Talking Points Memo -- Suggestions and Complaints
We've had some time to work with the bugs (like the one that remains, where my log-on password is not accepted when I post), but those are irritants, which will eventually disappear -- hopefully. There are some other features of the old TPM that I miss that don't seem to be a part of the new one. Has anyone noticed how many fewer posts there are? How few actual conversations there are? Was that the goal? Because TPM was unique in my experience, and those qualities seem to be gone. I will make a list, but I reserve the right to add to it as I think of other issues:
1. There is no indication of, and therefore no way to pass over previously read posts; this can take a lot of time, although the general decrease in posting has made that less of a problem.
2. There is no way to search your own comments for reactions. The latest posts I have searched for myself are from 3 years ago, and even then, they don't include responses. TPM has always been a site where conversation was a part of the deal.
Give and take is now possible only if you have hours to devote to it. And even THAT is only true because the number of postings is down considerably.
3. I agree that the ratings were abused, but it would be nice to have at least an option to support a particular post. Why change completely instead of making an improvement?
4. If you make a comment in response to a post, you are thrown back to a place that you cannot figure out where you are. You also get NO acknowledgment that your comment was accepted. You may as well go somewhere else and, IF you remember where you were, you might just come back. Otherwise, you might justas well go to another site altogether, because your response is going to be delayed.
5. We cannot edit when we make a duplicate post, or we want to make an improvement. Why not?
6. When I make a comment, sometimes I am asked for my name and password, and sometimes I am not. I have no way of knowing when, and if my post is accepted or not. That is why duplicate posts get in.
7. The biggest thing for me is realizing that so many of the "regulars" have just given up. If you can't have a conversation, you may just as well go to Huff-Po (where it is even worse than here -- SO FAR!--) and just read rather than participate.
So I ask the TPM management... what do you want? Do you want participation? If so, surely you have seen the drop-off. If you want simply to compete with Huff-Po and Daily Kos, then you are on the right track. You attract great posters and authors. Your everyday people, ( whom I happen to think add a huge and unique quality to this site) will drop off unless you make an effort to include and accommodate us.
I hope you will.
Jan
1. There is no indication of, and therefore no way to pass over previously read posts; this can take a lot of time, although the general decrease in posting has made that less of a problem.
2. There is no way to search your own comments for reactions. The latest posts I have searched for myself are from 3 years ago, and even then, they don't include responses. TPM has always been a site where conversation was a part of the deal.
Give and take is now possible only if you have hours to devote to it. And even THAT is only true because the number of postings is down considerably.
3. I agree that the ratings were abused, but it would be nice to have at least an option to support a particular post. Why change completely instead of making an improvement?
4. If you make a comment in response to a post, you are thrown back to a place that you cannot figure out where you are. You also get NO acknowledgment that your comment was accepted. You may as well go somewhere else and, IF you remember where you were, you might just come back. Otherwise, you might justas well go to another site altogether, because your response is going to be delayed.
5. We cannot edit when we make a duplicate post, or we want to make an improvement. Why not?
6. When I make a comment, sometimes I am asked for my name and password, and sometimes I am not. I have no way of knowing when, and if my post is accepted or not. That is why duplicate posts get in.
7. The biggest thing for me is realizing that so many of the "regulars" have just given up. If you can't have a conversation, you may just as well go to Huff-Po (where it is even worse than here -- SO FAR!--) and just read rather than participate.
So I ask the TPM management... what do you want? Do you want participation? If so, surely you have seen the drop-off. If you want simply to compete with Huff-Po and Daily Kos, then you are on the right track. You attract great posters and authors. Your everyday people, ( whom I happen to think add a huge and unique quality to this site) will drop off unless you make an effort to include and accommodate us.
I hope you will.
Jan
