Having dealt with a relentless stream of feedback from deranged right wingers since back before most people had ever heard of this thing called the internet, I’ve always been ambivalent at best about opening this site up to comments. Still, a lot of you non-deranged-right-wing types keep bringing the possibility up. I remain of two minds — my suspicion is that it could easily be way more trouble than it’s worth, that riding herd on trolls and spam and the rest of it might just end up being one more tedious chore in my life, serving only to increase the psychic weight of this website, which already feels like an anchor around my neck a lot of the time.
Nonetheless, I guess it’s time for a little experiment. So I’m going to open up a comments thread for this post only, to see what you all think. Convince me I’m wrong. Or right. Or whatever. Go to town.
… wow, that’s quite the outpouring of responses, and I thank you. I’ll need to take some time to digest it all. Not this morning, unfortunately — I’ve got a somewhat tight deadline today. But I want to leave this thread open a bit longer here and throw out a specific question. At least one commenter suggests that allowing comments increases traffic, which brings us to the eternal mystery of site stats. According to Site Meter, which seems to be pretty much the general standard to which we all synchronize, this site seems to hold steady at about 12,000-15,000 visits a day (with a sharp dropoff on the weekends, which leads me to suspect that many of you naughty boys and girls are reading this site during the workweek when you’re supposed to be doing something else entirely.) So — do comments really increase traffic, and if so why? I mean, do you really get more new readers, or do you just get the same readers checking in more times throughout the day? If Blog X, with comments, has 50,000 readers a day, does it really have 50,000 unique readers a day, or 25,000 readers checking in twice a day? Or 5,000 readers checking in ten times a day to see what’s being said in the comments section? (Or one really obsessive reader checking in 50,000 times a day?) A blogger with much higher traffic than mine once admitted to me, somewhat furtively, that any visitor who waits at least an hour between visits counts as a new unique visitor. Any tech-savvy types out there who can confirm or deny or elaborate?
Update — closing comments now. I think there’s plenty of food for thought for now. Thanks all.
January 17th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Frist!!
January 17th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
Welcome to the show, Mr. Perkins.
WF
January 17th, 2006 at 8:34 pm
Ur comick sux u stupd librel. I bet ur a gey commie homo.
Ha! Just messing with you. Your comic is great. This is a good idea. I can’t wait to see what comments the right wingers have to leave.
Probably something close to what I just wrote above. lol.
January 17th, 2006 at 8:34 pm
Second.
Que the “Race for the prize” music…..
January 17th, 2006 at 8:37 pm
Great idea! This site is getting better and better!
Keep up the good work.
Cheers from Finland
January 17th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
One comment: TMW led me to Salon, Salon led me to Tabletalk, Tabletalk led me to my wife.
I (heart) the Internets and Tom Tomorrow.
Let’s hope this change sticks.
January 17th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
Thank you for your wonderful comics and blog, which have been great sources of consolation over the last several years.
January 17th, 2006 at 8:42 pm
From your post below.
:This not only gave Islamic societies a youthful energy that contrasted markedly with the slothful senescence of Europe.
Notice the promotion of the idea of Europe as old and tired in an effort to subtly further the idea that America is the future. It’s so subtle, I doubt that even the writer of the piece realises that he’s doing it.
Chris
January 17th, 2006 at 8:47 pm
May trolls never sully these pages.
BTW, go read Bob’s Australia posts. I was laughing out loud just being reminded of the Vauxhall Fighting Vehicle.
January 17th, 2006 at 8:48 pm
Mr. P, Your site has been a light in the darkness over the last 5 or so years for me, and inevitably pointed me over to the “Crack Den”(atrios). Your strip is consistantly inspiring. Keep up the good work, my man!
January 17th, 2006 at 8:49 pm
I would think Rightwingers don’t get that tedious, not saying that this isn’t a good site only it’s if they’ve gotten this far then one would say they’re in denial.
January 17th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
Dan, I can’t see how opening it up to comments will improve either the site or your life, but whatever - people will surely dig it.
BTW I love what you’re doing; it inspires me every day (once I get over the drastic impotence I feel as a world citizen far from the halls of power.) I tell my friends: if you want to learn about American politics, just read This Modern World.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Dan, I think that unless some kind soul takes over riding herd on trolls and managing the comments, you will grow to loathe this. But thanks for the one shot chance for all of us to say again how much we appreciate your work.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:01 pm
RE: Being out-bred.
What happens to the discussion of overbreeding when combined with the new meme of terrorist suicide? I was kinda wondering if the supply of potential suicide bombers might run out, but a meme of breeding would definitely be supportive of the terror-suicide meme. Excessive breeding supplies exactly what is needed: idealistic, underemployed youth. So what’s the best way to defeat a breeding meme?
January 17th, 2006 at 9:03 pm
I’ll say great cartoon, because Tom, expect a group of Freepers, or just all-around shameless right-wing kooks. Oliver Willis’s blog is filled with the same four or five loonies. Atrios and Kos do not have as big a problem, but that’s due to sheer volume.
Oh, for Sully, an improved version of the aforementioned video: http://www.alldumb.com/item/97/
January 17th, 2006 at 9:03 pm
I hope the trolls and spammers don’t ruin it for the rest of us.
Thanks for opening the comments up.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:06 pm
If you want some free entertainment and the slight possiblity that a idea or two for your work might come out of it…..then do it. I post a decent amount on the Media Matters site and gets pretty bizzare at times. As you have said before there are some people who live in a fantasy world not based in reality.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:06 pm
People will dig it because people like to write comments. I almost never read comments though because I don’t really care how many random strangers agree or disagree with what I actually am here for. There might some occasional stuff worth reading but I suspect it will be a lot more anchor-neck/work than it’s worth.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:08 pm
Thanks Tom, your comic keeps the Seattle Weekly from being a total waste of trees.
Keep up the good work.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:08 pm
Dan,
I really like the comments idea. If it gets to be too much of a hassle, just stop doing it. Anyway, your strip and web site have been a beacon of light in a very dark time. Thanks.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:17 pm
Dan - long time reader, first time writer (obviously).
I find myself reading comments on certain sites, but only those that have active editing and posting delays (e.g., Eric Zorn’s blog). I just can’t get past the unthinking vitriol and inane screeching that characterizes the open comment policy, even on sites I love (e.g., atrios). My recommendation is to remain above the fray; I always thought of your lack of comments (Bob Harris’, too) as an unspoken mark of dignity.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Well since I can’t think of anything better to talk about, I’ll take this time to be the next person to compliment Tom on his work. The humor is always right up my alley. Love logging onto Salon.com on Mondays to catch the latest. Been visiting the blog frequently since the Election of 04. One more place to stop by and fill up on pure rage at what is going on in the world.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:21 pm
Tom - The Democrats are still brain dead - how can they just give up on the fight against Alito? And how can they simply ignore impeachment for illegal spying?
Discuss. Please.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
I echo LC’s comment; you have better things to do than opening your website to abusive nitwits.
I visit your website almost daily, and enjoy your comic strip in the Austin Chronicle. I couldn’t resist posting a note of thanks.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
I hate to say it, but I suspect that the site will be a target for some pathetic individual who revels in the thought of making someone creative and open-minded suffer. These people have demonstrated that they have no regard for intelligent discussion and there is no reason to believe that this will change in the near future.
BTW, I subscribed to Salon so I could access your work with fewer intrusions. Good stuff, keep it up!
January 17th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
Mr T, thanks for the laughs and the your insightful thinking. Lets hope we can all keep this thread friendly. It’s ok to disagree, it ok to believe that someone is just plain wrong, and its ok to be pissed off, but lets leave the name calling and childish behavior to the professional’s…….Fox News!! :)
January 17th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
I appreciate the opportunity to thank you for your work. It entertains, informs and allows me to procede through life without going batty. I’m ever so grateful.
On Todd’s note. I don’t know how they can just give up the fight. It seems crazy to me not to try to defeat him. Why save the filibuster if not to use it? Bush is down, I say kick him. I think that we need the Senate to change hands and I think a visible Democratic Party standing up to the Repugnantcans is just what the country needs to see. If Alito is going to join the court’s Scalia, Thomas, Roberts block, it should be only after a massive fight.
To do that they needed coordination and an explaination to the American people, plus catchword please, of what the theory of the unitary executive is. When they realize that it means he thinks that the seperation of powers doesn’t exist if the President says we’re in a perpetual state of war, they may just support you fighting him.
This is a party being torn by scandal, led by a deeply unpopular President who is pushing a radical agenda and claiming to be above the law. What is to loose by fighting that?
January 17th, 2006 at 9:48 pm
Like many others, I seldom read comments, but I must add to the chorus of gratitude. TMW was the first blog I read, back when it was new. I fretted for you during 9/11 - my vicarious New York friend - and follow your work like a religion.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:49 pm
Is this thing on? (tap tap)
Excellent. Thank you, Mr. Tom Tomorrow, for helping to distill the “national mood” (or the “bullshit Republicans do,” take your pick, I can work with either) for us lo these many years.
With regard to comments, open or closed, I would vote for “open”. I realize that there will likely always be a troll or fifty around to make silly noises and try to start an argument about repealing the New Deal and the Voting Rights Act, but for me anyway one of the primary distinctions between the right and the left blogosphere is the overwhelming numbers of lefty blogs with comments, and the overwhelming numbers of righty blogs without. If you dig deeper, you can set the dichotomy up this way:
On the left, most blogs have comments open. Some are totally open, others require registration (TypeKey or something like that). Many lefty blogs with open comments do not ban IPs except in the worst instances of blatant trolling - meaning they don’t just ban or delete comments because someone disagrees or is a conservative/Republican/what-the-fuck-ever.
On the right, just a few blogs have comments open. Most of those require some sort of registration. And on many righty blogs with comments open, anyone posting dissenting views (not necessarily trolling) has their posts removed and their IP address banned forever.
So, after this fact-filled analysis (in which I use such truthy words as “many”, “few”, “some”, and “most”, I come to this conclusion - the left blogosphere values dissent (or can at least tolerate it), while the right blogosphere can’t let anything burst their little Bush bubble.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that you have to put up with all the troll-y madness. But if your readership is relatively thread-sophisticated, trolls will tire themselves out as they starve to death on your threads, and the forces of light emerge (mostly) victorious by the time there are clean sheets.
Anyway, no skin off my teeth either way. Thanks again for a wonderful cartoon.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:49 pm
Naah, be different. Comments dumb me down.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:52 pm
Hey, hope you don’t get all the nasty stuff. Hope you don’t need it, but some blog software does set it so you can’t post without typing in a keyword that is in an image. That prevents spambots from doing their deed. Might be something you should look into.
Good luck!
January 17th, 2006 at 9:54 pm
Ah, but the relentless stream of right-wing blog comments tends to cease as soon as you actually say something to oppose them. We’re talking about people who think wearing a conservative t-short is a brave, rebellious act.
anyway, Mr. Tomorrow/Perkins, thanks for the opportunity to say thanks.* Even in your old haunts in the Bay Area the last few years have been pretty frightening, what with many of our fellow countrypersons shifting from apathetic TV-watchers to proto-fascists. Your voice of hilarious sanity has been truly helpful.
* recursive, I know, but still.
January 17th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
I highly recommend the use of moderation ala. Slashdot. While I don’t often read comments myself, occassionally I find them indespensible for additional information on a topic. And moderation serves as a significant aid in this regard. Slashdot has experimented with moderation for a long time and I’m sure the webmasters there would be happy to talk with you about it. Oh, and your site f**cking rocks! ; )
January 17th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
I wanted to post to say, well, pretty much exactly what St Paul said up at #10. But, damnit he beat me to it. Hey, Paul- did you move to new city w/too many wingers too?
Truly, I love this site, but it doesn’t NEED comments. Keep up the damn good work, Tom/Dan!!!
January 17th, 2006 at 10:03 pm
I love your strip,It’s spot on every time.I go to your blog to make sure I’m not alone in my crazy-wacky left wing views.Thanks for the chance to toss in my two cents worth.
1-2 TRILLION! what a waste!To think of what could have been acomplished with that kind of bread. But then we all knew this all a long.
January 17th, 2006 at 10:06 pm
Dan,
Thanks for all your work. It was this site that turned me on to the “blogosphere” several years ago. I suspect that because of the relative “high profile” of the strip, your site may well be a “gateway” for lots of curious browsers to discover other emotionally-balanced bloggers who can demonstrate their ability to reason.
God Bless Your Efforts,
John
January 17th, 2006 at 10:10 pm
How exciting! I began by admiring your jarring/stimulating art. I stayed for the stirring political sermons. I became hooked on the blog. Now we get to chime in every once in a while? Nothing could be better except for perhaps a universal health care package. (We know, you can only do one thing at a time…)
And don’t worry about the right-wing trolls. Perhaps their ridiculous diatribes might form the basis of a regular “hate mail” feature or the like! But if it becomes too much work, then forget it. I was really upset when you were flirting with leaving the blog altogether and I think all of your fans agree that they don’t want you to move in that direction again.
Thank you so much for your important work.
January 17th, 2006 at 10:10 pm
It’s about time you opened this up for comments.
Of course there’s always the rightwing response that you will be judged by the posters in the comments section. This allows them to set you up by having some newbie poster come around and act liberal/moderate for a few weeks or months then when some controversy errupts the plantjob goes into full fledged leftwing extremist mode simply to guarantee that wingnut sites like Malkin or Instamoron can say “Look at the infamous Tom Tomorrow’s site! He sponsors whacko leftwing notions worse than Fidel Castro!!”
Of course I went a bit light on my own interpretation. These people will not take anything said around here lightly. This site has weight and national exposure. I’ve been reading Tom Tomorrow since 1993-4 when I first caught glimpse of it in the Kansas City alternative weekly mag ‘The Pitch.’
The toon got a lot of attention around KC for it’s stark humor and easily recognizable themes that allowed everyone to be in on the joke.
My favorite was the 1995 cartoon where Tom Tomorow discusses how rightwingers can’t seem to put things in perspective such as people comparing smokers in America 1995 to jews in Germany 1930’s, etc.
Instant classic.
By the way, I know you’ve mentioned this before but because that one strip is my favorite, I would love to buy the original or at least a nicely done blown up & signed reproduction.
MYOB’
.
January 17th, 2006 at 10:10 pm
It don’t matter to Stevo. I never participate in the threads at Kos. But, at the same time it does give you that warm feeling of community. It should be said that I come here to see what you and your contributors have to say.
January 17th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Tom:
As much as I love to waste time comenting on the inerwebs, I think that this new feature will ultimately bite you in the ass. I take no pleasure in saying this becasue I enjoy your site. You’re going to need a moderator or you’re going to get goatse’d to death.
January 17th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
Hey Tom!
You’re not going to like it one bit - but it’s nice to be asked to come play.
January 17th, 2006 at 10:18 pm
mmm, comfy.
forget about moderatoring.
forget about being somehow considered responsible if some moron breezes in here and rants about one thing all the time.
it’s like a library or swimming pool, there’s not that much you can do if some idiot is messy. also, it’s incumbent upon the denizenry to ignore daleks, trolls, freepers, &c &c &c.
memorize:
it is not your fault
January 17th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
Dear Tom,
I’m a big fan of your work, started reading it all the way back in 1992, and your website turned me on to atrios, which subsequently led to my political blog addiction (should be doing some writing right now).
I have no advice re: the comments, except to say you could always take them away if they get too tiresome. But you got some damn funny letters from the crazies on the right (I’m going to coin a new word and call them ‘proto-trolls’)–in fact, if memory serves, “Greetings from This Modern World” has a foreword written by one “A. Friend”–one of the most bizarrely funny things I’ve ever read. So you might get some good material.
Thanks again,
A. Fan
January 17th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
Tom, I just wanted you to know I think you are a twisted genius - the very best kind of twisted. It was the creativity and “insitefullness” your site that finally helped me break my porn addiction and realize there were other things that genuinely interested me on the Internet. Now I’m adicted to left wing political blogs. So thanks, I guess, and good luck with your open comment experiment.
January 17th, 2006 at 10:25 pm
Loooooong-time reader and fan of TMW. Long-time reader of this site as well. It’s been great without comments, so I don’t know if comments will do anything positive for either you or the site. Either way, my fandom will continue.
Thanks for helping to keep so many of us sane for the last decade and a half!
January 17th, 2006 at 10:28 pm
Tom you rock!
Your comics are the best way to stop many silly debates.
Thank you so much.
As for comments, you’re just gonna get a lot more congratulations like mine unless you allow comments to posts about some topic.
We love you! Our collective weight and intellect will squash trolls.
What, what?
Ut!
-Luke
January 17th, 2006 at 10:33 pm
Hey TT, just wanted to say I love your comic.
About the comments, why would you feel compelled to monitor / control them? I’d recommend getting a system where other users can rate the various comments and then you can simply look at the top rated comments (think slashdot.org). This mechanism can be abused too, but it is generally much harder.
Cheers!
January 17th, 2006 at 10:34 pm
Thanks for everything, Tom. Great comic and great commentary. That goes for Harris too. Except the comic part.
January 17th, 2006 at 10:35 pm
Dan –
Like the other commentors here, I have nothing but admiration for this anchor of a Web site and, of course, your comics. But I wanted to post as one Browncoat to another — Firefly rules!!
January 17th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
Dear Mr. Tomorrow,
Please do not think you are alone. There are thousands (nay, millions) of us who feel the same way you do about the way of things. Your comments and insight (and comics) are inspirational. I have ventured into the field of political economy with an emphasis on the mass media, partly because of your commentary and ideas. Thanks very much for that. This world would be even more twisted and screwed up if it didn’t have people like you. Hold your head up chum - you are making a difference. Keep up the good work. (and thanks for the opportunity to give you some much needed feedback)
Professionalstrongman
January 17th, 2006 at 10:57 pm
Dan, I was leery when you opened your site to other posters, but so far I’ve enjoyed the arrangement. I think the lack of comment threads is a very good thing. Let this be the one and only time you do it. Concentrate your time on your great cartoons and your equally insightful posts, and let those of us who have anything to say just drop you the occasional email to thank you for your terrific work or, alternatively, simply argue amongst ourselves.
January 17th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
Wish you the best of luck with this.
Yes you will have trolls coming trying to mess things up.
January 17th, 2006 at 10:59 pm
Thank you for such a wonderful blog. Its one of my 2 favs even tho I might not aggree with you all the time, (Im not quite as left wing as you are) but I always get the low down on the dirty republicans : p.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:01 pm
I have this unnatural need to open comments links at the bottom of posts despite never reading anything of much consequence in the comments section. It’s why I spend days and years of my life refreshing sites I have no business spending that much time at. If you have comments, it means I will spend more time at your web page — and I’m sure most of the rest of us will spend more time at your web page — but it also means you’ll spend more time at your web page.
Tell me, Tom Tomorrow, is that what you really want?
- Uncle Anton, Iowa City
January 17th, 2006 at 11:06 pm
Well, I agree with everybody else so far about how great TMW is and how insightful and articulate Tom can be. But where are all the rabid Republicans who were expected to attack? Nothing could be more comedic than some right wingers expounding on their philosophy exactly like a TMW comic. Life imitates art, right? I was looking forward to reading it. I read all the comments up to here searching for the wacko gems. Sigh…
January 17th, 2006 at 11:07 pm
Mr. TT Sir:
Very pleased to note your interest in hosting a public forum.
Yes, they are numerous - but they are also beneficial for information exchange. Or just bile venting.
Please offer this feature on occasion, if not more frequently.
Regards.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:07 pm
i don’t know that comments are the best idea for someone with enough on their plate already, such as yourself… that is if you want them to be moderated and not like chez kevin drum.
and good job on the cartoons, mr Tomorrow. you say very clearly in a few panels what most bloggers(yours truly included) cannot in 4 or 5 part essays
January 17th, 2006 at 11:08 pm
I like comments because I think it could lead to a little “Tom Tomorrow Community”…But, i think you should do what you want.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:13 pm
When I was a college student, I thought your strip was kewl. From time to time, it still is. However, I think your blog must be counted among those things that ultimately hamper civic discourse. The tone of posts is too often sanctimonious. Everyone must move in the same direction and follow the same orthodoxy. Those who disagree are generally demonized as fatuous simps (in the case of left leaners who aren’t ardent enough) or worse. Too many like that on the right, too many on the left too. I read these comments and they tend to confirm my opinion; too much us vs. them, too much collective self-adulation. Easy for me to be a critic though, creating nothing myself. It’s your corner of the world, though, and I respect that. Good luck.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:13 pm
Don’t let it be burdensome, we’ll be here whether we can comment or not.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:15 pm
my dear Mr. Perkins,
Thank you for your comics and your site. In my case, the website discovery progression went Tom Tomorrow -> Bob Harris -> Tiny Revolution -> the Poor Man, with countless leaves coming off each branch. It’s more than I can do just to keep up, but it is vital to try.
Your sense of humor — and sense of graphic storytelling — are priceless.
If I may try to push a meme I’ve been trying to cram into the ether for months: no more appointments, no more appointees, until AFTER the impeachment. Bring the government to a halt if necessary. The madness must stop. Waving from the train as it’s going off the cliff is not enough. We have to try to stop the train.
Ok. I’m done.
-steve the artguy
January 17th, 2006 at 11:16 pm
I am a huge fan of your work - this is the first point I wished to make
However…
I think that your blog is better for being comment free. You always have the option of editing in someones emailed comments but too many comments sections just become bloated unless constantly moderated (and who has time for that)
I’m not a strict traditionalist but I am happy with your site the way it is.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
Remember what the difference is between the leading lights of the right-wing blogosphere (FreeRepublic, LGF, Powerline) and those of the left (DailyKos, for instance) is that the right doesn’t respond well to criticism. Powerline has no comments, FreeRepublic bans with extreme prejudice, and LGF has closed registration. On the other hand, DailyKos has a large and vibrant community of commenters and diarists. I encourage you to run with this idea. Discussion is a great liberal tradition.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:21 pm
Holy Moly. Are you going to read all of the responses? I got maybe halfway down and had to stop because my head was spinning. If this open thread deal becomes the norm, I might just stay on the surface and read what you write and avoid the deeper levels of the comments section…
But anyway, great creative output. Keep having fun with it.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:23 pm
To Geggy: “I’ve never been sure why anyone would feel their opinion has more weight after they’ve revealed the shallowness of their former convictions” (from a recent TMW blog post)
January 17th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
I read your site religiously–perhaps your site IS my religion. Often I have the urge to comment on one of your posts. That doesn’t mean that you MUST add comments, but you often inspire my thoughts and urge to discuss. I agree with grendelkhan–I respect you a great deal and if you chose not to add comments, it won’t change my opinion. But when I read a site like Malkin’s (which I do on occasion–know the enemy) it strikes me that it’s her fear. So, I don’t know. But anyway, thanks for the opportunity to voice our opinions on it. (And I also really like the fact that you had some space dedicated to your beloved cat.)
January 17th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
Tom Tomorrow goes to eleven! Thanks for an always-thought-provoking comic strip. Thanks for turning us onto Bob Harris. Thanks for your insightful posts. Kepe up the good work. And if you’re not looking to increase your workload re. the site, do NOT open to comments. But hey — thanks for this opportunity!
January 17th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
I go both ways on the comments. I like your blog (actually, am deeply in love with your comic AND blog) the way it is, but sometimes you just want to comment on a really good post. Case in point: I remember last summer you writing about a kid who had a glorious liberal upbringing, but was joining the 82nd Airborne because he thought that if more politically left people joined the military the place would be different. I have thought about this soldier a lot, because the very week you posted that, my husband was talking to the recruiters for the same reason. He’s active duty now, and I have often wondered how many people have joined the military for the same reasons.
Keep up the good work.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:31 pm
Dan/Tom:
Oh, gheez, I’ll waste even MORE time on my favorite leftie website now! I personally think there are plenty of sites that allow comments-and they often devolve into pointless, heated arguments between people who could never agree with each other. But I’ll keep checking the site either way.
Anyway, thanks for helping to keep me a little saner over the last four years. It really has meant a lot to me. It’s easy to get depressed about the state of the world. Laughter really is sometimes the best medicine.
My main discovery from your site: xoverboard.com. I started reading him from your first link there.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:32 pm
To Drew: Q.E.D.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:32 pm
Hope your noble experiment with comments is fruitful, in the best sense. Release the hounds.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:33 pm
Oh, I hope you decide to keep the comments thread open, Dan! Don’t let a few bad apples spoil the back-and-forth from the rest of us! Chalk me up as another fan, although from way back when we were both in the “zine scene” (you with Processed World and me with Inside Joke) before these crazy internets were even a twinkle in Al Gore’s eyes. And you, of course, are one of my “blogfathers.”
January 17th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
To Geggy: “When I was a college student, I thought your strip was kewl”.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:45 pm
I think more blogs should be discussing this topic:
http://www.physics.byu.edu/research/energy/htm7.html
Most people I discuss it with are afraid to think about it. Nobody wants to believe it. If it’s true it changes everything…
January 17th, 2006 at 11:46 pm
I check your blog at least once a day, even when you say you won’t be adding anything for a couple of days. I’d hate to miss something.
Thanks for turning me on to Bob Harris. I love his travel stories (I check his as often as I check yours).
Two bumper stickers I’ve been looking for (if anybody knows if I can find one or the other, please post it): How Do You Support the Troops? and Tax Cuts or Armor?
Lastly, Tom/Dan, given what we know now, would you change or update your criticisms of President Clinton when he was in office? In particular, some of the cartoons that dealt with Saddam. I understand where you were coming from when they were written, but considering what’s been revealed since he left office and how abysmal things have been since then….
January 17th, 2006 at 11:47 pm
Mr. Tomorrow,
Don’t do it! Don’t open your blog to comments! Please!
Make this a one time gig. Maybe leave this one thread comment-enabled so those who wish to send you accolades may do so.
But please, please, please, don’t have a blog that gets comments. Keep your home on the net pristine.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:48 pm
I love your site and have been reading it for years. It’s witty, sharp and often a fun read. Thanks SO much for installing RSS a while back though — that made keeping up on things so much easier.
The comments things seems alright though. Judging by the outpouring of support from your loyal fans, I’m going to throw my hat in with the “keep it, it’s a cool feature” crowd. Just watch your storage quota… if every post has this many comments it oculd run up your bills.
January 17th, 2006 at 11:53 pm
Well, it’ll only give the NSA more to read…
January 17th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
I just wanted to say thank you for the Nixon-brain=Bush design…I got one as soon as I saw it. You could almost see the heads of my fundie mom and step-dad do a 360 when it made its debut. Comments? Don’t care, but love your work!! Don’t ever stop!
January 17th, 2006 at 11:59 pm
Right move, TT! Isn’t the open thread concept what Tim Berners-Lee had in mind? I think I read that somewhere. Anyway, you’re one of my favorite stops on the Web. Thanks for being here!
January 18th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Oh, and as I have told you many times before by email, keep up the absolutely excellent work.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:02 am
I served with the 1st Marine Division from August of 2002 to July of 2005. I was deployed twice. I was the lone liberal voice in almost every group I was in. This sight helped keep me sane. I’m out now and proudly sport your Nixon - Brain = Bush sticker on my car. Thank you, and keep up the good work.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:02 am
hello from the land down under. been reading you for about a year now because you seem to have your head screwed on right (or should that be left). glad you enjoyed your visit to australia, come back soon, a sense of humour is all that is required. and yes, isnt richie benaud a great broadcaster, one of our national treasures.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:04 am
First off- I love your comics and your commentary! Your ability to see through the smoke and mirrors and reveal the naked emperor in a funny cartoon is nothing short of brilliant.
For my 2¢, don’t open this up to comments. I come here to hear your take on the news. If I wanted to hear some looney right-wing troll yammering his BS notions, I’d ride the bus.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:06 am
Why do you guys hate America so much?
Just Kidding
January 18th, 2006 at 12:11 am
TT
go with your instincts….they are usually right on
-an anonymous “fan”
January 18th, 2006 at 12:11 am
Kilroy was here.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:17 am
T2,
Your strip is great, as is your blog. It was one of the first “traitorblogs” (as a good friend of mine & I jokingly refer to these reality-based glimmers of sanity such as yours) I discovered a few years ago.
A little salt and battery acid, liberally applied, will keep most of the trolls away.
Good luck!
January 18th, 2006 at 12:29 am
I tend to agree with S.Handstrong. Great site, great commentary, and your cartoons are the best political satire drawn. If you have the time to add and edit commentary, fine. If it is a question of your time being subtracted from the site and the art, don’t do it.
Many thanks for having one of the best left wing blogs out there, too.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:29 am
town?
why would I want to go there?
January 18th, 2006 at 12:31 am
Just a thanks for your work. Being a fan of your comic, I found this site about a year ago. Now, I visit the site daily, whether you blog or not it’s worth checking and through you I have found other great blogs. So thanks. It doesn’t seem like the comments will add much to what you have going. Spend your time doing what You like to do and we will all benefit.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:33 am
Comments would be a nice additional feature, and if they become a pain in the neck you can always shut them off for a while (or for good). I’m not a fan of running open threads instead of posts, though.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:34 am
Why do people give a damn about trolls? Just don’t feed them. Atrios won’t censor them…they’re not a real problem.
Porn spam, now THERE’S a problem…
Later!
January 18th, 2006 at 12:43 am
Just wanted to add that I also love your comics and site. Keep up the great work!
January 18th, 2006 at 12:47 am
Dan, thanks for all the wonderful cartoons.
I visit this site daily and think comments are a good idea.
If it gets to be too much you could always just register alt.fan.tomtommorrow on Usenet and pop in now and then.
Keep up the good work.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:55 am
One more comment:
I think hierarchical comments are better. I can never keep track of conversations on Eschaton with the linear comment window.
Also, I think it helps not to have ‘open threads’, but rather specific question topics.
Not to turn it into Slashdot, but I do find the comments there the easiest to navigate.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:02 am
Posting to a website is easier than firing off an email, and rewards the poster with the expectation that somebody will see their message, if not the maintainer. As more text appears here that wasn’t written or vetted by you, it seems reasonable that the site will lose some focus. You’d also need to read some of the posts some of the time, at the expense of other possible worthwhile activities, to benefit or even administer fairly. You already get responses by email, but with threads you can focus discussions.
Incidentally, I’ve read your comics regularly for years. I originally found your blog from Wil Wheaton’s, and from here I found Atrios, XOverboard, Orcinus, and all the rest. Thanks.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:12 am
seriously, without wading through most of these comments (who has the time?!), leave your website as it is.
it’s much more effective when there’s no place for idiocy or, worse, unnecessary…commentness.
it’s good how it is.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:25 am
Many’s the time I had a fact I thought pertinent to one of your posts I would have liked to add, so, I am in favor of having comments! To keep the moderating work down, you could recruit some people you know to moderate. You could also set a time limit for comments to the posts on your blog, a week perhaps, after which the thread would be locked. You could give Bob and Jeanne, and any other contributors to your blog, the option of having their posts open to comments, or not. Any way, keep up the good work!
January 18th, 2006 at 1:26 am
Just do what everyone else does… ignore what commenters write!
Comments are important and not having them, is a mistake, imho.
In fact, you should publish your comic on the front of the blog (time delayed as needed) and get some feedback that way.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:27 am
Your site is a daily visit for me. Comments on blogs can be fun and entertaining, but they can also be pointless at best and terribly nasty at worst. No blogger should feel obligated to have them, especially one that doesn’t have a staff to patrol them. So keep them if you enjoy them, but I for one don’t think less of any blogger who chooses not to have them.
Thanks for your great work! Go Hawkeyes!
January 18th, 2006 at 1:33 am
You are the Blogfather! My interest in your comic led me to read your blog, which led me to Atrios and then Kos and so on and so on. But as far as I’m concerned, you started it all..:-)
January 18th, 2006 at 1:40 am
Dan/Tom,
Just wanted to say, to be original, that I enjoy your work. I am struck by the quality and clarity of your writing - I know that you are a cartoonist first and foremost, but I would strongly encourage you to consider broadening your artistic endeavors to include more writing (if only the occasional op-ed).
January 18th, 2006 at 1:42 am
Comments, no comments, whatever, I just wish I was able to sleep when I’m staying in a hotel. :(
January 18th, 2006 at 1:43 am
Without This Modern World (and perhaps Molly Ivins) I’d just sink into a pit of cynicism and despair. Truth and humor make a geat combination.
Dan - don’t let the early deluge of positive comments get you thinking that having comments for all blog entries is a good idea. Trolls will appear, bad apples will multiply. But perhaps you could find a trustworthy volunteer to prune inevitable spam.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:46 am
Love love love love TMW. Love the blog. It’s a daily read for me. Since you’re looking for comments, here’s two:
1> It bugs me when you would take time off from the blog and people give you a hard time about it. Since I didn’t want to take your time with a note, let me say that there’s at least one avid reader who’s all about the quality, indifferent to quantity. Please don’f feel that you need to post constantly. When you need to take a week or two off blogging for other things (i.e. PAYING jobs), then PLEASE DO SO!! Esp with the able help of the cross-posters (an idea I was kind of sour on, but I think you picked well)
2> I’m probably never going to read the comments, because who has the time. Frankly, I comments a pox on the blogosphere. 99% of all comments are either “You’re So Right!” or “You’re So Wrong!” without much context.
Besides! Too much maintenance!!! Someone’s going to post links to lynching photos and then you’re going to have to delete them. Someone else is going to put links to porn for google-washing purposes. Etc. Don’t you have better things to do?
In fact, what the heck are you doing reading this!?
Any how, keep up the excellent work.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:49 am
Thank God for you and all the other pundits who cut through the GOP bullshit. I once wondered how anybody could believe that their words and actions are guided by anything other than blatant self-interest. I’m now convinced that all Republicans are mentally deficient. Questioning others’ patriotism for not blindly following idiotic principles attests to that. Were not the followers of the Nazi party some of the most patriotic in history? I do believe that negative comments regarding your cartoons will be minimal, if only because the would-be detractors are confused by the satire. Take heart and consider the source if one or two should rise above the muck to seemingly post a semi-intelligent comment. In the immortal words of Alec Guinness: “Who is more foolish? The fool or the fool that follows it?”
January 18th, 2006 at 1:50 am
I just wanted to say I’m a big fan of the site and the comic long before that. However, I’m not sure how I feel about comments on a blog this large (i.e. with all the readers). At the very least, I won’t be reading 150 comments with every entry. I can’t imagine you want to be scanning 2,000 comments every week.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:54 am
I love your strip and this blog, but I think comments are a bad idea-They will just get overrun by right wing trolls.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:58 am
Don’t do it, Tom. Comments are just a big distraction. They always seem to descend into off-topic debates between two or three obsessive posters. If people want to add their thoughts, let them send you an email and you can post an update if you like.
Or at least, don’t display comments without your approval.
January 18th, 2006 at 2:00 am
I have to say I like the site the way it is. I feel that comments clutter, and distract from, a good blog.
January 18th, 2006 at 2:02 am
OK. It’s official. You’re great. Glad we cleared that up… Anything else? OK. See you in the funny pages. Later.
January 18th, 2006 at 2:25 am
Dear Mr. Perkins/Tomorrow - I enjoy your site and your cartoon very much. Please keep producing both. I believe positive feedback is important. I haven’t anything else productive to say.
January 18th, 2006 at 2:26 am
Mr. Perkins, thanks for running this website. I first discovered Tom Tomorrow in a weekly paper/magazine call The Liberal Opinion Weekly, which has a terrific compendium of syndicated editorials (David Brooks, Victor Davis Hanson, and Rich Lowry need not apply) and great political cartoons. I have gotten my news from two main sources these past few years of living in an American nightmare- The Daily Show (and I look forward to Jon Stewart welcoming you on it) and this website. As my son prepares to deploy to Iraq for the second time, I’ll keep coming back looking for that spark of rational thought and penetrating wit that is the hallmark of your strip and this site. Thanks again!
January 18th, 2006 at 2:29 am
Funny - one of the things I like about this site is the lack of a comments section. Also, from a purely business point of view, you may wend up with a few more hits with a comments section, but overall you might be better served by those of us who come here, read your strip, and then go elsewhere (Eschaton, Kos etc)to comment and turn others on to your stuff. I can’t remember how many times I’ve posted a link to your latest strip or a thread (last time was a couple of days back when you wrote about the never-changing claim of westerners “liberating” this-or-that corner of the Middle-east…).
January 18th, 2006 at 2:32 am
If you do decide to make this a regular feature, could you find a way to filter out posts that say nothing but “first”?
January 18th, 2006 at 2:58 am
I like the idea that you open the blog to comments. I hate the idea that you would waste time and creative energy reading and editing trolls - we’re all hoping you will spend that energy making more comics. If you’re gonna do this, appoint a few people to do the troll-hunting and/or moderating for you - there are plenty of people who love to do that kind of stuff. God love ‘em.
Another idea is to have a “members section” and charge a minimum entry fee - like a one time $5 charge. Would help you with some tips, and weed out some of the least valuable members of the community… Most trolls and troublemakers simply can’t be bothered to fill out a registration page. Somethingawful.com does that to great effect, helping to establish a strong and happy community feel.
January 18th, 2006 at 3:05 am
I must say…your comic has been extremely comforting to me ever since I started reading it in the Independent Weekly oh these many moons ago. It’s good to know there is a group of folks who have kept me company as we watched everyone slowly lose their minds. And your comic and site have led me to many other noteworthy places on the web. But no comments sections, please. I like the quality of posting, and the lack of chatter, which clutters the site. Thanks again.
January 18th, 2006 at 3:09 am
Monsieur Tomorrow,
Just could not pass a chance to tell you that I consider your strip to be the absolute best. I do believe that an honest-to-goodness message board will require a lot more time and energy, making this anchor a little heavier around your neck.
In any case, I often wonder if the Cheney Administration (let’s just admit it people!) has ever consider you “a person of interest” cuz your work does allow one to bring a concerned comment to public discussion with eloquence, wit, and style.
Thank you.
(Anxiously awaiting the publication of “Hell in a Handbasket”)
January 18th, 2006 at 3:23 am
i’m late to this, and i haven’t read it, but after a few i’ve got this to say:
have we seen a rash of really really REALLY stupid public comments from mildly-influential leaders as of late?
January 18th, 2006 at 3:30 am
Hooray! I was hoping I’d be number 120.
Anyway, Tom, I’d prefer it if you open this up to comments only as an exception to the rule. I visit this site daily because it is consistently a good starting point to fact-check overspun current events. As long as you keep pointing intelligently toward the truth, I will be a faithful reader. I come here before I check any the major news outlets.
But while I’m sure your other readers are intelligent and truth-seeking, these endless threads would get really distracting. Whatever; it’s your site, and I’ll still check it out and read your cartoons voraciously. But if I have to sift through 70 “dittos” to get to the source material I’ll have to find another alternative data source.
January 18th, 2006 at 3:37 am
You have a weekly cartoon through which you publish your political commentary to a significantly broader audience than reads this website. Your time is far too valuable to be wasted sorting through the random wankings of various people on the left and right. (Who have somehow found an outlet for their commentary on one or more of the internets.)
January 18th, 2006 at 3:52 am
Comments’ benefits outweight their risks. I like this comment: “I have to say I like the site the way it is. I feel that comments clutter, and distract from, a good blog.” How would we hear of such a good point without comments?
January 18th, 2006 at 4:04 am
Yay! I was one of those who clamored for comments. Thanks for your timely response.
I vow to mercilessly oppose wingnuts who try to infest this blog. And you’d be surprised at how often they run away after getting a good hard smack-down.
Nancy the troll-spammer slayer.
PS - love This Modern World!
January 18th, 2006 at 4:07 am
I was privileged to meet you when you visited Minneapolis in spring 1993, while I worked at City Pages - I must admit that I haven’t seen your work in a newspaper since then, just online and in books (I moved back east soon after). The comic is as valuable as ever, and I’m glad it’s getting the online exposure that it does (which I assume is bringing you more readers than during the newsprint-only era); I very much hope that you can keep it to its high standard, keep the blog going, and still earn a living as traditional newspaper readership declines.
January 18th, 2006 at 4:10 am
Looks like it’s working great, Mr. Tom Tomorrow! -Jonah
January 18th, 2006 at 4:30 am
This Modern World = THE BEST political cartoon of our time. Must be like shooting fish in a barrel with this administration tho. Comments are a good idea. Open the dialogue! What did Toqueville say in “Democracy in America”? Public institutions where people can exchange ideas are the only thing that will save the union. This is one such public institution. And its funny.
Keep up the fight everyone and down with Alito!
January 18th, 2006 at 6:01 am
Dan, Great Blog I am really impressed with the time that you devoted to this quality product. Please keep up with the great work! It has helped me keep the R wingers I work with at bay. Thanks you are very much loved in my house and are on my Mozilla tab next to my email. Thats how important this site is to me.
January 18th, 2006 at 6:07 am
re: the post where you talk to someone in Law Enforcement about the intimidation of Dr. King.
I would’ve loved to be a fly on the wall during this conversation. Pray tell what the explanation was for sending Coretta Scott King evidence of Dr. King’s infidelities; was she an “outside agitator” who needed to be weeded out as well?
Whomever said you keep the Seattle Weekly from being unreadable was on the money. Love the comic and the site; as for the comments, maybe every once in a while, hey?
-Toph
January 18th, 2006 at 6:14 am
Anchor around the neck, or not… this blog is in my rss reader as one of my favorites. Thank you! … very much!!!
January 18th, 2006 at 7:03 am
Hopefully we can keep things reasonably civil here - as long as we don’t pretend that all righties are raving cannibals, or that all lefties are terror-loving commies. There’s good and bad on both sides.
Thanks for the blog, and like the others say - your house, your rules. If it becomes a burden, you have no obligation to keep it going.
January 18th, 2006 at 7:31 am
This is a top blog - comments section long overdue.
Agree heartily with previous comments regarding unnecessary partisanship BUT don’t think that avoiding polarised un-constructive discussion should extend into being doormats bulldozer morons.
massive props,
Faithful Brit Reader
January 18th, 2006 at 7:34 am
If you feel that having a comments section will make your site better, go for it. Personally, I very rarely read or comment in blog threads as I think for the most part they are masturbatory. You’ve got a good site and your perspective is always welcome. That’s enough for me.
January 18th, 2006 at 7:36 am
bleh
January 18th, 2006 at 7:52 am
Bleah
[Wipes face to remove taste of gaffer tape glue]
Ah, that’s much better!
January 18th, 2006 at 8:00 am
Thanks for opening up your site to comments. I wanted to thank you for being there when there were so few places where I could go for reminders that the whole country hadn’t gone insane.
As for what to do when certain elements of the population decide to infest your site, may I suggest something, should ignoring them not be an option? Contact the Nielsen-Haydens at Making Light and see if you could purchase one of their Disemvoweller Devices?
January 18th, 2006 at 8:04 am
A light in the dark since 911. Turned on to cursor, Atrios, Kos, Xoverboard, and blogging as a means of finding out that the whole country hadn’t gone crazy. This place has has been an island of sanity. Would’ve bought books but now do so as gifts whenever I can to intentionally to support the site, art and community. An anchor it may be but thanks for everything, Mr. Tomorrow.
January 18th, 2006 at 8:36 am
Three words: self moderating posters. Get software that allows readers to rate each others comments and allows you to filter the wheat from the chaff. slashdot.org does this very well although they use “semi-professional” raters I believe. This will allow all the trolls to sink to the bottom and the really good creamy posts to rise to the top!
January 18th, 2006 at 8:40 am
Since this will probably be the only chance I get, thanks for all your great work. Without this site, I never would have discovered the supreme snark of TBogg or the great community over at Eschaton. No matter what, I come here every day to catch up on the latest outrage and every week your comic raises my hopes and makes me ROFLMAO!!!111!!OMGWTFBBQ!!!111!!!
*ahem* Sorry about that.
Anyway, once the trolls and morons start posting, I’m sure you will get rid of the comments. It can be too much of a hassle and I don’t want anything to detract from your blogging experience, we need you now more than ever.
Peace.
January 18th, 2006 at 8:45 am
I’m not a big blog reader, but this is the clear must-read for those of us in the liberal resistance. Bush, who apparently has no sense of irony, is inexorably pushing to establish an ignorant, white-trash, born-again Christian version of the Muslim caliphate bin Laden is fighting for. The only thing more appalling than this Administration is the lack of forceful Democratic response. My question for our host, his esteemed co-authors, and the posters here is this - who can lead us out of these dark times?
January 18th, 2006 at 8:49 am
…please keep up the good work. I think you help make a difference.
I’d ditch the comments. Plenty of that kind of stuff available over at Atrios or Kos.
cheers,
DD
January 18th, 2006 at 8:58 am
Glad to see you open for comments. This has been one of my favorite places for years and the cartoon is great as well. My blog is open for commentary but it is moderated. In you case that might take more time than it’s worth but at least you can prevent the wing-nuts from taking over.
January 18th, 2006 at 8:59 am
Wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for your work. I started reading shortly after September 11th, and looked to your strip as one of the few places to question the unbridled super-patriotism around the nation (”Are you a real American?”). I was lucky to see it in print upstate in The City, and now again, here, in the Voice. I’ve always considered your work and your opinions far more objective than most left wing commenters, as well as the most intelligent.
Thanks again, and best of luck in the future
January 18th, 2006 at 9:08 am
Comments? Just one more forum on which the Bush Admin will spy. :)
Joking aside, this may be my only opporutunity to say that out of the myriad of blogs on the internets these days, yours is still my favorite.
I dig your comic, and I truly dig your opinions. From the simple things like a great new Neil Young album, or the brutally honest and soul-bearing, like saying goodbye to a dear canine friend, to just a good rant about the deceptions of our current government, I enjoy reading your thoughts on these subjects, as I relate to them.
Anyway, even if you post only once a week, and don’t ever have comments, your blog is truly valued. Don’t add something that will contribute to your stress level. It isn’t worth it. Cheers!
January 18th, 2006 at 9:10 am
(Of course, keep in mind that creating a “community” may increase your blog traffic, and boost your blogad sales. Not a bad way to add a little pocket change).
January 18th, 2006 at 9:29 am
Baba Booey. Howard Stern, king of all media.
Always wanted to say that on a call-in talk show.
January 18th, 2006 at 9:43 am
Your web site lead me to Kos, Atrios, Liberal Oasis, Jesus’ General, etc… Thank you for even having one. Your comic is part of my required weekly humor intake. Thank you for that too.
January 18th, 2006 at 9:51 am
Maybe you could make it post specific, so you could say - with this post I welcome your feedback, but with this other one I really don’t care what you peons think.
But, you know, in a polite way.
January 18th, 2006 at 9:51 am
Thanks Dan. Comments or no, I’m a fan for life.
January 18th, 2006 at 9:52 am
Fucking A
January 18th, 2006 at 10:01 am
Geez. To be honest, the possibility that comments would add to the weight of this psychic anchor around your neck is a huge turn off. Don’t bother. I’m gonna feel guilty enough if I ever again visit this burdensome site.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:02 am
Hello Tom,
Thank you times ten to the tenth power for your fantastic cartoons and wonderful political insight. I’ve been enjoying your cartoon for many years, ever since it appeared in the Baltimore City Paper. I’ve come to know your sense of humor so well that when I watch the Mcnews, regurgitate the absurd political theater dujoir, I have about a 70% chance of predicting the contents of next Wednesdays cartoon, or so it seems. Please don’t be discouraged by trolls. Who gives a happy horse-shit what fellows with single digit IQ’s think anyway? These are after all, the same folks that believe pro-wrestling is “fer real” and the ones who keep feeding & breeding the Falwells, Limbaughs & Coulters & Springers of the world.
Keep up the great work Tom!
January 18th, 2006 at 10:04 am
Tom -
Many thanks for all your work from a Looong time reader. Your blog turned me on to Hesiod, then Atrios (a mixed blessing as I spend Way too much time in the crack den) and others. “Tis better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness”.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:11 am
More greetings from Britain! Reading your blog provides most of my news about America. It makes me glad that our news media is mostly bland and inoffensive, rather than psychotic, superficial and hateful.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:15 am
Well, Tom, you have a couple of options: let someone else moniter the comments, or just let it become a free-for-all. Monitering them yourself seems like a big chore for which you certainly don’t have time. (One would have to be blind to miss that from reading your blog.) There are pros & cons to each of the options, which should be readily apparent and which have been discussed above, but I think whichever you choose, you shouldn’t stress about it. So what if a troll or twelve (or more) invades? We’re not going to hold you personally responsible. Your only fault is that you love…too much!
Seriously though, the strip is great, the books are great, and this blog is great, whatever you choose. This Modern Blog is different already, what with infrequent & longer posts, and that’s not a bad thing. I think you said something a while back about the idea that instantaneous communication has become more important than getting something right, or being thoughtful. Well, this is a thoughtful blog, and thanks to the other co-bloggers here, posting has become not only more frequent, but more diverse. (Jeanne, especially, brings a different & refreshing point of view.) It’s the best of both worlds, as far as I’m concerned.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:25 am
We love you, Tom Tomorrow.
We can get down to real discussion later.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:39 am
Tom - I love your comic & blog: I check in at least 1x/day. I’ve never been big into commenting or reading comments, but I may be in the minority. Like others, I’ve been introduced to other blogs via your blog. Keep up the good work -
January 18th, 2006 at 10:40 am
I personally enjoy sites which allow comments because it allows the discussion and thought process to continue beyond the single post. In addition, commentors often have a particular amount of knowledge on a specific subject and thus contribute links, information, recommendations for further reading, etc.
Opening a site to comments changes the dynamic of things a lot, taking it from a site which you read, think about, and move on, where there is little or no interaction between the author(s) and the readers, to more of an open dialogue, more of a forum for the thoughts and opinions of both sides than just the writer. If that’s not the type of dynamic you would like to see on TMW, or not one which you feel would work well, then by all means don’t post further allowing comments. However, if you want to strongly increase the amount of feedback you receive and have more of a dialogue with your readers, opening the site to comments is one of the best ways to do it.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:40 am
- “I’ve always been ambivalent at best about opening this site up to comments.” -
I always miss the possibility of commenting on this site, but I think that you are in exactly the possition of a man contemplating a button labelled, “PRESS THIS BUTTON TO BE DELUGED IN AN ENDLESS TORRENT OF SHIT”.
Based on your attitude toward your site and the quality of the comments you receive, I’d say, don’t do it, man. Keep your peace of mind. If you make your site into a big(ger) hassle for you, you’ll probably discontinue it, and we really need it. It’s one of the best progressive sites out there.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:42 am
Between MLK and Werner Heisenberg, may we come to resolution in these uncertain times. Keep the faith, Tom.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:49 am
Just wanted to say how much I love your cartoon and that I check in on your blog daily. Love Love Love your angry sarcasm. Looks like you’d have plenty more fans to drown out/outwit the trolls/assholes.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:54 am
162nd! (Sorry, I just never got the whole FIRST thing)
Anyway, I love the site, and have for a long time. It has always been on of the first places I check on the net. I just wish you could update more often, but I know your on a tight schedule.
I don’t care too much about cooment sections. It seems to me they are mostly trolls.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:56 am
I’ve never understood what compels a partisan to sneak into the other camp and cast out taunts. The anonymity provided by these internets seems to bring out the worst in some people. Myself? I have no desire to troll the wingnuts at freerepublic.com or hannity.com (or wherever they are) because I am fairly non-confrontational and luckily, sane.
I think the trolls will come, but I also think there will be enough good people here to effectively deal with them.
So I say:
Bring them on.
January 18th, 2006 at 10:58 am
OK, I give up. What, exactly, is a troll? In this context, I mean - I think I understand about the ones under bridges.
January 18th, 2006 at 11:00 am
Old Fred:
Go to wikipedia.com and type “internet troll.”
January 18th, 2006 at 11:01 am
Keep up the good work Tom. TMW is one of the few places keeping me sane in these insane times. Comments can also be useful for poaching ideas and links to missed or underreported news articles.
January 18th, 2006 at 11:02 am
By the way, I was squinting when I said, “bring them on.”
January 18th, 2006 at 11:04 am
Let’s all take turns plooking one another!
January 18th, 2006 at 11:10 am
Your blog has been a daily visit for me for quite some time–I truly appreciate your scathing commentary, remarkable insight and biting wit. We need you in this failing republic! I don’t think comments are necessary–although they are fun once in awhile–but you are a busy guy as it is. I say leave ‘em off. However, It is refreshing to see and realize how many others are reading you daily for sustenance. These are dark, cold days–your writing and cartoons provide light and heat–thank you for that!
we love you here in Des Moines despite the lame-ass decisions of the Cityview!
January 18th, 2006 at 11:16 am
Yay! I’m so happy to have a chance to post on your awesome blog! :)
Love the blog, love the comics, you da man.
Ahhhh, that felt good. There’s something about being able to post to a comments board that is more satisfying than sending email to the blog author… maybe it’s the feedback of seeing your comments right there on the screen, whereas usually a blog author is too busy to respond to most of their email. Somehow it feels more interactive. Of course, if you decide to turn comments off, I’ll be disappointed but I’d rather that you do what feels most comfortable to you.
Thanks again for all the great blogging and cartooning.
January 18th, 2006 at 11:19 am
Can only second Beth’s sentiments. Des Moines doesn’t have a lot to offer in the first place; why Cityview would make that even less is beyond me. But hell, I only live there and work in Ames. Keep up the good work!
January 18th, 2006 at 11:21 am
Thanks to Taylor for my introduction to Wikipedia. Of course I agree with everyone about how unique and incisive Tom’s cartoons are. Too hot for our local paper (The Raleigh News and Observer). I’d like to suggest that everyone go to the AlterNet site and read Molly Ivins’ column. She hits the nail on the head. And thanks again -
January 18th, 2006 at 11:35 am
Old Fred, Use them Internets:
January 18th, 2006 at 11:38 am
i strongly support any solution that reduces the amount of time you spend feeling like this site is an anchor around your neck, or any other part of your anatomy.
and as someone who often checks back to see whether anyone has answered my post, i also suspect that “traffic” includes multiple visits from single individuals.
and i do wonder how much anyone else reads comments. something about having 25 screens’ worth of comments to scroll through, many of them guaranteed to be repetitious, tendentious, captious, and/or inane, seems to reduce my sense of open-minded curiousity.
my two cents’ worth, anyway.
as for the site and the cartoons and the guest bloggers and everything you do, THANK YOU. my brother keeps up with the blogs, including all the usual suspects that you cite, but it just looks like too much work (and too depressing). i understand that getting my alternative news from one blog, run by a cartoonist, is the internet equivalent of watching Jon Stewart instead of MSM, but it does have the same benefits, perhaps most importantly a level of honesty that includes criticism of our “own” side.
January 18th, 2006 at 11:38 am
actually the lack of comments i’ve always found a bit comforting on your site, like going into a busy restaurant and none of the patrons are on their cell phones.
January 18th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Thanks for being here Tom. I live in a part of Shanghai away from other Americans who are freaked out by our government. So, without this website’s commentary and humor I would probably feel a little lost.
That said, I think you may actually be too popular to have comments. Imagine if people were commenting on a current issue that was incredibly inflamatory. You could easily have thousands of comments. Who has time to read that?
January 18th, 2006 at 11:58 am
No comment section needed.
BTW - best part of latest strip: “It’s like the blue angels, but with pigs.”
January 18th, 2006 at 11:59 am
Tom / Dan -
I’m guessing that the comments thing will prove to be too much, but I wanted to take this rare opportunity to thank you for your work. I tear open our local indie weekly and immediately go to your cartoon before anything else. Plus, this blog was my introduction to blogs (that, and since I’m in a band with Glenn R’s brother, I checked out his site…whatever it’s called…back when it wasn’t so far right…you know, before it started making him money). Anyway, thanks again!
January 18th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Comment section tend to annoy me, as they are either breeding grounds for trolls or self-congratulatory back-patting. Both are pretty boring to read. So adding comments won’t change my habits that much.
That said, I just wanted to say that I’ve loved your strip for a long time and your site is a daily stop for me. Thanks so much for making the wordiest comic strip in existence. I appreciate it.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:04 pm
Just a note of encouragement. I love your cartoons, your web site is my home page, and Blinky and Sparky ornaments adorn my Christmas tree.
I also do a little blog, and I find that if I approach it as an obligation, I start to feel it’s just another chore that is no longer fun. If you need to be intermittent in your posting and moderating, so be it. It’s better to have some material from you here than none at all.
And not having comments is just fine. Who has time to read 374 comments on a post? I don’t, and I’m sure you don’t either. So much of it is just repetative dross or “yeah, right on” kind of stuff anyway.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:06 pm
Greetings Dan/Tom,
I frequently read articles on your website that I have a comment about. Sometimes it’s important enough, or I’m bored enough that I will email you about it. Not having comments means that my commentary remains generally unknown.
However, Bob stopped comments because only a small handful of regulars commented. Think Progress has comments and conversations generally fall into a few categories.
1) Arguing with Trolls. Of course Clinton started the trolling the Republicans are just doing what he did… Or something…
2) Relatively mindless commentary “Impeach Bush”
3) Comment Spam
4) Sensible conversations that have digressed and carry on a life of their own (O.K. I’m guilty of that)
5) Sensible conversations/arguments that actually are related to the topic at hand.
The problem is the first three. If you’re willing to put up with them then the other two are worthwhile.
Anyway, Thanks for the cartoons and the Blog. If the blog becomes too much of a pain for you then don’t do it for a while. You have enough resident guest bloggers that the blog could survive for a while without your input. It would be diminished, but it would survive.
Thank you for everything,
Z.
p.s. Has anyone asked you if you think that you look like a younger Norman Lovett? http://www.normanlovett.co.uk/
January 18th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Tom:
Please don’t, comment sections get tedious, and the trolls that haunt them even more. I love your site just like it is.
PS
IM-FUCKIN-PEACH!
January 18th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Don’t do it. I think your gut feeling is right. Comments probably will be a lot of trouble with no real payoff.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:15 pm
If you use StatCounter, you can set your threshold for the difference between a “unique” and “return” visitor — say, to twelve or 24 hours, rather than 1 or 2. You can also view the stats to see which days are heaps of individual hits versus tons of reloads or internal links. Then you can answer that question for yourself. I think unique hits are most telling.
As to what increases traffic, there are probably people who are either suspicious of or frustrated by sites that won’t let them react — whether it’s to point out a different link, fact-check, or just muse on the topic at hand (or, I suppose, pimp their blogs) — and you might get more visitors if they feel more engaged in the topic. However, I have to say that this cuts both ways; for example, the zillions of comments at Eschaton are so low in content-to-blather ratio that I rarely enter them, while the chewy discussions at, say, Alas a blog, are definitely part of the appeal. So it would very much depend on what sort of chat developed…
just my two cents.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
The thing about comments is that they are pretty much just like opinions, and you know what they say about opinions…
That being said…
Tom Tomorrow is without a doubt the most brilliant political analyst/cartoonist that this country has ever seen. Thank you for all of your hard work. Maybe one day we’ll see your animated cartoon on [adult swim]? If The Boondocks can make it work, so can you! :oD
Once again…thank you for everything.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
Unfiltered comments are just a pissing contest and just as worthwhile. If you’re going to open it up to comments, I’d say a “letters to the editor” -type approach is the only one that has value - which, of course, would mean you’d have to take the time to review them and select the ones you find worthwhile.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
I’m curious if this eats up any of your storage or anything else you r server provides. I have a good concept of what’s going on computer-wise, but never quite a complete picture….
Politically, if the Dems don’t get thier thumbs out of thier asses, I will disown them, not considering them a viable option to remove corrupt powers from our system. Hell, I may have to run for office. Noone wants that….
January 18th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
Thank you for sharing your comic genius with the rest of us. I have several of your comics posted on my office door. Don’t open this site to comments. It will only be a headache to you and won’t add much to the site. Keep it simple so that it stays sustainable for you. Keep up the good work! Humor is vitally important during times like this to avoid burnout.
Thanks again!
January 18th, 2006 at 12:39 pm
I’ve been reading your strip since 1992. Since I found the blog, there have been times I wished I could leave a comment, or read the comments of others, but it doesn’t happen all that often. The site works well as it is, and it’s the first thing I visit every day.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Dan/Tom -
The points are made in both directions here, but as Bob Harris once found, having a blog with open comments can be more work that it’s worth. Having been one of the ad-hoc gang of regular posters at bobharris.com who attempted to stomp on the trolls, and help Bob keep things sane, I can tell you, open comments are a “Belling The Cat” idea - nice, but who’s going to make it work?
While I have the chance, I’d like to thank you for your comic, and your blog. They help draw me back to sanity, in this country that currently is a billion miles away from the one I love and grew up in, America. Whatever happens, keep doing what you’re doing, please.
And please pass on the same sentiments to Bob Harris as well.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
“…Nothing really matters.
Anyone can see.
Nothing really matters to me…” - Freddie Mercury.
And neither do the replies…
I enjoy reading your missives because, come one, you’re AKA Tom Tomorrow…I bet most reply writers are more about ego tripping and wanting to sound important…
Besides, are you really going to read them all…will I???…probably not.
I say no replies and so does Freddie Mercury.
Also, I am sorry the blog is a weight around the neck. It is very important to me to read. Things get pretty isolated up here in the mountains of Western North Carolina especially news. I hope TMW is also not a heavy weight.
- Ben
January 18th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
Been a big fan for many years. Don’t worry about the trolls; the rest of us have a big can of whoopass ready for them. It’s called the truth, which we intend to wield with ruthlessness.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
This is just another place for me to go when i’m procrastinating, and I’m guessing the signal to noise ratio will be a little low. I almost prefer the pristine nature of the website as it was. But many people disagree with me, I think.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
In “computers” there are always intervals where we wait for the machine or for a job to run or a query to come back. Usually just enough time to peek at TMW. I check the site several times a day sometimes just to see if something’s new. The RSS feed doesn’t seem to work that way now (if it ever did). Having comments open gives room for thoughtful comments plus boilerplate talking point regurgitation which degenerates into flame wars. I don’t see the point of you spending bandwidth $$ on providing that venue since there are so many others.
Vaguely interestingly, my company’s firewall occasionally blocks TMW then it’s open again, seems to be random or due to a database refresh rather than any comment on content. Our firewall and its database is from a 3rd party. Apparently TMW is “adult material” and heaven forbid we employ adults at this company.
Cheers.
January 18th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
I am a little late getting to this, but I just wanted to say thanks to Tom for the strip and the site.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
Why make a fixed decision whether to or not? Why not jusy do it posts you feel require/would be better with the ability to comment on them?
As a random aside, and you being American, can I ask why the word ‘liberal’ seems to be an insult in the US of the same vein as ‘dickhead’ is here in the UK? This has bothered me for years, and I can never get a straight answer.
Nice site btw, informative and not (too) opinionated.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
Just had to get in. Love ya all.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:12 pm
You’d never get me to comment on an open thread.
Oops. Just did.
Anyway, comments will drive up traffic, especially if you get moonbats and wingnuts fighting it out, which often happens. Lots of vitriol, little content, usually ending up in name-calling.
What fun!
And to comment on the whole ‘Yoosta-Bees’ phenomena: If they’re going to go to the Dark Side for the “War on Intense, Overpowering Fear,” why not go all the way? If you sell your soul to the devil, why not enjoy all the benefits of being self-centered? Screw the poor–gimme all that I can! I’m going to hell anyway, might as well enjoy the ride.
Yeharr
January 18th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Enjoy the cartoon. Okay, here’s my $0.08:
a. Comments will certainly help increase your traffic.
b. This isn’t always a good thing. I love many of the writers on Huffington Post, I can’t stand to read the comments. They’ve got a really, really nasty Freeper troll invasion going on over there, which is a shame considering how smart and funny a writer Arianna is.
c. Having a site where posting comments depend on the reader being registered seems to help: Daily Kos requires (free) registration to post comments, and their troll traffic seems to be kept at a minimum.
d. You don’t *have* to keep up with comments posted to your site. That could easily turn into a 36-hour-per-day job. Learn to speed-read, perhaps.
January 18th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
I’ve been reading your blog since day 1 and never felt comments were needed. I’m worried it will give you that much more to read (even without spam and idiots posting) and take up more time than it’s worth. But it’s up to you.
Anyway, keep up the good work. Whatever you decide to do, you’ve got my full support. I love your cartoons and would hate to see the blog distract you from work or the rest of your life.