A toast to 1000 entries

This conversation has already started on Scott's entry this morning. I will be reading both for ideas.

Marcus, this is your opening to criticize the blog. Constructive comments are welcome and all non-profane ones will be published!

I promised myself not to, but I already broke my promise on Scott's post.

So, here's the criticism: The moderation is way too slow and way too unpredictable to keep a real conversation going. No one expects instant, 24-7 response, but it's not unusual to see almost an entire business day pass without a single new comment posted. That's just not acceptable in an online forum in 2009. The Globe's future is online, and it better get the online community thing right. Right now, you have two bad options: molasses moderation on the blogs, or the free-for-all astroturfing in the regular articles comment sections, which usually read like a bulletin board for Imbeciles Anonymous.

I covered slow, now here's the part about unpredictable moderation: I've seen a reasonable number of posts here and there that were nothing but personal insults. Those got published. At the same time, I've written posts with lots of numbers that took time to pull together, and those never appeared. Crappy servers? Whimsical censorship standards? We have no idea. You seem to be pretty direct about posts you don't want to publish, but when you're not around, all we get is radio silence.

Another point: We really need to be able to publish links, especially in such a data-driven discussion.

Finally: I'm kind of tired of the positive-spin-headline-now-let's-watch-the-fireworks game. It's getting old.

So, there's your answer. I know you can't do much about most of it, but there it is.

I have two suggestions about topics to cover:

First, the baby boomers getting 30-year mortgages at age 55 or 60. This is a huge problem, distorting the market now and creating a major risk for the future. It deserves discussion.

Second, as I mentioned in Scott's post, the Ibanez issue. It's very confusing, could be very scary, and yet the press never seems to talk about it.

Overall, though, Rona, I've got to say--good job.

"First, the baby boomers getting 30-year mortgages at age 55 or 60."

That's because we're immortal.

Love,
reindeergirl
(age 50)

Rona,
I've been following the subject of real estate closely for some time now. When the market started to go insane 8-9 years ago it really got my attention. I am not officially trained or educated in this field but I believe I have learned some valuable information from you and other folks who contribute to this blog.

just want to add that I agree with Marcus' post 100% - particularly the lag in the time it takes for comments to be posted. As he mentioned, traditional newspapers are dead, and the Globe's future is online. There are way too many real estate blogs out there (many with much more insightful information than what is provided here) from which to choose. Reaching 1000 posts is quite an accomplishment, but you're going to start seeing readers migrating to other sites unless the speed with which posts are published improves.

Rona,
I must admit that a year or two ago, I couldn't spell "BLOG", but I now find myself drawn to your section of B dot com every morning like a moth to flame for "entertainment" with my morning coffee. Both you and Scott have an uncanny ability to bring the best (and worst) "opinions" out of all us readers on all things related to the RE industry and can bring a conversation to a boiling point with so much as a few controversial and topical sentences.
If the purpose of your existence is to "get people talking", you (and Scott) do your employers proud. I truly believe that “Kicking the hornets nest” is your mantra and that the more people you get to respond, the more gold stars you get to stick on the fridge.
It is entertaining (if not a smidge pessimistic) and occasionally draws me in with my own two cents worth.
Good job.

Another point: We really need to be able to publish links, especially in such a data-driven discussion.

I strongly second this. This would be welcome from both a posting and reading perspective.

I feel your pain about the links!
Posts with active links end up in the junk section of the software. This is a necessary evil to keep the spammers away.I am pretty sure that the powers-that-be can't or won't change this. We get floods of this kind of mail every day.

If you have an active link to comment for one of my posts, ping me. I will make a point of finding your post among the slush pile of Viagra ads.

Another idea: dump the http:///www and just put in the ....nytimes.com/2009/07/31/business/31pay.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

That takes you around the software.

Does that help any?

congrats rona. i think you're doing a great job under difficult parameters. whereas scott can blog on nearly anything under the sun you've constrained yourself to creating something new daily based on your core strength, personal experience.

Removing the beginning is helpful Rona, thanks.

I do appreciate these blog posts, but boston.com needs to figure out who the insider with an agenda is who has completely ruined what was one of the most active discussion forums here, the real estate buying & selling one. Everyone who contributed substance to it has given up, because the moderation is so transparently one-sided.

Reasonable, well-written, thought-provoking posts entire within site guidelines are deleted or altered, while sophomoric, insulting posts written under fake usernames designed to mock other members are allowed to stand.

Why would anyone bother with it? Lame.

Congrats on #1000! And that link tip is great, thanks!

The speed on the comments section needs work, but that's more of a whole boston.com issue than anything else. Community-aided moderation seems to work reasonably well in a few other places, though there are obvious problems (there's a gradation between "I disagree with the commenter", "this comment isn't based on fact", "this comment is inflammatory propaganda", and "this comment is offensive/spam" that can be hard to navigate. The comments are slow, but they're also of a much higher quality than most forums I've seen. Renow is one of the few blogs I've seen where it's actually worthwhile to read all the comments.

An explanation of Ibanez would be great. I consider myself pretty well educated on the housing market, but I hadn't heard of the case until this week.