Of course, there is no limit to the number of ways to find good comments on Daily Kos. Most of us probably just encounter them (or not) in the course of our daily 'travels' through the blog, in reading diaries in our 'stream,' for example.
Those of us who 'mine' for nightly TC diaries usually have our favorite strategies for finding them. Carnacki, Top Comments' founder, liked to browse the comment recommendation history of Susan Gardner and Joan McCarter (for example) for comments they (with their busy schedules!) found worthy of recommendation!
More below! But, first, a word from our sponsor ...
Top Comments recognizes the previous day's Top Mojo and strives to promote each day's outstanding comments through nominations made by Kossacks like you. Please send comments (before 9:30pm ET) by email to topcomments@gmail.com or by our KosMail message board. Just click on the Spinning Top to make a submission. Look for the Spinning Top to pop up in diaries around Daily Kos.
Make sure that you include the direct link to the comment (the URL), which is available by clicking on that comment's date/time. Please let us know your Daily Kos user name if you use email so we can credit you properly. If you send a writeup with the link, we can include that as well. The diarist reserves the right to edit all content.
Please come in. You're invited to make yourself at home! Join us beneath the fleur de kos...
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My preferred method is to do comment searches on what I call 'flagging' comments, that is, comments by other Kossacks that seem to indicate this or that comment is worthy of merit. I wrote about it in a diary in June. It is very rare that I have time to search for flagging comments in any systematic way, I'm sorry to say. If I am around on a given night, I am just about certain to find any comments flagged by the magical words 'Top Comment!' If the comment has not ALSO already been submitted to Top Comments, I pick it up! Other TC diarists sometimes also conduct such a search.
Because someone has taken the time to note in the comment threads that the comment has merit, we in TC have adopted the practice of crediting the flagging party with the find, just the same as if the person had submitted the comment directly for inclusion.
Among the other searches I sometimes conduct:
Great comment
Fine comment
Wonderful comment
Insightful comment
Hilarious comment
Favorite comment
Funny comment
Funniest comment
Comment of the day
Comment of the year
Best comment ever
LOL
ROFL
Tonight I have made a point of conducting as many of those searches on comments made in the last 24 hours as I could.
Of course, the problem is, those searches all have to be done manually. There is probably a macro capability for automating them, and ALWAYS conducting them, every night, but I have not been able to construct such an automated search, including collecting the comments and their addresses. Even then, since the searches are conducted on 'strings,' or collections of letters that meet the search criteria, they pull up quite a few comments which aren't really useful or appropriate. So one must set eyeballs on every comment returned by the search to determine their appropriateness for inclusion. And the name of the flagger must be collected as well, if s/he is to be credited for the find.
Too, since new plausible search strings occur to me (while I forget old ones), at present, comment 'flags' are NOT a reliable way to insure a comment will be included in that night's Top Comments diary. Submitting the comment to Top Comments kosmail or the Top Comments gmail address, however, IS a perfectly reliable way to submit comments. And those comments are not credited as flagged comments, they are credited to you without any qualifier!
What comments should you submit? That is a broader question! You are welcome to submit any comment you like, of course. That does not guarantee its inclusion in that night's TC diary, as each night's host will make the final call on everything submitted. With some hosts, nominating one's own comments are not cool. Yet some hosts will even include those comments, figuring that it reflects accordingly on the submitter.
As is true with so many things, the key to soliciting submissions to Top Comments lies in getting Kossacks to ‘buy in’ to the practice. Many hundreds have submitted comments over the years, but there are nights when very few comments are submitted. Please send in good comments when you find them. Please send in good comments people post in YOUR diaries. If you send us the link, we’ll include it to link back to your diary at the same time. And you can reward and positively reinforce those who engage in your diaries. It really is a win/win scenario.
TC is here because comments are at the heart of Daily Kos. Diaries kickstart dialogue, but comments ARE dialogue. We network, we make friends, we contribute information and insights, we motivate, we inspire, we plan, and we celebrate when we win and commiserate when we lose. We express and renew our resolve.
Share fine comments when you find them. It’s important to us all!
On to tonight’s comments, formatted by brillig!
The irony is the comment mailboxes were empty tonight. So it is the most timely diary possible!!!
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
Today's comment flag:
Both paz3 and FogCityJohn think this comment by Grizzard is TC-worthy!
From BeninSC:
Flagged by cweinsch, this comment by CwV elaborates on a magical musical encounter! In cweinsch's diary on Papa Jo Jones.
Flagged by Cedwyn, this comment by yg17 takes description of Sarah Palin to high poetry!
Flagged by gulfgal98, this comment by cybrestrike describes the joy many of us felt at Summers' withdrawal!
Top Mojo for yesterday September 15th, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you
mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary
FAQing Top Mojo.
1) I lol'd by Hammerhand — 114
2) Defending American exceptional ism by whizdom — 104
3) Summers Over!! n/t by VeloDramatic — 101
4) HR. Welcome to DKos. I don't think you are by blue jersey mom — 94
5) Ironically you can thank Bush for part of this. by Matt Z — 94
6) I've been wondering this, as well by indubitably — 93
7) ... by citizenx — 89
8) Great news. by Bob Johnson — 88
9) Oh hai, whoknu, we've been looking for you.... by Ekaterin — 79
10) Even Krugman by freelunch — 77
11) Oh, dear God. Spare me. by Code Monkey — 75
12) #sekritarmy is everywhere! by Ekaterin — 75
13) I found some new recurits. I think. by Ekaterin — 74
14) Avoiding another bombing and avoiding Summers by RFK Lives — 73
15) Sounds like the "smartest guy in the room" by Alice in Florida — 67
16) This is clearly an idea that is threatening by Richard Lyon — 65
17) Seriously, by AnnetteK — 65
18) Juss When They Think They Noes Our Limitations... by leonard145b — 64
19) Oh Hai Whoknu! Even Mother Nature Can't Stop: by leonard145b — 64
20) Oh, sure! by The Marti — 63
21) Oh, and one more for swampyankee..... by Ekaterin — 61
22) And, Sekritarmy Geometree... by leonard145b — 61
23) I live here by ban nock — 60
24) The three muskcateers... by undercovercalico — 59
25) The President won in Syria. There is little by khyber900 — 59
26) Wow by Shippo1776 — 58
27) People who post in ALL CAPS by Pragmatus — 58
28) Purrfect Fail. by aoeu — 58
29) Smart dog by Shippo1776 — 58
30) Meanwhile by Tool — 58
Top Pictures for yesterday, September 15th. Click any image to be taken to the full comment. Thank you jotter for the image magic!