Welcome to the first anniversary edition of Top Comments. I want to tell you how really excited I am to be writing tonight’s diary. I want to explain further why I really feel honored that I am writing the first anniversary Top Comments diary, but first I want to take you offline with me for a moment to show a point I’m trying to make better than I can explain it.
It’s Tuesday night. I’m sitting at Waffle House with my blog mate WVaBlue (Clem at West Virginia Blue) and a political candidate and his yet unpaid staffer. We’re at a booth. Nearly every day going back to 2006, Clem and I have worked to defeat a certain Congressional candidate. When her opponent we supported lost, we congratulated her and began on Nov. 8, 2006 to lay the groundwork for the 2008 race. Really. Dedicating one to three hours a day to the cause. At least once a month we meet at Waffle House to discuss issues... I digress, but for a reason. We always met at Waffle House so the symbolism of meeting with the guy was important to us even though he was just featured in the New York Times as a top tier candidate and was quoted in The Economist for his views on alternative fuels. Back to the point, we’re sitting there with the candidate discussing things and the conversation is going well. Our plates are in front of us from late suppers (I had chopped steak covered with cheese and onions, hashbrowns scattered, and salad. Clem always orders pecan waffles. Always. He brings his own maple syrup.) We made it clear we didn’t expect to agree with him on every issue, but at a point in the conversation, sometime around the second or third hour, we got onto a social issue. He stated his position. Clem and I exchanged a look. Neither of us had to say anything, but our bullshit meters went off. I made my points quietly, but succinctly. Clem chimed in at times with his. In probably two minutes, I totally took the guy’s point, spun it on its head and made a convincing case for why he should support the view on the social issue held by Clem and me. There was a fast back and forth. But when I finished, he sat back and you could see on his face the light go on. "We kicked your ass using your terms for the debate, using your own argument against you," Clem said to the Rhodes scholar. It was a good moment. The conversation went on for hours on different issues, from blogging to alternative fuels. It would have went on all night I suspect, but at 1 a.m. I said I had to go home to sleep to get to work the next day.
Why is that story important for me for this anniversary edition? Because I could not have kept up with the conversation yet alone made an important point and possibly converted someone on an issue very important to me without my experience reading comments in diaries and posting my own thoughts.
The exchange of ideas and the fast back and forth debates in comments here on Daily Kos and other blogs hone our skills for the real world. The blogs are creating an army of activists, who are passionate, intelligent, and determined. And we’re not just posting our thoughts online. We’re going out into the world to change it and make it a better place.
When I posted the first Top Comments diary, then called Commentary Central I wrote:
The quality of the work done by the people on this site is astounding.
Snip
Highlight informative, funny, interesting comments that might not have been seen. Some of the best comments are posted at the end of a diary and readers might miss them because they've moved on to the next diary. Other comments might be posted in little read diaries and hence overlooked. The comments that I pick will be subjective of course. And since I don't read every comment in every diary, this is where other people will have to post links to other comments in the thread.
Snip
This might be the hardest part to implement, but I hope this diary becomes a nightly feature. And I don't want to post it every night. What I hope is that others volunteer to do it. In particular, I'm thinking the best volunteers will be those who aren't people well-known on DailyKos for diaries, but who comment often and read quite a few diaries. In other words, for those of you who have been lurking, but have been wanting to get more involved now that YearlyKos is over, this could be the perfect feature for you. I am a strong believer that DailyKos is only going to survive and thrive if new voices continue to be developed. When I was new to DailyKos and we had two diaries a day, I often used up both of my diary allotments. I was even fortunate enough to have two diaries on the recommended list at the same time a time or two. But now I limit myself (usually, last week being an exception) to two diaries a week. I have had the fortunate of getting a good number of my diaries on the recommended list and "Carnacki" is well enough known here that if I wrote more diaries, I'd probably get more on. DailyKos doesn't need that. We need to encourage and develop fresh voices.
That is the part I’m most proud of achieving. The people who make up the Top Comments team are wonderful diarists. Top Comments has brought new voices to the fore and the site is stronger and better for it.
A side benefit to the Top Comments diaries – and one unforeseen by me when I began the feature, Top Comment diaries have become a community in their own right – a place where people can go at the end of the day and relax or to catch up on what has happened in other diaries if they didn’t have the chance to visit the site. It’s been called a night-time version of Cheers and Jeers with only Cheers. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to keep the diaries on schedule and to produce them. Even though I’m not as active on Daily Kos as I in the past because of my focus on West Virginia Blue, I’m still on the email list. There’s not a finer bunch of people to be friends with online than the Top Comments Crew.
Like Dr. Frankenstein, I did not know exactly what I was creating when I began the series at this moment a year ago. But like Dr. Frankenstein, I shout with maniacal joy: "It’s alive! It’s alive!"
Here is the spot where normally the Top Comments diarist posts his or her favorite comments of the day and those sent in by other people to TopComments AT gmail DOT com (include your Dkos handle for credit for sending it in).
But tonight, if I can be indulged for this, I’m going to post just one comment from one kossack. When station wagon passed away, many remembered her fondly for her thoughtful and intelligent and generous comments. To mark the one year anniversary of Top Comments, I want to highlight her last.
I love you too, x (3+ / 0-)
really do. You are a treasure.
In order to hide their embezzlement behind a posse of demented hicks, Republicans' slogans must be short and superstitious. Grand Moff Texan
by station wagon on Sun Apr 01, 2007 at 09:29:24 PM EDT
The relationships we create here are real and they are important.
Per request, here are some emails from Top Comments regulars on their thoughts on Top Comments as a series and some of their favorite threads:
From Light Emitting Pickle:
I'm a long-time dkos lurker, who, as jotter is wont to mention, never really went beyond the FP. Well, I finally signed up for an account in late October and ventured into the diaries. I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of diaries and comments per day. I found that I couldn't keep up with the site content and felt I couldn't really comment unless I'd read all the comments, by which point another 50+ comments had been added, many of which likely said what I had originally intended to say. So I didn't comment much and I found myself lost in most discussions. Until I found Top Comments.
My initial foray into TC-land was to get a synopsis of the day's events.
Through this, I was able to identify certain diarists and commenters whose point of view and insight I appreciated. So, I clicked on the TC link each night to get a sense of what was going on. And then one day, I came across a curious name in top mojo: Light Emitting Pickle. Me? Surely enough, I had made it into TC.
I quickly wrote a comment
to say how happy I was to be included. I received a number of warm replies, saying that I should stop by again. And I did. And eventually I realized there was also a diary attached to TC (stop laughing). So I started reading the diary, too. And then one day, I joined the TC crowd. I now go to TC to say hi to my dkos friends and to relax. I've very much enjoyed all my conversations with folks in TC. I still read through the comments, though I'm now much better at being able to follow the site.
I won't be showing up until later this evening - I'm off to meet my MLA
(equivalent of a state representative) this evening! W00t! But I have to
provide a link to one of the funniest comment threads EVAH, started off by TC regular begone
. Heh
From BeninSC:
I began on dKos with a clear objective. I wanted to find a home for myself in this progressive blog. I had tried to dialogue with other Kossacks, but didn't find anyone who was looking for the same thing. Then, I read Carnacki's invitation. No other diary seriesnseemed to offer a chance to build a mini-community within the blog. "Hosting" online comes very naturally to me, after many years of doing that. Though diary comments aren't the most efficient real-time chat environment, the intelligence of the TC team and contributors made it work. I found my home, my friends.
I am personally proudest of how consistently Top Comments focuses on "TOP" comments, to lift and elevate the debate, rather than some of the bottom-feeding comments we may encounter. It isn't possible for poor/bad/destructive/trollish comments to receive little enough attention, but TC always shines the spotlight on comments which deserve the attention.
My thanks to Carnacki for 'hiring' me, to the TC diarists for their endless wit, intelligence, compassion and creativity, and to all of TC's incredible commenters.
You MAKE Top Comments, you make the Daily Kos, and your energy helps every day to make this a better, more progressive world.
From va dare:
I lurked around Daily Kos for over a year before finally registering in February 2006. I was very hesitant about writing diaries, in awe of the mighty Hunter and georgia10 and other brilliant writers on this site. I had, however, become noted for reading (a LOT of) diaries, making the top of jotter's weekly list of top readers/recommenders for several weeks in a row. Maybe that's how BeninSC got the
idea to ask me to help out the first week of July when TC was still in its infancy - I guess he figured I didn't have much of a social life (he was right) if I had time to read 300+ diaries every week.
After my first two attempts at Top Comments that first week of July, I think BeninSC began to regret asking me - yeah, I still have all those e-mails in which he beseeched me to quit taking this task so seriously!
I'm very proud and yet humble about this TC project - we've a great team that is very supportive of each other and willing to pitch in and help as circumstances change and/or complications arise.
In last night's diary, I promised you PIE! So here it is - the TC diarists pie-chart:
From Elise:
Top Comments has become so many things to me. It's a place to
hang out with friends, a place to relax after a stressful day, a place to
celebrate the best, brightest, funniest, etc. comments of each day (as
submitted by any Kossack), and it's a place to discuss such a wide variety
of topics. I'm always pleased to find fun TC diaries, action TC diaries,
personal TC diaries, serious TC diaries, TC diaries with lovely
pictures...etc. TC has become a great niche in the DKos community and I'm
happy that I have a place in that.
From kath25:
Hi Carnacki,To me, Top Comments is the best of DailyKos, not only in terms of recognizing great contributions to the larger conversation on the site, but in terms of realizing community and building genuine relationships. I have learned a tremendous amount about different people and others' experiences across DailyKos,
but it has been in Top Comments where this has most expanded into the formation of friendships. The nightly gathering and conversation, the sharing of stories and support, has allowed me to get to know people beyond the sharp political commentary that tends to dominate the rest of the website. It's funny how people that I consider dear friends may be known to me only by their username, but what we share is so much more significant. This experience, both in Top Comments and across DailyKos, has had a tangible impact on my offline life as well. Making friends with
so many different people that I would never have encountered otherwise has not only widened my perspective, but inspired me to want to continue branching out. Members of the Top Comments community tend to be extraordinarily compassionate and concerned. The level of caring I see is just remarkable -- not only in terms of honoring the fine contributions to the site by nominating comments, but the concern exhibited for each other, and humanity, the animal kingdom, and the planet as a
whole. What I see in Top Comments is illustrative of the best that liberalism and progressive politics has to offer. I think this compassion rubs off on the entire DailyKos community. I hope that it has rubbed off on me. ---there you go!
From Cronesense:
A list of 28 diaries and 758 selected comments I
selected for them is my contribution to Top Comments since
September. Those were the numbers I toted up today and I went
through my list of diaries counting comments.
I was first attracted to Top Comments as a means to get to know who
was who at the site. In the morning I used jotter's
diaries to manage the incredible quantity while seeking the quality
of this site. I noticed the warm friendly atmosphere in Top Comments
but was much too new to feel comfortable about chiming in until one
day, quite by surprise, I saw that one of my comments had been
selected. I thanked the diarist that night and all of a sudden,
BeninSC, gloriana and va
dare were chatting with me! After that each evening I
waited for the diary to post and each evening met more fine people to
chat with.
One night, I posted my first STORYTIME diary and my TC friends were there to
give me warm support. About a month later BeninSC and gloriana asked if I would help out by
doing some TC diaries to give all the people working hard on the
election a break. After much hand holding and technical support from
BeninSC my first TC diary debuted in the middle of
September 2006.
I poured over the pages today and looked for some of my favorite
comments from the 28 diaries. There was just no way I could pick and
choose just a couple as so many were outstanding. My favorite
diaries to write were the wordplay diaries as they challenged me and
showed what other posters could do with the language too. I enjoyed
doing the Christmas Day Top Comments that explained how I found and
mixed comments. Over the weeks I tried a number of subjects and I
thank all who were patient and accepting of my efforts. I have many
fine memories stored of evenings spent in the threads of the TC
diaries to decant for the rest of my days.
I am proud to have contributed a February's worth to the year of Top
Comments and thank Carnacki for coming up with the
concept that opened a door to Koslandia for me.
From Carolita:
For me, Top Comments is about community. Diaries are the starting point for conversations, but the comments are where community is built. In comments we see the breadth and depth of knowledge and passion, expertise and personality that make dKos a thriving community. I rarely read a posting without also reading the comments because they provide the richness that rounds out the conversation.
So when Carnacki asked for volunteers for Top Comments, I knew it was a
place that I could contribute to our community -- an opportunity to give
back in some small way. But I have gained so much more from participating
than I could ever hope to give. The Top Comments team is one of the greatest groups of individuals I have ever had the priviledge to work with in my 30 years of professional work. They are -- each and every one -- intelligent, amazingly gifted in many ways, caring, concerned, and always supportive and willing to help out. And they are a hell of a lot of fun.
And through the nightly diaries I have gotten to know a wider group of
really great folks. I have learned so much from posters -- from wiscmass'
wonderful recipes to robyn's insightful poems and essays. We come to share
puppy pics and kid pics and kitty pics, and become friends. Top Comments
reminds me of the Friday night parties we had every week in college.
Sometimes a few folks, sometimes a lot, hanging out at someones house for awhile, talking about the events of the day, happenings in our families, and building a support system.
From cskendrick:
Top Comments doubled the number of numbers on my cell phone.
NO, really! I reads like a Who's Who of TC!!!
I count 10 numbers on the active roster, know of one other that's gone
inactive due to an old grudge that I will probably never recover from, and I have just added one more number to the cell phone team...yay! I will test it out during TC!
Now this might sound silly and inane but ..hm....
well, yeah, it is. I am a silly goof. I have been called worse but the point is that in you guys, in starting up with the Top Comments scene, I found fellow travellers not just in politics but in mirth.
And I found that at just the time I needed it most.
You have always been the most supportive of friends. I was skeptical at
first just how deep a tie could be forged while posting and picking comments from the day's catch, and making jokes about w00ts and cilantro and blogcrushes galore and never mind the runaway sexual innuendo which, pity, drove one poor poster insane....with pleasure we would like to say
but,...oh, heck. We will just say that is what happened. :)
And my phone list has doubled as a result of it.
I have had the pleasure of the past year of actually meeting a lot of you,
and ...perhaps this is the most wonderful gift that came my way:
You guys helped me find a cousin I never knew I had -- Noweasels.
And in a more important way, you helped me -- quite a few of you --- to find myself again.
For I had been lost in a dark desert, and your mirth, your friendship, and--yes-- your hugs and love were invaluable to me.
So, sucks to be you, but I am sticking around now. :)
From monkeybiz:
"[M]aybe we're light-weight (content wise) in relation to IGTNT or other regular features but we still fill a much-needed niche."
Some nights, TC is where I go so I can stop thinking about death and grief. It's very much needed. And appreciated.
Monkeybiz
Those are the special emails. Here's tonight's nominations:
From trashablanca:
This diary had oodles of great comments, but this one didn't get the attention it deserved, imo: If we waited for the realists by Briney Remark in the most excellent diary: A Response to Chairman Conyers by Rusty1776.
Thanks kids!
From teacherken:
On my diary A different approach to evaluating students which was posted on Wednesday, this was posted today (Thursday) by George Wood, one of the authors of the proposal about which I was writing in the diary.
From Elise:
Silly by cjallen made me chortle. LOL
[About rural voters]
First recommendation ever from Lineatus:
I assume the presidential seal...
From va dare:
In Elise's diary On ratings abuse, start with this by Firefly Finally - but it's JoeW's reply that really got me. I spewed cold beverage all over my keyboard and NOW MY CAPS LOCK IS STUCK.
And this follow-up (to va dare's recommentation) by Land of Enchantment:
I'd be honored! by JoeW.
Here's tonight's Top Mojo (thanks BeninSC):
Top Mojo - excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments and C&J comments:
1 I apologize by John Kerry - 92
2 That was the case early on ... by Meteor Blades - 86
3 Guess by Moody Loner - 86
4 Our congresscritters by mjd in florida - 76
5 and this is the crux... by MotleyPatriot - 74
6 good story? maybe not, but by clammyc - 72
7 That's Terrible by Andrew C White - 65
8 Don't be afraid by Ex Con - 65
9 Gee, why would you say that? by jetskreemr - 59
10 Live in a house by theark - 59
11 Thors day 6/14!! by Predictor - 57
12 I think the committes are afraid by Boston Boomer - 56
13 Mine is JeffLieber, which is... by JeffLieber - 56
14 not going to happen by fugue - 55
15 And now some would have us by dengre - 55
16 It's just a reflection by Helena Handbag - 55
17 And a big thank by Jerome a Paris - 54
18 When I'm talking to my parents in the US... by Plutonium Page - 54
19 It's my name... by JuniperLea - 54
20 Are you reopening the civility wars? ;-) by Dallasdoc - 53
21 shades of the past.... by undercovercalico - 52
22 Klaus is a liar by FishOutofWater - 50
23 No deeper meaning, really by Spit - 49
24 It means I couldn't think of anything better. by DH from MD - 48
25 since you ask... by Shahryar - 48
26 Well by Populista - 48
27 The third way might be dead.... by brianinca - 47
28 I Love Penguins by penguins4peace - 47
29 supposedly by Turkana - 46
30 You are absolutely right, by Got a Grip - 46
Top Mojo - everything included:
1 oh, and, just in case: by Turkana - 314
2 tips, flames, rants... n/t by MotleyPatriot - 283
3 Tips? by Randian - 259
4 Tip Jar - 14 June by Jerome a Paris - 233
5 Tips and recommends by jhritz - 204
6 Tip Jar. (n/t) by FWIW - 199
7 Tips... by Elise - 174
8 Tip jar by The Angry Rakkasan - 145
9 Urinal/ Spittoon by The Baculum King - 133
10 Tips / Mojo: 14 June 2007 by A Siegel - 117
11 tips/appeals by seesdifferent - 115
12 Tips? by R o o k - 94
13 I apologize by John Kerry - 92
14 Tip Jar by truong son traveler - 90
15 That was the case early on ... by Meteor Blades - 86
16 Guess by Moody Loner - 86
17 Tip Jar by John Kerry - 81
18 Our congresscritters by mjd in florida - 76
19 and this is the crux... by MotleyPatriot - 74
20 good story? maybe not, but by clammyc - 72
21 Tips for real change? n/t by TomP - 68
22 That's Terrible by Andrew C White - 65
23 Don't be afraid by Ex Con - 65
24 Gee, why would you say that? by jetskreemr - 59
25 Hat-tip, cheers, jeers, or other... by va dare - 59
26 Live in a house by theark - 59
27 Thors day 6/14!! by Predictor - 57
28 Cheers to Thursday--and only a year and a half by blue jersey mom - 56
29 I think the committes are afraid by Boston Boomer - 56
30 Mine is JeffLieber, which is... by JeffLieber - 56