I fully concur. The way Gawker is being run, and particularly the way commenting is being handled is ridiculous. I, too, got starred for god knows what reason years ago, and when I dared to "disobey" the regulations of a post--with a warning, like "sorry, I know this goes against the rules, but..." I got de-starred, then "mocked" for not being as clever or obedient as the other commenters who got starred. Frankly, who gives half a rat's ass about stars, or approval, or banning? Having an engaged commenter base is a privilege, and threatening and harassing them is not only unbecoming, it's lame. This place has become a joke, with Gawker ditto heads the only intended audience.

Really? "Commenter executions?" Do you think that is ennobling? Do you think that sends the message that, "oh, here be eloquent and intelligent opinions, written by cultured renaissance (wy)men?" It only reveals the immature, insecure personalities of the editors responsible. You and LoveAll_ServeAll have hit the nail on the head. It's sad that after 7 years I no longer even understand what the purpose of this site is. At the same time, there are better and more enriching news sources. Let the college students and junior assistant whatever's have their day here, then move on with the rest of the thinking crowd, or get left behind in what has become the digital version of Idiocracy disguised as content.

I really love how Gawker is 20% Brian Moylan's tumblr. Thanks for sharing, Bri!
Thoughts:

If liberals had a Matt Drudge, his campaign would be over.

Can you imagine if Obama said this?

A rich old white guy doesn't care about the very poor? SHOCKING.

ETA: Can politicians please stop using the term "folks"? No one believes you.

Google says I am 65+ and that I enjoy:

Arts & Entertainment - TV & Video - Online Video
Beauty & Fitness - Body Art
Food & Drink - Restaurants - Fast Food
Games - Computer & Video Games - Adventure Games
Games - Online Games - Massive Multiplayer
Reference - Geographic Reference - Maps
Shopping

So Google thinks I'm a septuagenarian Call of Duty enthusiast?

I am 28 and like none of these things, except maybe maps and shopping. Wait, maybe that's why they think I'm so old.

I don't care if the moderator threatened to cut off the tips of her grandma's fingernails if she didn't ask a silly question, don't ask the leader of the free world to dance.

In conclusion, I don't think you're clear on the meaning of the term "troll" as it relates to Internet commenting. And, as such, I will otherwise ignore you from here on out. Have a good one!

"Frozen foods don't look as great in real life as they do on the box, claims probing new investigative article from Jezebel."
It's impossible to 100% screen for whackjobs. The screening process basically consists of asking "what do you plan on asking?" and, if they lie, there's not much you can do other than cutting them off mid-sentence.
Or if he's ever met Brer rabbit and/or made his own tar baby.
This person needs to be dragged out of her home by her ankle, taken to the town square, and get publicly flogged. Not because of the racist undertones of her question, but by wasting the president's time at a moment when the country is facing a recession, a jobs crisis and a housing crisis. The people's outrage should be much, much greater. She also stole someone else's opportunity to ask an intelligent question. Fuck--I'm sure even a Real Housewife would've had a more constructive question. I've seen pageants with more intelligent questions.
Really makes me wonder if Homeland Security* has Google Alerts set up for things like "Destroy America," "Kill Obama," etc. Maybe it has a GPS link so that if someone tweets "bomb" from within an airport, red lights start flashing and sirens go off. Anyway, I'd love to see what their TweetDeck looks like. Also, I hope this comment doesn't somehow get in trouble.

* I'm surprised nobody's been calling it HomSec, or by some other similarly Orwellian nickname

At least she was somewhat relevant at that time. And, I mean, I get the diva thing. Fine. Have tantrums. Throw people out the door. But she clearly had no regard for anyone who was working for her. It is one thing to have a feud with your colleague, it is quite another to treat your staff like shit.
I ended up working closely with her for a couple of weeks a few years ago. She was such an unequivocal bitch. (I had originally written something that rhymes with "stunt" but I feel like my mama didn't raise me to call old biddies by that name.) She constantly belittled everyone around her. Pretty much everyone wanted to remove the batteries of her LifeAlert then accidentally push her down the stairs... To be fair, she wasn't consistently awful. But overall it was a pretty brutal experience.
I'm not sure that makes it any better.
The whole "we do not forgive, we do not forget" thing sounds very Ku Klux Klan-ey to me, no? And that video, with the voices? Such an eye-roller. But I was thinking about this when I saw J. Edgar--we are kept hostage by our own secrets. But are they ever so terrible?
It's not a bad way at all. But remember, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog!
Why is she injecting her own urine into the corn?
I think the idea here is that it refers to the girth and length of a man's member. Just sayin'.
"Tyler/Perry"... I see what you did there.
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