Gawker: about

Gawker Comments Are Made of Stars

Gabriel Snyder — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:09:13 EDT

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.The new Gawker commenting system is here. And, if everything works out as planned, it will let us highlight the brilliant, witty and informative comments. Welcome to a new hierarchical era.

When Gawker first introduced comments, they were an exclusive club. As we've grown, we've opened up the doors more and more, and our comments have become, to be charitable, more freewheeling. Today, we the editors are taking control back with what we're calling "featured comments" as the place directly under posts to gather the best of the best, as decided by your tireless editors and star commenters.

But before I get into that, a few other changes:

You have 15 minutes after you leave a comment to edit it. So, please, no more comments pointing out your typos.
There are new tools to easily upload images and YouTube videos. Use them!
Comment threads are only viewable by reverse chronology, just like on Facebook and Twitter.

Now about those star powers. The editors are the only ones who can give you a star, and we'll be giving them out to the commenters we trust the most. This means that many people who have stars now will be losing them. But for those who keep their stars, your comments will automatically appear in the featured comments, and you will have the ability to promote non-star comments up to the top level. In fact, just replying to a comment will bump up to the front page. You'll also see all of the unapproved comments left by new users and can approve the ones that you think are up to snuff. But use your powers wisely. We're going to be taking a closer look at who's doing what. Use your star powers to make mischief, and we'll take them away.

So what kind of comments are we looking to feature? We're giving more prominence to the featured comments because we've realized that they go a long way to setting the tone of the site. So, we want them to be an addition to what we post, not just an open-forum place to rant. We want to feature comments that are first and foremost about the post they're left on. They may add information, be a well-reasoned critique, a particularly funny line or, if you're named in the item, a rebuttal. Oh, and proper grammar counts. What we're not looking for: snark for snark's sake, comments about Gawker, IM-like conversations, attacks on your editors, comments pointing out how stupid other comments are (do not engage the trolls) and basically anything else that we don't like.

There are no doubt going to be plenty of glitches and bugs, and please email those to me. As for any other questions, ask away in the comments.

For reference, here's our overlord Nick Denton's rundown on the new changes:

Six months later, we're finally ready to go live with the Ganja power commenting system across the nine sites of Gawker Media. Here's why we've overhauled the comments — and a summary of the key changes you'll notice on the sites later today. There will be some glitches and many complaints — but the new system is elegant, already rich in editorial possibilities with so much more to come. It's an enormous accomplishment by the tech team in Budapest, New York — and Kansas City.

1. THE PROBLEM

As a site gets bigger, the comments tend to get busier — and sometimes more annoying. Our titles are no exception. Deadspin's had to contend with a war between the daytime and nighttime users; Jezebel editors battle for control with a politically-correct mob; perceptions of Gawker are set by a small group of glib and bitchy commenters. All sites that are growing as rapidly as ours have something like this problem — and one that can't be solved simply by banning the offenders or applying more strictly our approval process.

It can't be solved because the most pernicious comments don't come from trolls or spammers. Those can be easily identified and barred. What ruins a good discussion is what we could call the chatty commenter. They may be a devoted reader, someone we don't have the heart to ban. But they only occasionally contribute something to the sum of human knowledge. And the chatty commenters — because there are so many of them — set the tone. Their presence puts off the subjects of items — or other people with something interesting to say.

So we need to introduce another level — the power commenter — to the hierarchy. We used to refer to our comment environment as a club — with a velvet rope to keep the riff-raff out on the street. Well, now the club is too busy. If we're going to maintain credibility, we need a the equivalent of a VIP room. We'll populate the VIP room by giving special privileges to star commenters. They'll get prominence and space — as will their guests. And — we hope — it will be this salon that sets the tone of discussion.

Our comments have stood out amid the illiterate abuse and empty-headed wittering of the rest of the internet; we're going to make sure it stays that way as the audience continues to expand.

2. THE KEY CHANGES

* Privileges for star commenters (see below)
* Image and video embedding in comments
* Comment threads switched (like Facebook and Twitter) to reverse chronological order
* Related stories show to the right of each post (and a few other design changes)
* Comments can now be edited (for 15 minutes after publishing)

3. RIGHTS OF A STAR COMMENTER

* A gold star next to each commenter's name (as now)
* Comments given priority and published immediately after post
* A star commenter can see comments even before a moderator has approved them
* By replying to any comment, a star commenter can give it priority
* Promotion of another's comments to the featured section

4. THE FUTURE

* Many more items such as interviews, live chats, live blogs, contests and photo pools
* Web submission and publishing of tips
* Discussion forums around personalities and topics
* Commenting via Twitter
* Rebuttal rights for the subject of an article
* Commenters able to call on friends or colleagues for support in an online discussion

Meet the New Valleywag: Ryan Tate

Gabriel Snyder — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:35:28 EDT

After terrorizing tech managers, Owen Thomas has decided to join 'em. Emerging from the shadows to replace him as the Valleywag is Ryan Tate, who's already relishing the idea of life in the sunshine.

Owen took the Valleywag reins from our overlord Nick Denton himself and has fiercely worked his Silicon Valley sources for gossip and scoops. In December, Valleywag was merged into Gawker, and when we tried to talk him into staying, he said he misses the management headaches of running his own site. He's keeping mum on his new gig, but we hear it involves the letters N, B, and C and will focus on Bay Area news.

As Gawker's night editor, Ryan lets me sleep easier at night. But it's time for him to rejoin the land of the living and the tech beat is a natural for him. Based in San Francisco, he started his journalism career at mags like Upside and Business 2.0 before the dot-com boom went bust. He joined Gawker last year from San Francisco Business Times. The night gig is by design one for a generalist, but he's come up with plenty of news at the intersection of business and media, such as Bloomberg's premature obituary for Apple CEO Steve Jobs and exposing the underbelly of Arianna Huffington's blog empire. Now part of the larger Gawker family, he'll still have room to write about his other areas of fascination, like military aviation shills and Fox News' slimy PR shop.

And that means there's a job opening at Gawker. I'm looking for a new night editor who's primarily responsible for keeping track of any breaking news after about 7 p.m. East Coast time, as well as getting a jump on the dawn's news stories. Since hours pretty brutal in the U.S., I'm especially interested in hearing from people who live in Australia or Europe. If you're reading this from overseas or are nocturnal by nature, email me.

In Case You Were Wondering How Our Traffic Is Doing

Gabriel Snyder — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:45:01 EDT

Compete.com released their monthly unique visitor numbers today and Gawker had another strong month, staying ahead of old-line (and much larger) outfits like ABCNews.com and NYMag.com.

We also set a new page-view record last month with 26.5 million page views, well above the 24.2 million page views we had in February. The expanded coverage areas after folding in Valleywag and Defamer appears to be attracting a broader audience. Since we didn't have any giant break-out stories — like Sarah Palin emails or Tom Cruise Scientology videos — traffic seemed to be pretty evenly spread. We were helped by Facebook, with their employees trashing their redesign and the ShamWow guy, who got arrested for beating a prostitute, as well as Jim Cramer and Jon Stewart, who spent more than a week feuding with each other. Still, news seems to have slowed down recently (or is it just me?) so it may be tough to match these kind of numbers in April.

What Do You Know? We Won an Award

Gabriel Snyder — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:38:48 EDT

You may have started the day thinking you were reading any old gossip rag, but the people have clicked and Gawker is your best group blog of the 2009 Weblog Awards.

Sure, it's a bit hokey, but it's also an honor. So, I along with Ryan, Hamilton, Richard, Alex, Owen and new kid on the block John thank everyone who voted. To quote Sean Penn's perfect acceptance line: "Thank you, you commie homo-loving sons of guns!"

Defamer Folds Into Gawker; Editors to Pursue Careers in Bearded Hip-Hop

Seth — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:01:12 EST

Like a waffling yard sale lady who, push come to shove, simply couldn't part with her prized collection of People "Sexiest Man Alives," Nick Denton has succumbed to a crippling case of seller's remorse.

As a result, Defamer is being absorbed into the company's power-crazed flagship title. Defamer posts will now appear under http://defamer.com/, while simultaneously feeding into the Gawker homepage.

Gawker's managing editor Gabriel Snyder, a former West Coaster who covered Hollywood for Variety and W, will oversee the transition. As for your trusty Defamer team, we've opted to explore new horizons. Stv, Kyle, the McCluskey Twins, and myself will be here through the remainder of the week. Watch this space for exciting announcements on what's to come.

Questions? Observations? Muffled sobs? Leave them in the comments. Media inquiries: Ask Mr. Denton directly. (Read his take here.) Gawker is hiring someone to cover Hollywood gossip. Applications, and all other matters, to Gabriel.

We now encourage you to get your Oscar drinking on early, in anticipation of our liveblog at 8 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. PST. It seemed a timely and fittingly spectacular way to go out—by plunging the illustrious trophy into my gut head-first, in one final, savage act of Hollywood harakiri.

- Seth

The Evolution Of A Blog

Nick Denton — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:33:05 EDT

Here are snapshots of the world's biggest blog titles—as they are now and as they were at launch. Here's Gawker from 2003 when the gossip site was edited by Elizabeth Spiers—and from yesterday. Less change than one might expect: the logo has shrunk because the site has less need to trumpet its arrival; the ad is real rather than a placeholder; the testimonials and blogroll have gone from the sidebar to be replaced by data about pageviews and comments; the skyline of top stories is new; and the site is rather more visual than it was. But the ancestry is unmistakeable.

646-214-8138

Nick Denton — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:41:13 EDT

Never in the last decade has there been more workplace gossip to leak than now. But—for the same economic reasons—everybody's more paranoid than ever that the boss' IT agents are snooping. Some Gawker tipsters are reluctant to send email from work computers. So we're opening a telephone tipline. Dial *67 to obscure the caller ID and then 646-214-8138 to leave Gawker's editors a voicemail. For the rules, read on.

We won't be publishing the caller ID but do block the number to be absolutely safe.
If your voicemail is for our ears only, please say so. (Otherwise we'll assume we can run the audio.)
If you're leaving an anonymous tip, please still speak as clearly as possible, spell any easily confused names, give web address of any background information and explain your interest in seeing the story published.
You can also send an email to tips@gawker.com or to individual editors. Otherwise just leave a voice message after the tone and we'll get to it as soon as possible.

Gawker Draws Level With New York Magazine

Nick Denton — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:14:29 EDT

Gawker has had a reasonably friendly rivalry with Bruce Wasserstein's New York magazine. At least three former editors of this site—Elizabeth Spiers, Jesse Oxfeld and Jessica Coen—have found refuge there after their sentence in the blogging mines. This history makes the latest audience numbers from Compete.com particularly satisfying. In September, gawker.com alone—not including any sibling sites—drew level with New York's nymag.com.

Introducing The Unspiked Files

Nick Denton — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:43:10 EDT

The publication of a relatively juicy interview with Jennifer Lopez—rejected by an unnamed fashion magazine—reminds us that magazine articles are often dropped not because they're bad but because they're good. Or—more often—simply because they've been overtaken by events or clash with some other article or because an insecure editor has over-commissioned. (Tina Brown, who published Kevin Sessums' J-Lo profile on her new Daily Beast website, was notorious for assigning three times the articles she ran.) Anyway, here's an alternative for journalists who've spent weeks slaving on an article only to see it spiked: Gawker's unspiked files.

By the time a magazine piece is killed it's usually too late to find another print outlet. And magazines are usually too proud and competitive to pick up someone else's seeming rejects. We're not. Initially at least, we won't be providing financial compensation (and you have already been paid a kill fee, after all) but we'll run your article in full and promote in links any book or other project. Send copy, links and questions to unspiked@gawker.com.

Six Months Later

Nick Denton — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:22:24 EDT

Without any breakout story, Gawker's pageviews last month were 16.7m. That's 108% ahead of the level at the end of last year. But now comes that slow-news time of year that—in ancestral Hungary—they call the cucumber season.

A Bigger Skyline

Nick Denton — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:30:41 EDT

You might notice a small change to the design of this page: the 'skyline' array of top stories is now bigger and more easily clickable. With Gawker publishing up to 70 items a day, stories drop pretty rapidly off the page. So we're highlighting the day's top news more obviously than before for those readers who might only check the site once a day. (Some people have jobs which demand concentration.) When there's an ad at the right, four editor's picks will show; when there's no ad, six top stories. If you spot any glitches, email me.

Death By Pageview

Nick Denton — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:05:30 EDT

"The higher the number of page views, the more accelerated the rate at which, say, the hydrochloric acid will be dispensed. (I believe this is analogous to how Gawker Media currently pays its writers.)" [From the AV Club's belated review of web snuff movie Untraceable.]

Traffic

Nick Denton — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:51:13 EDT

Thank you, Sue Simmons and Bill O'Reilly.

Traffic Report

Nick Denton — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:47:10 EDT

No celebrity deaths last month. But exhaustive coverage of the Eliot Spitzer's call-girl scandal helped boost pageviews in March. (A story that salacious is unlikely to be repeated in April but, then again, nobody expected New York's self-righteous Governor to blow up quite so spectacularly.) Anecdotally, Gawker has added readers outside New York, which is what one would expect: the site's media and pop culture coverage has been more national in its appeal. Pageviews in March, at 18.4m were 127% above the level of last December. Unique visitors for the month were 2.7m, compared with an audience of 1.2m in December. Portfolio's oft-mistaken Felix Salmon, who bet the site wouldn't regain its 2007 levels, took Lockhart Steele to a very nice lunch at Lure.

The Revolving Door

Nick Denton — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:24:53 EST

Time, belatedly, to update the Gawker masthead: Ryan Tate and Hamilton Nolan, bylines you've seen for the last few weeks, are joining the team. (Ryan is pictured below, and Hamilton above.) Ryan, who is based on the West Coast, will cover the overnight shift. He was a reporter for the boring San Francisco Business Times, but he has a wicked side: Ryan used to comment under the pen-name "Sid Hudgens", which is how he came to my attention. Suedehead Hamilton Nolan, formerly with PR Week, is now Gawker's advertising and public relations reporter. The publicists are already trembling. One departure: Maggie Shnayerson, whose coverage of the Viacom freelancer revolt put Gawker in an unusual role, instigator of one of the most successful labor campaigns of recent years, according to the The Nation. Positions still open include nightlife and media reporters. Email me.

Did You Know?

Nick Denton — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:23:08 EST

You can view today's most popular stories, at gawker.com/popular. They include items from earlier in the week which are getting belated recognition, such as Alex Pareene's history of terrible CNN headlines.

Bloggies

Nick Denton — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:13:22 EST

Lifehacker, Jezebel, Gizmodo, and several other Gawker sites — are contenders in the 2008 Weblog Awards. (Which are going ahead, writers strike or not.) In total, the Gawker titles garnered 18 nominations, a record. And this is your last chance to vote.

Welcome to Gawker Artists

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:02:00 EDT

Now, when you view one of our titles, you might see an artist's imagery where usually you see the designs of advertisers. When you spot one of these images, you can click to read about the artist's process and work. Check out our current collection by browsing the list of artists, and consider submitting your own creative expressions.

Gawker Artists is curated by Liz Dimmitt of Gumshoe, LLC.

Submitting Your Art

To submit your work for consideration, please introduce yourself and include the following bits in a message to artists@gawker.com. Works with adult themes will be considered for the Fleshbot title. See the Artists page for details.

An image measuring 728 x 90, 300 x 250, or 160 x 600 pixels. Your piece can be anything from panoramic photography of the Congo to blueprints of your industrial design for washing machines—any highlight of your creativity that fits in the aforementioned rectangles. File specifications: 40k maximum, jpg, gif, png files preferred.
A 100-word vignette, describing your work, process, or style, to be included as companion text for readers.
A URL that leads to a site with more information about you and your art.

Exhibitors

To display a rotating gallery of Gawker Artists' works on your website, contact artists@gawker.com with your URL and implementation ideas. Art display sizes are 728x90, 160x600, and 300x250. See the Exhibitors page for details.

See the current exhibitors:

More Gawker artists:

Dr. T.F. Chen
Matt Dyck
Parskid
Benjamin Long
John D. Fox III
MULTIFAKEinc (Ksenya Serova & Joachim Lapotre)
Travis Hammond
Luis Ramos
Markus Hartel
Matthias Bruggman
Mary Cassidy
Brian Quinlan
Symon Chow
Adam Stennett
Eliot Shepard
Trey Ratcliff
Ricardo Cortes
Sophia Peer
Carla Gannis
Ron English
Chris Yormick
Michael Anderson
Mikael Vojinovic
Vallen
Tim Pigott
Michael Lotenero
Kendrick Mar
Stephen Murphy
Randy Polumbo
Emanuele Simonelli
Kevin Lee Allen
Stephen Harris
Kyle T. Webster
J.D. Lovejoy
Jennifer Trivedi
Danny Jock
Rob Larson
Julius Santiago
Michael Neff
Amy V. Cooper
Eddie Ostrowski
Joanna Steege
Lorin Wood
Jefferson Hayman
June Kato
Steve Ellis
Kevin Miller
Jenn Ski
Randall Stoltzfus
Brad Strain
Elizabeth Weinberg
Rafael Ricoy
Sandra Parra
Matt Hoyle
Eric Durchholz
Adam Harvey
Derek Chatwood
Chris Bishop
Matthew Seydel Connors
Joshua Ellingson
Dana Jeri Maier
Andrew Venell
Ian D. Marsden
Hannah Bureau
Shardcore
Peyton Freiman
Craig Bevelheimer
Sima Schloss
David Ohlerking II
Fredrik Ahlstrom
LJ Lindhurst
Dougie Hayz
Chris Lowrance
Jason Das
Ken Lawson
Adam Grossi
EXU
Jake Watling
David Dalessandro
Kris Widger
David Bircham
Kenyon Bajus
Royal York Funston
Chris Nielsen
Sarah Awan
Judy Sue Kushner
Ben Ritter
Anne Sherwood Pundyk
Beth Herzhaft
Michelle Handelman
Noel Hefele
James Owen
Jeff L. Fisher
Michael Roach
Richard Lowry
Joe Heaps Nelson
Stone Riley
James M. Graham
Gokhan Okur
Nora Korsts Salzman
Peter Hess
Henry Bateman
Benjamin Marra
Liz Adams
Scot Nobles
Birgitte Philippides
Todd Pashak
Aleksandra Osadzinska
Jason Chase
Chris Thompson
Camille Young
Jack Veigel
Jee Yun Lee
George Smith
Christopher Becks
Dustin Lacina
Dylan Sisson
Auriea Harvey & Michael Samyn
Shawn Bonsky
James de Boer
Trent Call
Vinchen
Tom Davie
Zack Turner
Carissa Couch
Travis Dubreuil
Sergio Lubezky
Christian Ceres Merry
Dave Curd
Carolyn Smrcka
Scott Marc Becker
Adamo Macri
Claudio Parentela
Edwin Hoon
Michael Jekot
John Romano
Bill Anastas
Nora Ness
Drew Blackard
Bri Hermanson
Andrew Bell
Hilary Lorenz
Geoff Ashley
Adam Koford
Frank Jonen
Antony Hare
Paul Wallace
Renee Nault
Steve Strawn
Rebecca Hahn
Lisa Studier
Matt Burlingame
Richard Horton
John Lytle Wilson
Chambliss Giobbi
Tristan Zand
Kenneth E. Parris III

Gawker Comments FAQ

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:01:00 EDT

1. Who can leave comments on Gawker?

Anyone who's auditioned successfully to become a commenter (see below) or anyone who's received an email invitation from us. The comment system is invitation-only because our editors want to spend more time providing new content and less time moderating comment threads.

2. How can I become a commenter?

To become a commenter, you need to audition, which means leaving at least one comment on the site. To do this, click "Login" at the bottom of any post and then click on the "New user?" link. On the next screen, enter your desired username and password and click "Register". Return to the post and type an interesting, substantial or highly amusing comment into the text field. Then click "Submit". Your comment will be received but won't appear until (and if) we approve it.

We only approve the comments we love - so make sure you're adding something of quality to the post. If we approve your comment, your username and password will be activated and you'll be able to login and comment freely from then on (or at least until you get banned).

Two tips for auditioning to become a commenter: First, leaving multiple high quality comments on different threads using your newly created username increases your chances of having your comments - and therefore your username - approved. Second, if a comment from a newly created username doesn't show up on the site, that's because it's still awaiting approval. There's no need to submit the same comment multiple times or report this as a bug.

3. Why is my comment displaying when I'm not an approved commenter?

We will sometimes approve a comment we like without approving the commenter. This means an individual comment of yours may be published while you are still auditioning. Take this as a good sign! If we like one of your comments, we might just like you enough to approve you as a commenter in the future.

4. Can I comment anonymously?

Yes, you can. Gawker's comment system is designed so that you can register and post anonymously. We won't even know who you are.

Here's how to ensure that you register anonymously. When you create your username, choose one that's unrelated to your real identity. Then, add an anonymous nickname in your user profile. We won't be able to link your username/nickname with your offline self.

We do ask for an email address so that we can email you a new password in case you forget it. To preserve your anonymity, use an anonymous Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Hotmail account. Or, if you want to remain totally under the radar, and you're good at remembering passwords, leave the email field blank.

5. Can I be banned from commenting?

Yes, if your comments are excessively self-promotional, obnoxious, or even worse, boring. There will be no warning, and no appeal. (For tips on good comment etiquette, see Lifehacker's guide to weblog comments.)

6. Can I comment without registering?

Yes, you can submit a comment using an email address instead of a registered account. To do this, click on "Comment instantly" at the bottom of a post, enter your email address and your comment and click "Send". Then check your inbox for an email asking you to verify your comment. Your comment will still be subject to editorial team approval before appearing. Please also note that the first half of your email address will be used in your commenter name, so remember to use an address that does not reference your identify if you wish to remain anonymous.

Valleywag comments FAQ

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 12:00:00 EDT

1. Who can leave comments on Valleywag?
Anyone who's auditioned successfully to become a commenter (see below) or anyone who's received an email invitation from us or a friend. The comment system is invitation-only because our editors want to spend more time providing new content and less time moderating comment threads.

2. How can I become a commenter?
To become a commenter, you need to audition, which entails leaving at least one comment on the site. To do so, click on the New User link at the bottom of any post. On the next screen, type an interesting, substantial or highly amusing comment into the text field below the post, then enter your desired username and password. Click the "submit comment" button. Your comment won't show up until (and if) we approve it.

Important: Do not leave duplicate comments if your first comment does not show up. This will make it less likely that your account will be approved.

We only approve the comments we love — so make sure you're adding something of quality to the post. If we approve your comment, your username and password will be activated and you'll be able to login to comment freely from then on (or at least until you get banned).

Two tips for auditioning to become a commenter: First, leaving multiple high-quality comments on different threads using your newly created username increases your chances of having your comments — and therefore your username — approved. Second, if a comment from a newly created username doesn't show up on the site, that's because it's still awaiting approval. There's no need to submit the same comment multiple times.

3. Can I comment anonymously?
Yes, totally. Valleywag's comment system is designed so that you can register and post anonymously. Not even we will know who you are.

We do ask for an email address so that we can email a new password in case you forget it. To preserve your anonymity, use an anonymous Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Hotmail account. Or, if you want to remain totally under the radar, and you're good at remembering passwords, leave the email field blank.

4. Can I be banned from commenting?
Yes, if your comments are excessively self-promotional, obnoxious, or even worse, boring. There will be no warning, and no appeal. (For advice on good comment etiquette, check out Lifehacker's guide to weblog comments.)