As most of you know, Top Comments was started as a diary series by Carnacki in 2006. I joined several days later because it was important to me, as a new member on Daily Kos, to have a ‘blog home,’ a base on Daily Kos, where, ala CHEERS, ‘everybody knows your name.’ I could participate ‘out and about’ in the diaries and comment threads, but it was (and IS) important to me to get to know some of these fine people with whom I have so much in common. So the Top Comments community became my home on Daily Kos. That has not changed in nearly 10 years. (Top Comments’ 10 year anniversary will be on June 14. Just over two weeks from now. Here is a link to that diary.)
x YouTube VideoOf those who hosted Top Comments diaries in those first days, only I remain (at least, as an active TC diarist), so I guess, without ever intending it, I have defaulted into kind of an elder statesman (accent on the elder!) within Top Comments.
In the earlier days around when TC began, (though I well know that many of you had fine established comment histories before then!), Daily Kos did not see anything like the comment volume that it does today. There were not nearly as many diaries, and commenting within those diary threads wasn’t what it is now. Indeed, one member, Susan Gardner, began a series to rescue fine writing in diaries. I believe she read just about every diary posted to make her evaluations. She soon recruited help for the enterprise, and now the Rescue Rangers perform that invaluable service to Daily Kos, under the title ‘Community Spotlight.’
Carnacki created Top Comments in an effort to shine a similar spotlight on fine writing that could not be featured on the front page, writing that constituted the interactive soul of Daily Kos, from the comment threads, where so many of us conduct the majority of our engagement here.
Even in those days it was possible for there to be 10,000 or more comments in a day, more than any one person could reliably read, much less grok. (As you know, wine connoisseurs limit their wine tasting exposure during a tasting session. Many do not swallow the wine they taste, and they have tools for cleansing the palate between tastings, so that the next tasting is as ‘true’ as it is possible for them to make it. It doesn’t pay to read too many comments over too many hours.)
I remember when gloriana did her first TC diary. I ‘held her hand’ during that effort, and she mined for comments on that occasion for 17 HOURS. (Here is a link to that diary. As they say about icebergs, you cannot see a fraction of what went on below the surface in that diary’s preparation. And, in an aside, here is a link to a comment I just noticed anew in that diary, foretelling the imminent demise of Daily Kos. Editor’s note: Daily Kos is still here.)
But an effort like gloriana’s wasn’t tenable, even then, and it wasn’t remotely sustainable. No Top Comments diarist, in practical terms, can spend very much time mining on a given day, and often (I’m one of the worst offenders), we can’t do any. The Top Comments of the Day feature within each night’s TC diary was also originally provided by Carnacki. It used to be possible to conduct a time-specific search for comments receiving a lot of mojo. That has not been an option, due to changes in search, since Daily Kos 3. Top Comments resident genius, mik, has found a way to compile a list of Top Mojo comments every day. Unfortunately, it is only possible 24 hours or so after those comments were posted, so, though they may be featured, and, usually, replied to, they are nonetheless out of recommendability. (An explanation of that feature is included, below, with tonight’s Top Mojo.)
jotter, very graciously, has found a way to compile a list of pictorial comments for inclusion each night that are usually recommendable (at least for a short while).
Beyond that, time permitting, it is sometimes possible to conduct comment searches on comments that ‘highlight’ quality comments made by others on the site. Examples of words on which searches are sometimes conducted (time limited to same day!) are:
top comment
great comment
hilarious comment
funniest comment
comment of the (day, week, month, year)
ROFL
LOL
LMAO
brilliant
best comment
You get the idea. And we try to credit the person whose ‘highlight’ resulted in that comment find. However (at least so far) we have found no capability for automating and compiling such searches for inclusion each night. It is not consistent, not reliable, and it is still somewhat time-consuming. (And that a comment is highlighted does not mean it is suitable for inclusion.)
Finally and most importantly. we actively (and passionately!!!) solicit comment submissions from Kossacks who encounter fine writing in their Daily Kos ‘travels’ each day. In real terms, community visitors are the only ones with consistent exposure to large numbers of comments each day. No one person may read a huge number, but finding and submitting even one quality comment is, for Top Comments, exceptionally worthwhile and appreciated. Totally win/win. Everyone on Daily Kos can be the eyes and ‘ears’ for quality comments, and those who come to read quality comments each night can be the greatest beneficiaries of that time investment.
Over time, many of our guests and friends have submitted great comments. I wish I had time tonight to link to the comments each of the fine people below have submitted, and I wish I had time to name all the commenters whose comments have been featured by these submitters. Those whose comments are featured, when they realize it, are often most appreciative of the attention. Occasionally, they will ‘do unto others’ as they have been done unto by then finding and submitting comments that they find, in turn. That helps reinforce this activity that has the potential to be so effective at community building and community reinforcing. We cannot make this point too strongly.
Our PEOPLE benefit, our community benefits, our causes benefit, our ideas are enriched and spread and propagated onward, even our CANDIDATES can benefit.
In the month of May, then, we’d like to honor the following people for submitting comments to help MAKE Top Comments the community resource we … need it to be. The resource we want it to be.
ZenTrainer
Wee Mama
Village Vet
tmservo433
Tara the Antisocial Social Worker
susans
Railfan 3
Puddytat
peregrine kate
NoMoJoe
lotac
Just One More Dad
Jon Sitzman
JG in MD
JerryNA
IndieGuy
hnichols
greenbird
ericlewis0
elfling
Ekaterin
Ed Tracey
CwV
Crashing Vor
coquiero
cohenzee
brainwave
boiseblue
benny05
belinda ridgewood
Avilyn
Angela Marx
allergywoman
AJayne
a2nite
2thanks
A number of these community-supporting Kossacks submitted multiple comments! As well as comments in prior months (along with folks I wish we could thank in tonight’s list also).
We
CAN
NOT
THANK
YOU
ENOUGH.
You are all heroes in my book. Without you, very simply, we could not keep the community Carnacki started alive. We couldn’t sustain this series and our wish to support and build this community.
And I sincerely hope that those whose comments you submitted ALSO share their appreciation for what you’ve done. I hope they understand that it took time on your part, and, more importantly, a commitment to our community, our candidates and our causes.
Finally, thanks to those who submit comments for tomorrow’s Top Comments diary, still in the month of May, whose names I cannot yet divine! We appreciate your submissions, too!
On to tonight’s comments! Graciously compiled by Comment herder-in-chief, brillig!
TOP COMMENTSBrillig'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: Especially during this passionate primary season, 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 belinda ridgewood:
In FloridaSNMOM's diary describing some people who were what I might call "inappropriately offended", Besame makes a spot-on comment about the prevalence of that kind of thing. I loved her last sentence: "...I wonder if they don’t even know they are nurturing bitterness instead of joy."From ZenTrainer:
Nice comment here by vzfk3s that I would like to submit, from the diary I posted today. There are also some really great photos in the comment threads!
TOP MOJOTop Mojo for yesterday, May 29th 2016, 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.
Unfortunately, comment search appears to be borked tonight, which means that the Top Mojo search cannot run. If it fixes itself, we’ll insert the Mojo.
TOP PICTURESTop Pictures for yesterday, May 29th 2016. Click any picture to be taken to the full comment. Thank you jotter!
Unfortunately, comment search appears to be borked tonight, which means that the Top Pictures search cannot run. If it fixes itself, we’ll insert the Picture Quilt.
(Sorry about the search problems, folks. How inauspicious is that?! Even my searches for ‘highlighted’ comments failed tonight. #iswhatitisunfortunately)