In just over two weeks from now, the Blackpool Evening Gazette is to launch an all-new website which promises to subvert the actions of the infamous comment deleters.
It’s been a problem ever since the comments system was introduced: if the article is remotely contentious, readers can abuse the anonymity granted by the current system and set about deleting all of the comments in order to put across a biased perspective.
I am told that Fylde Borough councillors have been instructed how to do this by IT boffins so that they can remove comments that portray the council in a bad light. Hopefully this new website will allow readers to express their opinions without what boils down to rampant state-sponsored censorship.
As a sneak preview, you can see the Lancashire Evening Post’s new site here. The Gasjet will be based on the same framework.
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Will it actually work though?
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They seem to think so. I haven’t joined or tried the LEP site so I’m not sure what’s different – perhaps they’ve just removed the option for people to delete.
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Good find Phil, and I’m loving the new site header as well.
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I still dont trust that paper, no way.Theres only one site: Philtheone.
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I certainly hope it bloody well works because I am unarguably the biggest victim of malicious deletions by these fascist idiots who won’t let me have a say. I have done nothing wrong so hopefullly this will stop this once and for all.
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You are doing great on here TB, fuck the gazette, its toilet paper.
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Thanks Harold, but the long overdue revamp makes me want to comment on the Gasjet evenmore because now the Gasjet administrators can’t keep selectively not restoring my comments because they will not get removed because they are not unsuitable to begin with.
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I suspect anti WBC and Anti Caloows remarks will be censored.
I hope you get your way TB, you deserve it.
LIEBOUR OUT 2010!
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I don’t believe anti-Callow comments are censored, The Gazette is clearly pro-Labour. The word ‘Liebour’ is on their filter as an ‘unsuitable’ word, someone from Labour Party HQ has clearly had a word with them. Also I have had comments about Marsden ‘Removed by Administrator’. I got a leaflet from Marsden today entitled ‘Re-elect Marsden’ and it was nothing but negative campaigning and him claiming credit for the council’s hard work. He was trying to claim credit for the Tower and Winter Gardens purchase and hypocritically claims he is lobbying to return a full post office service to Abingdon St, this is coming from the MP who helped to close it down. He also keeps referring to himself in the article as ‘a full time MP’, yeah full-time who doesn’t even live in Blackpool. Funny how the article made no mention of Brighton his true home.
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Gordon Marsden is in a play as a man who could speak to animals: “Dr DoNOTHING”
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Get real, the Gazette and Johnston Press is pro-making money and anti-spending money, that’s their only agenda and that’s why they’re getting rid of their best staff while making multi-million pound profits and doubling the top boss’s pay. Whatever system they use will only work if there are people there who have it as part of their jobs to vet the web comments one by one and, since they’re getting rid of the people best qualified to do that nad making everyone else do more work that’s unlikely to happen.
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Find me a business that isn’t pro-making money and anti-spending money!
I hope their forthcoming system isn’t based on what you say. The debate will be stymied if all comments have to be approved first; this would be even worse than the current system!
Let’s face it, most comments on there are fine. The only reason people abuse the current system is because they can. If they knew that every time they clicked “report abuse” that rather than delete the comment it flagged it up to an administrator, I think they would be less inclined to do it. Once the admin has approved a comment, it should then take away the ability to report (as happens now).
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Exactly – but whatever system you use, it needs human input to be effective and you can’t have that if you ain’t employing any humands.
The point about being pro-making money was more of a counterpoint to the suggestions that the Gazette has specific political leanings. Its only agenda is that of a business.
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The current Gazette site is a based on a template used by local papers right across the Country.
Whereas popular bloggers have access to the wordpress platform to present their work these papers also work to a standard!! I suspect this was always the main issue when it came to putting deleted comments back in as it had to be done manually by an editor sat in the gasjet offices. Clearly the paper could still be sued for libel if someone posted untruths about a person so some sort of control is required.
As to how that will play out we will have to wait and see but it must be an improvement on what we currently have!!
I wouldn’t expect them to go live with it until after the election…. To many anti Marsden posts would get through otherwise.
Hey has anyone seen Hamish out campaigning anywhere? Is he even in town?
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