Hey SBM Fam,
Just a heads up that we’ve switched to the Disqus commenting system. Moving forward, you’ll need to log in with Facebook, Twitter, Google, or Disqus (very easy to sign up) to comment on the site. You may be wondering why we added this extra step and the answer is simple:
We want our commenting community back.
If you’ve been around for a while, you remember the days of consistently great daily discussions (often with 200+ comments). Well, somewhere along the way, we made the mistake of letting “freedom of speech” go too far here. We took a laid back approach to moderating comments and it backfired. Trolling and personal attacks became regular things on SBM and it sucked. This in turn led to the exodus of many SBM regulars and tarnished what had taken years to build. It also, in some cases, made for a shitty experience for new visitors to the site; leading us to lose people before we had a chance to show them who we really are. Put more simply:
Our bad yo. We fucked up.
We know it’s gonna take a while to rebuild the trust we’ve lost over time. Switching up the commenting system and requiring people to authenticate is the first of many steps to create a safe environment where our readers can openly discuss whatever’s on their minds. Don’t get it twisted though…
Good debates are encouraged. Name-calling and personal attacks are not.
Going forward, you will be able to flag hateful, malicious, spammy, and trollish comments for review by a moderator. Please DO NOT use this option just because someone disagrees with you or they’re #HomelyInTheFace! The goal here is for you to help us rid the SBM community of trolls, and ensure discussions stay on the up and up. We’ll be around a lot more now, but the help is still appreciated.
As mentioned, there are other things we’re working on and we’ll share those things when appropriate. We’re excited about what’s to come and hope you are too. Thanks for reading and we look forward to seeing you share your thoughts when you have something to say.
Rich
Executive Editor, SBM
I can understand the need for change and hopefully everyone- including SBM writers themselves (not gonna name Names)- can hold their words and choice(s) to respond to comments accountable moving forward
You should name names…. maybe it would make things clearer instead of an arbitrary blanket statement? Just a thought. We like transparency on SBM!
If Something is Understood by All then no further details are Needed. I can say For Myself *I* can and will do better, Others can and Certain SBM writers can as well. No Need to be Public about the Obvious. If a Writer KNOWS he Panders, Throws Shade and because he’s a SBM Writer he’s “untouchable”, or Says he’s Objective but gets Offensive by “certain opinions/comments”, this Applies to Him/Them.
Now that you got that out, let it go.
As you can see, Streetz, 1/2 of Two Guys One Show is Exhibit A. a Mouse/Rat will eventually come for the Cheese on the Trap- it is Compelled to do so.
Mr. Rich, Thank You for proving my point for me. I’m sure this might end up on one of your future episodes and it’s cool. Pettiness seems part of your personality and that’s something you will have to deal with
Whatever, man.lol
Ohh…I thought you were talking about Dr. J. Never mind then.
I’ve been on SBM for….years? Sh t I’m getting old. And while I still come for the writing, mostly i comment and leave because the.”discussion” is stsinimef taking things out of context or he man woman haters expressing who hurt you logic and accusing others of pandering. I hope things get back to normal and some old regulars return
agree’d.
*nods*
Years ago, I was a lurker on blogs. But the quality of SBM discussions pushed me out of spectator mode. I do hope that feeling can return and bring back more talking with instead of talking at.
We’ll get there. It’ll take time, but we’ll get there!
Let’s just hope my job doesn’t figure out how to ban disqus like it did intense debate, lol…smh
No one told you to work for the feds lady…lol
Alright, Alright, Alright…lol
been a hotttttt minute since i’ve passed by the sbm (or any blog).
sorry to see that things went left, but what i know of Rich as a person and editor is that you have integrity and try your best to balance everyone’s perspective. not a job i’d want at ALL!
good luck and hope to start visiting again! 🙂