contained 7 comments which were posted by the blog author and one other commenter. Sad. How much worse can it get between that and the advertisements?

The moderators brought this upon themselves. I don't feel sorry for any of them.

Anyone is welcome to come here and post; the only requirement is that the poster is serious and not just posting troll comments.

Btw, we don't beat each other up here. We may poke some fun at one another and disagree from time to time, but it is usually very civil.

MinnesotaChick said...

Seems like all the pictures are being taken over by the ads, too.

So lame...... WTF were they thinking?

Anonymous said...

If someone doesn't agree with the "gang", then they are a "troll". Got it.

hale-bopp said...

It's all part of the cycle. They drive away the current crop. New people discover the site and start blogging...it gets testy...another crackdown...another exodus. Repeat.

kkdither said...

Not so anon... disagreeing doesn't make you a troll. Just disagree with intelligence and some facts to back up your argument. Trolls only post slurs and hate simply for the hype... and they usually are weenies and hide their identity.

OrbsCorbs said...

"I went over to the dark side a few days ago." LOL

They're trying out things to survive in a difficult time. It gives me ideas:

"Hi, I'm OrbsCorbs™. My JT Irregulars© friends and me always have Dino's® pizza delivered when we're blogging. Just tell them that you want the JTI© Special when ordering."

Huck Finn said...

Better yet, we offer our blogging services for a fee to the JT. We generate traffic, they pay us in Derangos pizza. We could do a pizza rotation.

I almost logged in and posted to buy Lehman's Kringle on the O&H blog just to "troll" for a reaction. I don't troll though so left em alone.

OrbsCorbs said...

They're not having trouble generating traffic, they just can't quite get a handle on it. If they let freedom ring on the news blogs, things get nasty pretty quick. If they moderate the blogs, they're in the position of censoring their own press. I think that moderators selected from the bloggers themselves would be a good idea, but I suspect legal problems. (Are they employees? Would the Journal Times be liable for the mods' actions?)

SER said...

Is the JT still watching us?

Beejay said...

Some of the comments indicate we are a 'clique.' Now when I was in school, I was never in a clique...how cool is this.

But, basically, I think what is happening is that people want to rant and rave and not back up their comments with any real factual information.

We all know we don't always agree on topics, but I have not seen any one of us go for another's throat over an opinion. That I do not miss at all.

I still go there periodically and will continue to do so. I even post a comment from time to time. But for the most part, I am here.

kkdither said...

SER... hilarious you should ask. While checking the stats yesterday, I had to chuckle. They were all over this particular blog like flies on... well, you know.

Anonymous said...

So I was recently "banned" from the JT. I asked Brendan O'Brian several times - why? He refuses to respond back. It even says in the "new rules", if you have been banned asked the administrator why. I have. Bottom line - I don't know why I was banned. Anyone else have this issue.

p.s. - I did mention that I would continue criticizing Gery Woelfel if I was reinstated.

OrbsCorbs said...

Of course they're curious about us. I'm still curious about them. I read their news and many of the comments online every day. I don't go to their blogs much - little time or interest. Since joining the Journal Times site, I've become a news junkie. I don't know if it's looking for fodder for this site or what, but I'm more likely to read Google or Yahoo news than turn on the TV these days. I read the Journal Times news and move on.

As for us being perceived as a clique, I figured that would happen. When a group splits off from a larger group, they are often viewed with antipathy. Nevertheless, our opinions on subjects vary widely. I think that our self-policing is what bothers the trolls the most. It's difficult for them to accept that people can disagree on matters and still interact with dignity and respect. Name callers and other boobs (like Anon looking for a fight in the blog about publicity) soon discover that we're not interested, or that we will flame them back twice as hard. Anyone can join and post blogs here, even the boobs, but they lack the cojones to do it and instead slink around and snipe at others. Losers. Screw them.

I have absolutely no problem with people who post on this site and the Journal Times site. There are many fine people there. As there are at the Racine Post, and the hundreds of other local blogs and sites. I don't consider us to be in competition with anybody. It's just nice to have a place where you can be creative and have a little fun without worrying about offending some unknown censor.

OrbsCorbs said...

Cool Polar Bear, I was banned a number of times, once with explanation, but usually not. I was told that I should telephone the Journal Times if I wanted an explanation and/or to work things out. I never did.

OrbsCorbs said...

The fact that some of us get together regularly also contributes to peace on this site. People are less likely to attack each other if they know each other.

You got a problem with me? OK, then, we'll just step into the nearest bowling alley and hash it out!

kkdither said...

Orbs, I'm not hashing anything out with you in any bowling alley. I saw what a mean ball you throw! hahahahaha

CPBear, some of my comments were deleted too... I thought I was very proper in my demeanor. The problem was they haphazardly deleted whatever they didn't like, simply due to whether they agreed with it or not.

It was the silence that angered me (and others) the most and led to the departure. If I offend, say so and have the kahunas to step up and say what the offense is. Hiding mute behind the keyboard and delete key when being approached is inexcusable.

Anonymous said...

MANY of you STILL post comments at the JT, let's not kid yourselves. If you truly hate the JT, why go back?? LOL.

drewzepmeister said...

Anon 5:04-Many of us still have friends still at the JT.

kkdither said...

Anon. No one said they hate the JT, we said we didn't like the way we were treated there, so we moved. Maybe a better question posed would be if YOU truly hate us and only come here to bitch at us, why do YOU return?

Like I said before, only insecure dinks post behind a facade. Grow up, use a name and be responsible for your bullshit... or just go back under your rock.

Anonymous said...

The biggest problem I have is being banned without any explanation. I noticed today that most of the regulars no longer post or have been banned. Even though I disagreed with many posters over things like politics. I don't think I was ever hatefull or classless and if I was I apologize, but I will not hold back my opinions if they are valid. I wonder if they banned TBV, brewpackman, (who was that guy that copy and pasted anti-Obama stuff - that guy)...... you know all the regulars.

Anonymous said...

I don't know is it just me or did they just ban many people?

hale-bopp said...

Interesting question, CPB. A lot of people post just to get a virtiolic reaction and that game has sort of been shut down there so those posters have lost their motivation. With a decrease in numbers, others lose their motivation to post as well.

I would love to see more people posting here. Some people here aren't into politics as much, but I wouldn't mind if people brought it up more often here. I choose which threads to participate in based on my interest and time.

Trolls are another story. The classic troll is someone who makes intentionally inflammatory posts with the goal of disrupting the community rather than engaging in debate. Hard core trolls can be so dogmatic they don't even realize what they are.

The conversation over there (yeah, I had to check it out) seems to imply we don't welcome newcomers. Has anyone who wanted to blog here every been denied? Or have they just not asked and assumed they wouldn't be welcome.

I have chosen not to post over there but still stop by occasionally. Sometimes I want to and someday I might. That "either or" thinking is what we call a false dichotomy...great rhetorical device, but that's all it is.

Beejay said...

I don't think anyone here said that we don't go back to the Journal Times or that we wouldn't or hadn't posted comments there. I have and I said that in my earlier post here.

Disagreeing with someone here does not make you an outcast. Being a jerk ...well, I don't know if that would get you thrown out. Seems we are pretty lax in the rules. And, duh, we don't seem to have had any problems with racist remarks or attacks on each other because we don't share the same political beliefs. I also, don't believe we all voted for the same candidate. We are not clones of each other. We can and have disagreed, but with a certain amount of respect for the other's opinion. It is possible to agree to disagree, this group is proof of that.

This group can interact and have lively discussions. We can also have fun and talk nonsense. What is the problem? Is it so hard to believe that a diverse intelligent group of people can get along in this world? I just don't get it.

hale-bopp said...

Come on Beejay...that's crazy talk :)

Beejay said...

Sorry, Hale, I lost my head for a moment...forgive me.

MinnesotaChick said...

It's nice to come here and not worry about being attacked for something you said, your opinions, etc. Seems like some people just like to get nasty behind the keyboard. I don't post there much, but I do know who NOT to reply to.
I still read it for news, like I do Racine Post and CBS, Msnbs, ABC,Cnn, etc. Would be nice to have more local news, not just what JT deems as news.

OrbsCorbs said...

Newcomers are welcome. No one who has asked to blog has been denied. We are allowed 100 "authors." Currently, 31 are registered, but that includes some inactive accounts. My only concern at this point is bandwidth. The site has been loading very slowly for me, apparently due to all the visual goodies we load onto the main page. If we grow, we might have to look at purchasing more bandwidth or hosting elsewhere.

MinnesotaChick said...

Is the forum still active? You might get better response there. I've noticed it does load a little slow for me at times.

Huck Finn said...

Interesting. A Clique? All band together? Hmmmmmm, the core group here had decidedly conservative views without the acidity of TBV like spiel. I was never singled out bu the JT even though I'd sneak bad words like "fuck" into a long and wordy essay. I think Brenden was never able to give my posts the proper looksee because what I wrote tended to be so innocuous.

Now I'm here, an atheistic liberal in a stew of conservatives, and gosh, we get along. I left JT not because of my being banned or singled out, but because I disagreed with the heavy handed way voices were smothered.

I wish my friend Gray Kitty could find a way to make peace with those she feels wronged her, and I wish those that wronged her with multiple personalities could find a way to resolve the issues that she felt hurt over. I really enjoyed her posts and wish she had felt welcome in coming here. Alas, even with my advances she refuses to. Not because we are a clique, but because of whatever happened that caused her rift. Maybe the new year will resolve some of these issues.

Speaking of TBV, I always wondered if she really wasn't a paid shill that sat in a room of computers with other paid folks, and visited blogs in an attempt to sway public opinion. My degree being the black arts of molding public opinion always keeps my eyes and mind open for those that serve no more purpose than what a paycheck will bring. I hope she wasn't of that ilk, but her disappearance after the election has me wondering.

OrbsCorbs said...

Ain't perception grand? Here I've been thinking that the conservatives don't like this site because we're perceived as too liberal. It's all horseshit. We're just people who like to blog. We happen to live in Racine, Wisconsin. And we share a distrust of the moderating at the previous site. That's it.

kkdither said...

I for one miss Winger. He was "out there" some of the time, and I usually didn't agree with his politics (hard to really tell though, he was so snide) but he had a deliciously wicked sense of humor. Winger, if you are reading us, come on, jump in...

Anonymous said...

Never said I hated anyone KK. Such venom you use toward me, my, my, my. Ban me if you want, or should I say if you actually can...LOL. I am doing nothing wrong and you know it. I'll see some of you sneakys on the JT very soon, oh wait, that's a secret, I forgot.

Anonymous said...

I love this....." I was never singled out bu the JT even though I'd sneak bad words like "fuck" into a long and wordy essay. I think Brenden was never able to give my posts the proper looksee because what I wrote tended to be so innocuous."

On another note - I used to get into it with TBV big time, I never really saw eye to eye with her on politics, she always came prepared with information, but philisophically (spelling) I couldn't have been more different from her. I wonder if she went to a lot of different sites as well giving her opinion. Oh Well.

Anonymous said...

By the way almost forgot - Have a Great New Year.... time to party!!!!

kkdither said...

Never said I couldn't fling it with the best of 'em. If the foo shits, wear it. Methinks the partying has begun a little early this New Year's Eve...

hale-bopp said...

A secret that some of us visit the JT occasionally? People have said we have friends over there, that we sometimes visit to see what is going on, and admit to posting there occasionally...and you have just figured out our "secret"? What are you doing here with so many unsolved crimes in the world?

OrbsCorbs said...

Why is it such a big deal that the Journal Times has a site and we have one, too? Anyone can do this. Hell, Dustin Block is proving with the Racine Post that just about anyone can have a news site, too, if they're willing to bust their ass.

When this site formed, we received a couple of emails from other bloggers stating that they were thinking of doing the same thing, but at social networking sites similar to MySpace. One of them was kind of nasty and implied that we "stole" the idea. How can you steal an idea that just about everyone who has ever blogged must have? I strongly encourage anyone who feels disenfranchised by the Journal Times to join this site, OR start another alternative site. We'll post a link to it. The Internet is huge. There's plenty of room for all of us.

For the millionth time, I don't consider us to be in competition with the Journal Times. How could we possibly compete with a newspaper and all of their resources? We're not a news site. You're not going to find the latest headlines here, unless someone blogs about them. If you have something to say about local news and want the largest possible audience for your comments, post them on the Journal Times site. That's what it's for.

This BS reminds me of high school.

Beejay said...

Orbs, high school is what I thought of as well. Silliness. But I do find it so amusing that they need to come over without identifying themselves.

Orbs, you are the king of all word warriors, why would they think they could win a battle of the wits with you???

Anonymous said...

Just looking for honesty, that's all.

kkdither said...

BS, if it was honesty that you were looking for, you would not post under an anonymous moniker. Seems more to be sour grapes or jealousy. Your posts coincide with hits from the JT's IP address, just coincidence? Party on, and Happy New Year.

Beejay said...

I know this is long gone...by what is the 'honesty' comment about? I am just confused by this blogger....