No matter how pure the science should be, politics always manages to butt into the picture.
This is a developing story, and from the standpoint of news, the who, what and where of what I write here will be outdated by the time it is published.…
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
Article comments
26 - roger nowosielski
Yes, take them fucking adds off. It's an unwelcome interruption. And try to make it continuous, so that when you click on the recent comment in "Recent Comments" section, you're directed to that comment and not page one. This is basics.
Also, make "Fresh Comments" default - and filter all those so as to eliminate the bullshit that goes on on other sites you're not interested in.
Easy navigation is the ticket. The designers should be users rather than proxies for the advertisers. We are the ones who make this site "happen." So let's keep this little inconvenient fact in mind.
27 - The Obnoxious American
Might I suggest that we give Change a chance? BC needs to make money, and what's a few ads among friends. It might even be good to click on one or three of them to keep the revenue going so we can keep this wonderful thing going.
Note, I don't work for the site and will not gain from any ad revenue :>
I think the redesign is GREAT. I mean this is a major improvement over what it was. The old design was, how shall i put this, "retro" :>
The new design is smart bright, colorful. It makes us look better. Trust me on that.
It's not perfect though, and here is my short list of issues with it:
1) Technocrati Monster errors, the errors need to be resolved, but that error message needs to be changed as well, especially because of how often it occurs.
2) Might make sense to use a different server for admin than for regular traffic, so that an overload of traffic to the site does not mess up bloggers trying to post their articles - right now I think it's all one server doing two tasks. But this might be expensive
3) Bring back the "Fresh Comments" page in one way or another
4) Show more than 20 comments per page, in fact, allow for sticky options such as alwasy show all comments, or show the latest first. Right now, I find I keep needing to select show latest. I liked it when it was all one list, but truth be told it was unweildy.
And BTW, nice, if not somewhat paranoid article Ruvy. I'm sure you will join me in hoping you and Dr Niman are wrong.
28 - Clavos
OA, Thanks for your input in re the new site. We editors are compiling observations /complaints from writers and commenters and forwarding them to the tech gurus.
A change in a site that is as massive as this change has been usually is buggy at first, but in this case the techies are literally working around the clock on their prioritized list, and already some of the major bugs are history, example: you may have noticed that it's been a pretty good while since the last time the Monster got out of his cage?
And the beat goes on...
29 - Dr Dreadful
OA and Clav, agreed: give it time.
The new design will take some getting used to and looks, ironically, more 'bloggy' than the old one; but I hope most of the regulars who've initially been put off will return eventually.
The technorarchy is taking all the comments and bug notifications on board, and before too long the site will have returned to a level of functionality that pleases most people.
Think of it as moving to a new house: the basic structure is in place, but everything isn't the way you want it yet and the to-do list of home improvements and repairs is a mile long. It's daunting right now, but we'll get there!
30 - The Obnoxious American
I totally agree. And let me reiterate, I love the new design. People are always going to be reacting in a negative way to change but you need to push through with the vision. BC is REAL CHANGE that I believe in!
And these minor issues (they are minor - even technically the site is more functional, just has failures once in a while) will get resolved, there's no doubt in my mind about that.
Make sure to buy those hard working tech guys some beers tonite, good, high alcohol beers, mind you. They deserve it.
31 - roger nowosielski
OA, Clavos, even Doc (sorry to say):
You're just displaying a herd instinct - not a most desirable trait IMHO.
Everyone knows about the difficulties of making a transition of this size, and the time it will take. It's this kiss-ass attitude that I find so silly, whether you're "working" for the organization or not.
All the "negative" feedback should be just as important as the pats on the back, more so perhaps, because it's born of frustration. We all want BC to work, so please take it in stride rather than being on the defensive. Your political attitudes might be showing, not that some of you care one way or another.
I apologize for this "group address" but in this case it's convenient. And have a good day, all of yous.
32 - roger nowosielski
And OA - that's just for you, because you're plugging for the advertisers.
Again, it is us who make this site make money - not the techies or the designers. If we pull out enmasse, it's gonzo.
33 - Joanne Huspek
I understand the need for ads, it powers the site, but when they're in between the comments it's hard to get used to.
I belonged to another social network site (not Facebook) who took such a dramatic turn that it turned everyone off. Then they kept updating every couple of months and it was hard to keep up. It's necessary for upgrades, but don't be unfriendly to the users.
As long as BC doesn't go off the deep end, I'll still be here. And it hasn't, because even a dummy like me figured it out.
OH! One positive: no notifications jamming my email inbox. I get enough mail as it is.
34 - Ruvy
Shavua Tov,
I have no objections to the additional ads. A publication has to make money, and if it doesn't charge a subscription fee, then ads are the way to go. Blogcritics is a business, not a charity. MY big problems come with the "backend issues" coming to the front of the house so often, though it seems to have been a bit better lately. If I had run a Burger King this way, my boss would have kicked me out on my ass. My second big issue is that I would like to know A) which articles are drawing the most readers, and B) how many readers am I drawing.
These are points I have already raised with Eric Olsen and Phil Winn (Olsen & Co.) I heard back from Dawn, asking for patience. I suspect that Phil Winn would curse me out at this stage....
Enough whining about the site, however.
I tried not to make the tone of this article alarmist. Had I perfumed it with false optimism, I would have been whistling past the graveyard and encouraging all of you to do the same. That is not fair.
The bottom line, however, is that this is serious business, and it does appear to be a repeat of the 1918 Spanish Flu. Now, of course, lots of things are different today from 90 years ago, but the swine flu has no medicine that will treat it. Aggressive responses are what are needed to keep this thing under control, to the degree that this is possible. At this point, aggressive responses are easier as there are not enough people sick and dying to cause panic in the halls of power.
Nevertheless, the question is, if this disease is indeed a replay of the 1918 pandemic, will it return with a fatal vengeance in the fall, and will a vaccine for it have been developed by then?
One hopes for a "no" to the first question, and a "yes" to the second question. But sometimes G-d answers "no" when we all desire and feel we want "yes". Anyone who has lost a child to illness or to miscarriage understands this very very well.
35 - Ruvy
Just a thought. I labeled this as news, though I do not see anything to indicate that label here. I do believe that there may well be religious issues to be dealt with; if you believe, as I do, that G-d runs the universe, naturally there are these issues; but a news article dealing with evolution, etiology and presentation of a possibly murderous pandemic is not the appropriate forum to address those issues. Otherwise, I should be no different nor better than the politicians whom I believe are massaging numbers and deliberately putting out false information that is too optimistic.
An example is to be found in Friday's edition of Arutz Sheva. There, the Ministry of Health claimed that there were no longer cases of swine flu in Israel. But, as one read the article, one saw that over twenty people who had arrived from Mexico were in quarantine at the airport clinic. Information on their conditions was not released. All this may have changed over the last 28 hours or so. To be truthful, I have not checked yet. But as of Friday afternoon, right before Shabbat, that was the situation.
36 - Ruvy
I just checked Ynetnews, and there is an additional case of swine flu diagnosed here, (no clear word on the condition of the other two individuals) and we start to see the massaging of the numbers in the article. At one point, the article claims that only 16 people have died in Mexico, at another, it says 168 and says that these numbers may be inflated.
The article has very much the tone of scared shitless kids whistling past the graveyard. The Mexican government very much has the tone of a bunch of scared shitless kids whistling past the graveyard.
It may be that the swine flu lacks the genetic staying power of past bugs, but it should be remembered that the 1918 flu was also mild in its first appearance. So we still need to wait and see. The champagne can be popped if it does not return in October with a vengeance. Till then all celebrations are premature.
But zing, if you want to go to a crowded bar and get shit-faced, go ahead.
37 - Ruvy
It might be helpful for you all to read this item from Recombinomics from 29 April.
Time to hit the sack.
38 - Ruvy
While all of you are arguing about torture and such bullshit, the swine flu is jumping from humans to swine and back again. That makes for a dangerous epidemic. You read the optimistic reports and think, "oh, everything will be just fine". Doesn't look like that to me....
39 - the Director
In the ten years we have been studying sulfur "a food" none of our Study members have reported any flu.
Intracellular oxygen is the key and sulfur enables the transport of oxygen across the cell membrane. piggy flu is a sham, but sulfur has also demonstrated the ability to protect those who agree to vaccinate or are forced to do so.
The Cellular Matrix Study
Body Human Project