I wrote this diary about three months ago about automatic tip jars, which continued a crusade I had begun on my previous account. With "auto-frakkin-matic Tip Jars" now in effect, I think it's only appropriate to say thanks and to acknowledge the well-intended (even if not always genteel) opposition of those who disagreed.
This is, absolutely, an abusable system -- but that simply puts an onus on us not to abuse it and to call out abuse where it occurs. The benefits, not only for weeding out trolls, but to keep people from having to count to 300 seconds before commenting if there's no tip jar (update: and to never have to hear the phrase "jumped the tip jar" here again), will be great. Soon, we'll wonder why this didn't happen a long time ago.
Mostly, though, I want to say thanks to the Overlord (or as I would prefer to call him, the "community organizer.") This shows an active awareness of and concern for the welfare of the community. As someone who spends way too much time here and care way too much about the welfare of this grand socio-political experiment in collaborative media and organizing, I am thrilled to see this degree and quality of interest in improving our site.
And, of course, I also wanted to post a poll.