Kotaku 
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Denver, 1:55 AM
Wed Dec 2
63 posts in the last 24 hours
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Editor-In-Chief:
Brian Crecente
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Deputy Editor:
Stephen Totilo
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Senior Editor:
Michael McWhertor
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Senior Contributing Editor, Japan:
Brian Ashcraft
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Contributing Editor, East Coast:
Michael Fahey
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Contributing Editor, Oceania:
Luke Plunkett
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Owen Good
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AJ Glasser
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Leigh Alexander
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Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
11/30/09
Oh who am I kidding...you can pull them all!
:D
11/30/09
11/30/09
11/30/09
11/29/09
11/29/09
11/29/09
scratch that, ill aim high at first: first offer of Fortune Hunter edition gets it. cmon, at least one of you wants it that bad.
11/28/09
But I mainly do it cause, yeah, this is one of the few sites where if you write something stupid, you'll have to answer for it. And refreshingly enough, you don't answer for it by being sworn at by some hypocritical fanboy or someone who feels compelled to curse every three words, but by someone who will hit you with some food for thought which will probably make you sit down and rethink what you've written as opposed to just brush it off your shoulder as you could when dealing with just some random idiot.
In fact, now that I think about it, I have a greater appreciation for the think before you type rule, because it's made me at least try to see things from the viewpoints of others before I go off on a rant, so I guess it's kind of like an excersise in open-mindedness.... if that makes any sense.
Either way, the star system doesn't really bother me personally. I have it set to see all comments, so having my stuff written out in grey isn't a big loss since most of what I write is pure dumbassery anyways. Besides, who needs stars? I got scribblenauts, I be trippin stars!
Nemesis: STARS!!!!
See? This guy knows what I'm talkin about.
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
It's amazing how many people need to be reminded that "Free Speech" is not a catch all defense for trolling, flaming, and overall douchebaggery on the internet.
11/28/09
The reason to privatize is to exclude. Is this still a public site, or are the owners already planing on closing it for public viewing within the next few years? Maybe a pay fee to read Kotaku?
11/28/09
11/28/09
Kotaku is not a public site, it is a business which reserves the right to censor what its visitors post to make sure that comments are relevant and non-inflammatory. If you were to go into a GameStop and started yelling nonesense and inflammatory comments at the top of your lungs, you would be removed from the store.
Same thing.
11/29/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
Most importantly, don't be impatient when it comes to getting approved comments - it's a bit of a silly system at first glance, but it does help make Kotaku a place you'll love to come without the threats of spam and crap. Mostly, anyways.
11/28/09
How do you italicize, underline, bold, etc.? I've tried the [i][/i] forum tags, and then I proceeded to be uncreative and try ctrl-i. I then gave up because I had no more ideas. However, it's been bugging me ever since, so if someone could help me out, I'd be grateful.
11/28/09
I'd type them out, but then they dissapaer when i post the comment cos it thinks I'm writing in html.
Which gets annoying when you're trying to argue that Brantson Pickle trumps Brown sauce as a condiment to cheese sandwiches cos you write it out and it comes out like this:
Brown sauceBranston pickle
11/30/09
11/28/09
Being seen as a Star Commenter is somewhat of a double-edged sword. Yes, it's a reward for being a consistently good poster and contributor to the discussions on articles and whatever else, but if you started posting that way, then the onus is on the commenter themselves to uphold that trust that's been given to them to keep up the good work.
It's like the old Reward Stars in elementary school. Just because you got one doesn't mean you can slack off. It was a case of "keep up with more of the same, and you'll get more". Only here, it's "Don't let your standards fall, or it'll be taken away from you".
I really don't see where the hatred of people who do have stars comes from. Most people who have had them/still have them, more than deserved them, just by going on comments from the same people I've been reading these last few months, prominent figures from the commenters like Deanbmmv, Komrade Kayce, Archaotic, Yossarian, Starman.. (Sorry if I spelled any of your names wrong, I'm at work and haven't got much time to check back) I know it's a list of the same people whose comments are always on the front page of any article, but they got there for a good reason: bringing something to the table. And that's where starless me comes in.
I'm quite happy like this, making threads bith related points for debate on them. I'm not fussed if they don't get published here. I have my own blog I can publish it to anyway (Not namedropping) so it won't always be hidden from sight. If it gets picked up by anyone, starred or otherwise, fair play, I'll take the time out and reply to said people if they give openings for further debate, or bring up good points of their own. I also reply to the Star Commenters on the front pages, because that's the main way of getting noticed, contributing to an already open topic. Any reply back from them will see you promoted, and the more you're promoted, the more likely you are to get your own star.
Anyway, wall of text or otherwise, I've pretty much said my piece, and chances are I'll probably be bringing this up with Stephen (Totilo) on Wednesday's podcast - providing that my laptop's built-in mic doesn't let me down again - to see what he makes of the whole issue.
11/28/09
Same with Archaotics :P
11/28/09
EDIT: And I also realise that I've made one or two silly typos in my original post. Teaches me to use Notepad instead of Word when typing comments at work on the QT. ¬.¬
12/01/09
11/28/09
While not pretending to fully understand the system in place for comments here and how to get them un-greyed, I've seen many comments actually published that offered nothing constructive towards the actual topic in hand.
While a few of my own posts have been made in jest, I tend to think before I speak, and they're always well presented and respectful.
For as long as comments remain greyed out ( some of which are decent enough), I do wonder how much my individual contribution to this site as well as other users who are also greyed out (and I've seen some fantastic comments that have never seen the light of day) are valued, given that many will never see them.
Nearly 2 years of posting, and I've still not "graduated"! :D
11/28/09
Trust me, with the vast majority of the pink comments, you're not missing anything. And pink comments worth reading quickly become grey comments (after a profile check, to see if it's a rare moment of lucidity in an otherwise unrelenting nightmare of hatred and insanity).
11/29/09
Which makes me wonder: How many of Kotaku's readers do click on "Show all comments"?:)
11/29/09
11/29/09
I've definitely noticed a trend with myself and other star commenters. Personally, I was reluctant to start threads myself, much prefering to respond to the ones already there and grow the dialogue. Looking back, most of the comments I've replied to are from 'grey' commenters, because they are generally more numerous, and have a wider variety of viewpoints. Unless I really have something burning a hole in my head to say, I generally don't start my own topic.
11/30/09
Anyway, speaking for myself, depends on the topic at hand. God, I wish I had "show featured threads only" during the 'whole MGS4 on 360?' season...
Being in a completely different timezone helps too.
11/28/09
11/28/09
I'm a dude who spends plenty of time on the Internet, and Kotaku is one of the online communities I most respect. Star or no star, I feel pretty good about the fact that the editors see fit to deem my comments worthy of showing up on the site.
So, I guess... thanks for letting me talk about games on my favorite site, editors!
11/27/09
On a side note: A tip that I have always followed is that if you want to have your comment taken seriously and want people to see what you have to say you really have to monitor what you are saying. Kotaku is like a big job. If you decide to go into work and use slang and insults you will get nowhere and most likely fired. Here people will just not take you seriously. I see a lot of the same names several times a week and know the people that I can connect with. I also know the people that I will avoid. You don't want to be overlooked every time someone sees your name.
11/28/09
The main barrier I've observed is people unaccustomed to communicating with a massive and pseudo-anonymous populace who make the kind of stupid jokes that would get a chuckle or eye roll among friends in person, but takes on completely different meaning in the context of a written out comment. It's like unintentional trolling from inexperience.
11/28/09