November 21, 2015

At the New Snow Café...

IMG_0893

... stop here.

Comment about whatever you'd like. Be aware that you have to wait for your comment to get moderated through. It's the way it's got to be now. Sorry. Really sorry.

Even if you can't have everything you might want — and some of you want moderation — I hope you still consider using The Althouse Amazon Portal.

70 comments:

RMc said...

Be aware that you have to wait for your comment to get moderated through. It's the way it's got to be now.

Why now?

TreeJoe said...

Why does it have to be this way?

Jimmy said...

I haven't been in snow in over 30 years, but it looks beautiful. Cold, but beautiful. Is it early in the season for snow or about normal for the midwest?

whitney said...

Did something happen in the comments? Everything always seemed so mild unmoderated

Ann Althouse said...

Unfortunately, I can't talk about the problem that occurred. You'll just have to accept that I have my reasons. I was using post-publication deletion to deal with a couple problems, but I can't do it that way anymore.

Ann Althouse said...

"Is it early in the season for snow or about normal for the midwest?"

Quite late.

pm317 said...

wow, beautiful picture. makes me long for snow but just not yet.

traditionalguy said...

The Media's desperate push to stop Trump from winning has made strange bed fellows out of CNN (a Clinton owned political operation) and Fox News Network (a Bush owned political operation).

First CNN edits out an intervening question in reporter's series of questions about immigration and plays it to sound as if Trump answered the first question as if he was not opposed to creating a Registry in the USA For Muslims.

Then Fox runs a series of paid actors, complete with Bow Ties, as if they are real political expert commenting about the this horrible thing that Trump has said. But they all know that he did not say it.

pm317 said...

That is how it looked where we were today!

traditionalguy said...

Have to go and moderate TCU's Oklahoma game now. The Frogs have lost six all stars to injuries and are still 9 and 1. If they win and Ohio state loses to Michigan State, then the TCU dilemma will again face the Football Playoff Committee's squirmy pretensions they do not not favor the Big Ten.

Carnifex said...

Ewwwww....that stupid white shit that falls out of the sky is back. Damn I hate snow. Sorry to hear about you're having to moderate the comments prof. We can't have anything nice anymore.

Stephen Taylor said...

I regret the need for comment moderation, but I read a few of the things said about you in the comments and I guess I don't blame you. Too bad, really. The commenters here, as a group, seemed fairly adult.

Ann Althouse said...

Uh... that football game... what the hell was that?

Guildofcannonballs said...

"Adele sat down with host Graham Norton to talk about her career, life, and new album, 25. Among her revelations was the role 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin played in her rise to worldwide fame." -http://theweek.com/speedreads/590111/adele-attributes-huge-success-sarah-palin

Original Mike said...

"Uh... that football game... what the hell was that?"

Glad I didn't go.

Original Mike said...

At least Ohio State lost.

Ann Althouse said...

@roadgeek Yes, most of the commenters are great and I really appreciate their contributions. But there are people who take advantage of open doors and I can't have them ruining the place, which was their goal.

Original Mike said...

On the plus side, the defense was fantastic. But the offense has struggled all year. I think it's going to take a couple of years to shake off the Gary Andersen misadventure.

bleh said...

Given some of the insulting comments I have seen from a couple posters, I wouldn't be surprised if Althouse and Meade were on the receiving end of abusive or threatening comments. I think the best course of action is permanently banning the jerks from commenting.

Jimmy said...

It is a shame about the moderation of comments. But AA is still one of the coziest places on the net. The posts are varied and interesting, and then we always have Laslo. He's worth the price of admission if nothing else.

Roughcoat said...


One of the worst commenters had become unhinged in recent months. He was really foul. Glad he's gone. High time.

Etienne said...

If you haven't got your letter from Beth F. Cobert yet, it concerns your data that you provided to the federal government, in order for them to declare that you could be trusted, and receive a security clearance.

The OPM (Office of Personnel Management) through their bureaucratic ineptitude (are those a word pair?), released all the data into the wild. They thought the contractor built them a good system, but the contractor seems to have screwed up, and well, you are now screwed.

But our friend Beth, who we all trust now, since she got to keep her job after the tragedy, has told us we can now get free identity theft protection.

Well, free in the sense that Congress has to fund their bureaucratic ineptitude and give you a poopie doll in return.

https://www.opm.gov/cybersecurity

Check the link before pressing it, as the Chicoms have already set up a fake site to mirror that.

Once there, you can enter the PIN number they sent you.

Thanks Beth, and glad you escaped a prison sentence, and kudo's on your promotion and pay raise!

Anonymous said...

Makes one wonder why there are people who get a perverse pleasure out of hounding others. I used to think it was based on differences, political, religious, or whatever. No, it's simply a mean spirit. Maybe such people were bullied as children and were stunted in their development. I'm glad to see some moderation, for too long it was the Wild West.

Roughcoat said...

Oh, gosh ... NU beats Wisconsin. Go Cats!

Gabriel said...

I hope that the work of moderation doesn't suck the fun out of blogging.

With just Ann and Meade moderating, I don;t think that much can go wrong; the extra work involved is enough to ensure that they will have to focus their efforts on bad behavior.

What I do hope they never do, is delegate moderation. I have never seen a forum that didn't devolve into an echo chamber, and there's the problem of giving some people a little bit of power over the others.

Browndog said...

I support snow. Even when moderated.

Unfrozen ground doesn't support snow, unless it's extreme.

Extremist snow won today in Michigan.

Go Blue.

Go Green.

Wisconsin?.......nevermind.

Fred Drinkwater said...

Ann: I hope you can keep up the good work. Your commenter community is the literally #1 thing I appreciate about the blog universe these days.

Fred Drinkwater said...

Being from the SF area, I'm afraid I'm compelled to be hung up on indoor sport (Go Warriors!) still. Besides, I suspect it'll never rain or snow here again.

Ann Althouse said...

The moderation is not at all about viewpoint. I've never been interested in doing that and have never done that.

Renee said...

Biological parent who has signed no adoption papers has law enforcement come to his home to remove the baby to be handed by court order to be given to adoptive parents.

Mother signed papers pressured by her parents. Father has no legal recourse. Yes, the authorities sent to his home where he was caring for his own child.

http://fox13now.com/2015/11/20/utah-father-says-newborns-mother-placed-child-with-adoptive-parents-against-his-wishes/


Ann Althouse said...

Thanks, Fred. Nothing will change about the way the blog is written. I've had a struggle with the comments for over a decade. There are different tactics I can use, and the one I'm doing now is just the best one for the current conditions. I hope commenters can continue to participate and accept that there's some lag time. It wrecks the back-and-forth feeling but there are a few commenters who abuse precisely that, and I can't have that anymore.

Real American said...

"Snow is racist." - Dirt.

Fabi said...

Moderating comments has to be a real pain. I've often been amazed at the latitude you provided to some of the commenters here, yet your dedication to a free exchange of ideas is noteworthy. Sorry that a few bad apples have crossed the line.

I think the recently added caveat above the combox conveys the perfect tone. Nicely done.

Lastly, I don't use Amazon, but offer my sincere thanks for this blog!

Bob Boyd said...

I'm sure the majority would agree when I say, we can deal with it.
We trust your judgement... well, there was that one unfortunate lapse in 2008, but other than that.
So do what you gotta do. We like it here.

Laslo Spatula said...

"Be aware that you have to wait for your comment to get moderated through. It's the way it's got to be now. Sorry. Really sorry."

Whatever it takes that lets you Write what you want to Write, When you want to Write it, How you want to Write it..

That is why I follow every day.

I am Laslo.

Laslo Spatula said...

" It wrecks the back-and-forth feeling..."

Note that I left this untouched.

Am trying to bring up my Game.

I am Laslo.

sojerofgod said...

What is Christmas with no snow?
No white Christmas with no snow
Snow !

I'll soon be there with snow
I'll wash my hair with snow
And with a spade of snow
I'll build a man that's made of snow !

Thanks Mr. Berlin. God how we miss you now.

Phil 314 said...

Great NU victory.

n said...

Phil 3:14. Haha Bible reference for NU motto. Out of town, scrambling and arguing with Comcast to let us watch the game. Phew. We call that winning ugly.

ken in tx said...

About moderation, There were some commenters that I never saw because they were deleted before I got on. I only knew about them because they were remarked on by other commenters. I did see Shoutingthomas. I have seen his comments over several years on more than just this blog. They were getting more personal and more abusive. I think he never got over losing his wife and became very isolated being the only non-liberal in Woodstock NY. Of course that's no excuse for the abusive comments I saw here from him.

Michael K said...

I come by every few hours to see if moderation is off. If not, another few hours. Plenty of fish in the sea.

Wince said...

Althouse is increasing the severity of her comment vetting in light of recent flame attacks.

“That’s not American. That’s not who we are,” said President Obama.

Doesn't she know we commenters are displaced persons!

William said...

Robert Burns claimed that it would be a great gift to see ourselves as others see us. What a giift unmoderated comments offer to the owner. Or maybe not. The insults were so over the top that they were self parodying. Due to my moral grandeur I have no enemies, but if I were to have enemies I would wish them to be as ineffectual and spluttery as yours.

eddie willers said...

" It wrecks the back-and-forth feeling..."

Note that I left this untouched.

Am trying to bring up my Game.


Please do not moderate yourself.
There's only so much change we can take.

cathy said...

It looked like two people tag teamed in the post debate forum and shut it down. I thought they should have been moderated and they seem..ed new, too.

Ken Mitchell said...

I grew up in Illinois and Nebraska. Now I live in Sacramento, California, and the snow here is perfect; it's OVER THERE, on the mountains where it's pretty, and not down here where I have to drive in it.

I'm a summer boy at heart. The ONLY good thing about cold weather is that I can leave a case of soda in the trunk and it stays cold.

Amexpat said...

@Althouse

Fully understand the need to moderate the comments. I often read the comments the first hour or so after you post but I find that they often deteriorate after that.

I can tolerate a vile comment or two but it's the repetitive rants that are off putting. Too bad there isn't a function on blogger to block a commenter either by the host or reader. I remember in the early days of Internet bulletin boards that function was available and readers could customize the comments section by blocking those commenters who were of no interest.

james conrad said...

Well, that's to bad but understandable that comments are moderated now. There are always going to be shitheads who take advantage of the anonymous nature of the internet.

tim maguire said...

Shame about the moderating, I hope it's temporary, like the other times. Seems like a crazy amount of work for you and a diminished commenter experience.

I've asked a few times about an Althouse portal for amazon sites in other countries and haven't gotten a response. It doesn't look like there is one, but if there is, I figure you'd know about it.

Humperdink said...

I was in Happy Valley yesterday for the PSU v. Michigan game. Coach Franklin is world greatest recruiter and worst game day coach I seen in quite some time. Cashing out on my PSU season tickets. That's it.

Talked to some Michigan fans yesterday - they thrilled to have Harbaugh.

Sorry about the moderation. Love your open blog dear hostess.

ndspinelli said...

Hillary is also a control freak.

Lauderdale Vet said...

Love the blog, love the commenters, do what you've got to do.

Thanks for all you do!

Bob Ellison said...

There's an upside to the lag caused by comment moderation: it tends to make commenters work a little harder, and edit their comments a little more carefully. The overall quality should go up .

Bob Ellison said...

And I second what Laslo said. It's the writing here that keeps me coming back. The unhinged willingness to write about whatever comes to the Professor's mind. The comments add value but are not the primary assets here.

Curious George said...

"Ann Althouse said...
Uh... that football game... what the hell was that?"

I know you're talking about UW, but I swear Urban Meyer laid his whole fortune on Sparty. Worse play calling ever.

Curious George said...

Wisconsin fans pelting their own cheerleaders with snowballs.

Bobby said...

"It's the writing here that keeps me coming back. The unhinged willingness to write about whatever comes to the Professor's mind. The comments add value but are not the primary assets here."

I'm with Bob Ellison. Honestly, I can easily find very similar comments sections on dozens of blogs and forums across the internet and there's little special about the comments here (some notable exceptions- like Laslo- notwithstanding). But I really appreciate Ann's perspective on the issues of the day and the things she observes. Moderating could turn out to be a surprisingly good improvement.

Original Mike said...

"The ONLY good thing about cold weather is that I can leave a case of soda in the trunk and it stays cold."

That's not cold weather. Cold weather is when you forget to take the soda out of the trunk and it explodes.

Original Mike said...

When we came out of the hockey game Friday night it had just started snowing. The students went nuts, running around pelting everybody (including us) with snowballs. It was like the children had never seen snow before. Ahhh, to be twenty again.

Curious George said...

Peavy no catch, good reversal.

chillblaine said...

Maureen Dowd has an article about sexism in Hollywood. Interested in viewpoints surrounding that. My general take is that liberalism eats their own.

SukieTawdry said...

Moderated comments trigger me.

Kelley said...

Ann Althouse said...

@roadgeek Yes, most of the commenters are great and I really appreciate their contributions. But there are people who take advantage of open doors and I can't have them ruining the place, which was their goal.

Yes, most of the 'commenters' (refugees) are great and I really appreciate their contributions. But there are 'people' (terrorists) who take advantage of open 'doors' (borders), and I can't have them ruining the place, which was (is) their goal.

Ann Althouse said...

"Peavy no catch, good reversal."

I actually agree but it was tough to experience that and the other touchdown that wasn't.

Ann Althouse said...

@chillblaine

I've been seeing but skipping that one, but i will take a look.

walter said...

Hmm.
More strange than upped moderation is the suggestion it "can't" be discussed.
Everything in moderation..including moderation.

But hey..here's a candidate for some Altparse, courtesy the trotted out Obama sub, Sloe-Joe:

"Let’s also remember who the vast majority of these refugees are: women, children, orphans, survivors of torture, people desperately in need medical help.
To turn them away and say there is no way you can ever get here would play right into the terrorists’ hands."

1) "Vast" majority?
2) "say there is no way you can ever get here"

Anonymous said...

Good riddance to Shouting Thomas and his cohorts. The only reason they keep coming back here to Althouse is to be abusive, it's about time Althouse put a stop to that. It was sickening to read and it didn't add to any discussion.

Bob Ellison said...

Banning a commenter takes work. More than you probably think.

Rusty said...


Blogger Ann Althouse said...
@roadgeek Yes, most of the commenters are great and I really appreciate their contributions.

You're goddamn welcome, Althouse.


Rusty said...

I go deer hunting for a long weekend and the place goes to shit.
You can clean up the mess, Althouse, but you didn't have to use bleach.


It wae entirely entertaining watching some of theose people devolve into madness.