FiveThirtyEight.com: Politics Done Right: Comments Now Require Registration

Monday, July 28, 2008

Comments Now Require Registration

Registration is easy. If you have a google or OpenID account of any kind, you're already registered. Otherwise, you can sign up for a Google account here.

Our comment policy is four words long: Don't. Be. An. Asshole.

214 comments

Nate said...: test; July 28, 2008 8:57 PM
counsellorben said...: Nate,

Thank you.

The site was becoming a victim of its own success. Perhaps the comments will once again rise to the level of the content and analysis you put into it.; July 28, 2008 8:59 PM
John said...: Yes! Good idea, Nate. Thank you!; July 28, 2008 8:59 PM
Diane said...: Great idea and great policy. The work that goes into this is amazing, and some of the comments detracted.; July 28, 2008 9:03 PM
sniperct said...: Thank you so much. I don't comment much but I read lots, and it was getting atrocious.; July 28, 2008 9:04 PM
junebugamy said...: Thanks! Look forward to some civil discussion; July 28, 2008 9:04 PM
Russell said...: I really appreciate this measure. Trying to sift through the noise in the comments to get any signal is tough, but it's helpful as there are some incredibly insightful and well-informed readers here.

And Karl Rove.; July 28, 2008 9:05 PM
Tybalt said...: I can't thank you enough, for the registration and the comments policy, which is perfect.; July 28, 2008 9:05 PM
Oldnovice said...: Thanks.; July 28, 2008 9:05 PM
Matt said...: About time. Good move Nate!; July 28, 2008 9:05 PM
lkatrell said...: Thanks, Nate. I'm a lurker and have become disheartened recently by the nutty commenters/trollers that the increased popularity of your site has attracted.; July 28, 2008 9:07 PM
McFloat said...: bravo

though this in no way guarantees a return to civil discussion; July 28, 2008 9:07 PM
sugerfunk said...: Good idea. I understand why you resisted for so long in the interest of free speech at any cost, but the trolls (on both sides of the partisan divide, mind you) were really coming out to play.; July 28, 2008 9:08 PM
Kristan said...: Great call! I'm always in favor of accountability on the Internet.

P.S. I love your statistical approach. Definitely interesting distributions. Math Geeks UNITE!; July 28, 2008 9:09 PM
Dan said...: Thank you thank you thank you thank you!; July 28, 2008 9:09 PM
Robby said...: This is the best thing to happen to 538 since...well, since 538 started.; July 28, 2008 9:09 PM
HLB1886 said...: Also a test; July 28, 2008 9:12 PM
MATT J. H. said...: Although this will by no means stop the trolling and disappointing posts, it is a step in the right direction.; July 28, 2008 9:13 PM
unertl said...: test.

Thanks for requiring registration, Nate. You should still consider having moderators though.; July 28, 2008 9:13 PM
JRoyale said...: I love "Don't. Be. An. Asshole." policies. Sadly, they are ripe for abuse. Hopefully, tho' it will delay the inevitable slide to DailyKos moderation type system.

And as a 538 newbie, damn fine job all.; July 28, 2008 9:15 PM
joshua said...: nice idea.; July 28, 2008 9:15 PM
musicman said...: Brilliant! Thanks Nate.; July 28, 2008 9:15 PM
Brad said...: Thanks! I will miss arguing with Karl Rove though...; July 28, 2008 9:16 PM
SarahLawrenceScott said...: VOTE FOR MY CANDIDATE!

YOUR GUY SUCKS!

YOU'RE ALL JERKS!

Just kidding. I figured I'd better get it out of my system now, while there was an appropriate thread. :)

Seriously, aside from discouraging some low-information posts, this will also make it easier to address each other in comments--no more anon@5:32!; July 28, 2008 9:17 PM
ajbeecroft said...: That being the case, I'll switch to my Google ID, which is pretty close to the ID I've been using here (ajb).

Troll dynamics would make an interesting field of study, I think.; July 28, 2008 9:17 PM
jakam said...: It won't stop the trolling, but it will remove all of the "Anon @ 7:15"..."Anon @ 7:43" ... "Anon @ 8:02" quoting confusion.

It's good if only for that!; July 28, 2008 9:18 PM
sdf said...: I agree with the comments above, it had gotten ugly indeed here.

I will miss, however, trying to determine which Anonymous is which.

-- Stu; July 28, 2008 9:18 PM <

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Monday, July 28, 2008

Comments Now Require Registration

214 comments