I joined Daily Kos on May 10 of 2006. On June 14th of that year, Carnacki started Top Comments. My first ever diary was on the 20th.
The time between May 10 and June 20 was spent exploring Daily Kos, trying to learn about this bastion of Democratic hope. I had had a great deal of online experience to that point, but even in the days before I joined Daily Kos the Internet was a ‘place’ with promise, but also frustration. The noise to signal ratio was often unfavorable. Very high proportion noise, very low amount of ‘signal,’ or engagement with promise. Exchange worthy of one’s time.
We all seek different things, to a point. We may seek the same things in different measure, in different guise. The world is tailor-made for conflict and stress. Finding our path is supposed to be challenging, is supposed to stretch us, lead us forward, help us grow.
But the immediate challenge in a new environment, like Daily Kos, is the same. To find a path for ourselves. To find people whose minds and hearts speak to us.
More below.
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.
Here is the challenge that Carnacki set himself and the Daily Kos community, on the occasion of that first Top Comments diary.
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. …
We need to encourage and develop fresh voices.
And just that simply I found my path ‘into’ Daily Kos. I was not well known. I was not known at all. But I cared. And I cared about our politics. What was happening in our world. What IS happening in our world.
In the early days, Top Comments was only about the comments. Most of the diarists who participated in Top Comments then also wrote freestanding diaries, if they had ‘more important things’ to say. But I never did. So I started writing anything I wanted under the umbrella of Top Comments, and others did the same. Now there is literally no limit (within site rules) to what may be diaried. I like that.
In recent months, Top Comments scheduling has become difficult. It is a community diary series, of course. Some will not enter a community diary unless Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez authors it. (#wewilletyouknow) That’s their prerogative, and I have no criticism of it. They have to put their energies where THEY find ‘signal.’
Top Comments can be challenging to do. Submitted or mined comments have to be formatted. It is not ‘difficult,’ but it can be time-consuming. Particularly if there are a lot of comments on a given night. The picture quilt, assembled daily by jotter, can give error messages that complicate formatting. Initially those were the very devil to find and eliminate, now not so much. But there are complexities to Top Comments diaries that other community diary series just don’t have. At least, that is the perception.
For several years now, brillig and I have done the formatting for each other when one of us hosts. That takes a great deal off the plate, since we then only have to worry about writing and queueing our diary, the rest is handled by someone with leisure to do it.
Most of you reading this will be well familiar with the series, with our members and our nightly guests. You have seen how the percentage of ‘open thread’ Top Comments diaries has grown, how the same ‘voices’ appear night in and night out.
As Carnacki said, Daily Kos needs new and fresh voices, and Top Comments does, as well.
That’s what tonight’s diary is about. We need some fresh voices. We need some members who can write some diaries. To join us in this series that is in its 13th year.
It is a great group, with fine variety. But I’m sure you know that.
Now, if you have some time to write some for us, I am happy to make you a promise. If you write a diary and queue it for us, one of us will do all of the formatting for you. That won’t be a complication. Though we have a schedule, if you have something you are passionate about on a given night, almost always any scheduled diarist is happy to stand aside on that night. If, on the other hand, you have something that isn’t time-sensitive, diaries may be queued for use when one is needed on a given night.
Yes, Top Comments posts at or near 10 pm Eastern each night, but diaries may be queued anytime prior to that, so there is no reason for there to be any time pressure.
Even if you have long since found your way on Daily Kos, Top Comments is a fine community, with people I am honored to call my friends. We do hope you will consider joining us! And, if not, please continue to visit and spend time with us, and submit any comments you find!
On to tonight’s comments!
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.
Note: Please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig.
From cfk:
I am submitting this perceptive comment by boadicea for how deftly it undermines his argument about the wall.
From Blueoregon:
Blueoregon also submitted boadicea’s comment, and we appreciate it just as much! We greatly prefer duplicate submissions than to miss comments because someone thought it has probably already been sent in!
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, January 31st, 2019, 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 on FAQing Top Mojo.
Top Pictures for February 1, 2019. Click any picture to be taken to the full comment or picture. Thank you jotter!
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