April 28, 2008
Fiddle Me This: What Happened to the Trib's Comments?
Remember Rachel Barton Pine? In 1995, the doors of a Metra Train closed on the strap of the case holding the musician’s 400-year-old Amati violin, pinning Pine’s arm to the side of the train. She was dragged over 300 feet, then pulled underneath the train, which severed one of her legs and severely mangled the other.
Pine, now 33, was recently highlighted in an extensive article in the Tribune magazine last month, and spoke about topics like her continued physical and emotional suffering after the accident and her determination to continue performing as a violinist. When the story was posted online, over 170 comments were posted; many commenters seemed to think Pine was a whiner, ungrateful for her second chance at life, and unjustly deserving of the $29 million settlement she received in court. Those comments caught the attention of classical music writer Marc Geelhoed, which in turn caught the attention of the Reader's Michael Miner. Last week's Hot Type mused on the Trib's responsibility to moderate the comments. Bill Adee, the Tribune’s innovation editor, responded by saying that the inaction on the part of the Trib essentially clears them of comment accountability; the Tribune takes no ownership of how people chose to respond to the article.
Except now all the comments from the Trib story are gone. When we looked an hour ago, the comments were just gone. Now it looks like this:
Adee told us in an email that he doesn't know why the comments disappeared.
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They did this today on the GTA4 article too. They just deleted the whole thread.
Asses.
First Amendment Shmendment. Allow me to upgrade your statement, Matty -- looks like the Trib is exercising its right to BE asses.
I've read some of those tribe comments. They make me look like Mister Rogers. Personally the lady lost a leg, you can't quantify that in monetary terms unless you're freak'n insane.
I like that she got right back in the saddle again.
I kind of don't get why they would delete those comments? I mean, it's probably hurtful for her to go and read them, but were they threatening comments, or libelous? Because, I guess I just don't get why their primary concern was her feelings. And I don't mean that in an outraged way, I mean it in a genuinely puzzled way.
annonymous message boards are a bad idea period
From my perspective, message boards that don't add value to the conversation aren't worth having.
I don't know if anyone ever stepped foot into Yahoo's message boards, but they were little more than a smorgasbord of every vile screed you could think of. They finally took them down a couple of years ago and never looked back.
slap -- I kinda miss the old yahoo! boards.
How come nobody on Chicagoist throws out ad hominem attacks like "It's Clinton's fault" or
"Al Gore Invented Rachel Barton"
all we really have is Spook
i've read trib message boards and the commentors tend to be jerks anyway...why would they pick on somebody who is trying to make the best out of a horrific experience.
Because they can't think that far back to when this accident happened. They see all the safety precautions that Metra takes now and take it for granted that it's always been that way. It wasn't that way when Barton got caught in that door and dragged down the line.
I love the part that says "...Bill Adee, the Tribune’s innovation editor..."
They sure are innovative. Innovative at stonewalling and innovative at trying to bury their problem. Wake up, Tribune. Just tell the truth about what happened to the comments. Sheesh.
This is NOT a matter of the first amendment. The tribune is a private company and has every right not to offer commenting as a feature. Having seen some of the comments on other tribune stories and columns I can understand their decision. Anonymous, unmoderated commenting is nothing more than an open invitation to the worst trolls on the internet to ply their craft.
When Terry Armour died a few months back the story announcing it had a comment thread where people complained about how bad his old radio show had been. Imbeciles.
I always wanted to be an innovation editor growing up. Later, I went to college and midway through changed my major to Imagineering. I love contemporary job titles.
most of the comments I remeber from this story were not kind to barton. Many locked on to the part of the story involving the idea that her violin got stuck in the door to the train and the reason barton got hurt is she would not let go of the violin.
Anonymous comments do tend to bring out the creeps.
However, maybe it is a technical glich?
I've noticed that certain news sites simply won't allow people to comment on the most controversial columns. It's highly annoying.
Anyway, I like this site (Chicagoist) but I don't know if the papers have it worked out proprely.
Like in the NYT, you have a very well thought out, researched article someone spent hours writing. Then the comments come flowing in and someone can just write "You dumb idiot!"
It kind of denegrates the site.
Similarly with Amazon. I think they've changed it, but it's kind of sad when you see, say, a new book or CD, and the first comment is some ill-informed, lousy one star review: "I dint like this book."
Particularly with newspapers, I think it's a good idea to have a link to a comments section that is away from the page...offering, if nothing else, at least a little pyshcological separation.
Word Peytonmitty!
But what does yer Spook have to show fer it?
No Chicagoist T- shirt, no zip, no zada, no nada, no enchilada or a tostada, no nothing, no zilch, not even a zero!
And now some body is gonna make fun of me cause I feels like writing "feels" "yer", “fer” just to!
Zydeco100
I think you summed it up with a big fat bright red steamed craw dad on top with “ when Barton got caught in that door and dragged down the line." How horrific and terrifying! I read some of those posts on differnt subjejcts and I don't even touch it. But its clear as mud how Hitler spends his time in Hell, son!
Honestly some of those folks make The Brothers Fed and Up Karamazov seem like
the courageous Dennis Kucinich and Barney Frank!
Oh and speaking of Zydeco, has any one noticed that the bowling alley on diversity in Logan Square has taken to calling itself “Rock and Bowl” copying the real “Rock and Bowl in Nola????
What’s up with that? Why aren’t they being sued for copy right violations! How dare they? Its
Blasphemous and I aint talking Depeche Mode, son!
Spook, over and out!
How dare they? Its
Blasphemous and I aint talking Depeche Mode, son!
spook, you've grown on me like a fuzzy fungus.
Shannon,
I know that I of all people should not quibble with support, but
couldn't it be more like "fungus on the bottom of an old original Grolsh beer bottle"?
@Spook - The Rock N Bowl is alive and well. That neighborhood smelled like death after a while, but they still had the zydeco dancing going on.
Mr. Gilmer, I of course know that the Rock N' Bowl is eternal sir,
But it is that midwest charlatan that now claims itself as "Diversey"Rock N' Bowl" that has drawn my ire!
What is the difference that and "Chicago's Rosscoe's. Chicken and waffle"??????
Wow, Diversey River Bowl is calling itself "Rock 'n Bowl" now? Who knew?
Oh yeah, I did, since I was 17 years old. And I'm not exactly young, son.
How dare the Tribune try to limit the comments of its readers! Why, the next thing you know, they'll require everybody to register and have a generic picture of a panda next to their name.
Re: the GTAIV article from my first post. The author told me he had nothing to do with it and has contacted topix to see what happened.
Wow, Prescott Carlson hangs out at Diversey River Bowl?
Who knew?
Oh yeah, I did, since I was Saturday when I walked in and figured that you and your ilk hung out there!
p.s alright you got me, sort of
The only reason sites have a comments section is to increase page views. It has nothing to do with their genuine concern for giving you the ability to speak your mind. Along the same lines, it is their right to take this away from you at any time, because it truly only affects them (costs them money). It has nothing to do with free speech.
You want to talk about the article? Go outside and talk to someone about it.