Tuesday
Mar292016
An Experiment in Representative Democracy
During the past few weeks, I've been trying to think of a way of keeping Reality Chex going without having to do much, um, work. It wasn't until this morning that I hit on a possible solution that will take some cooperation among Reality Chex regulars but won't require an undying commitment (nor anything like the 8-12 hours a day I've spent on it during presidential election seasons).
So here's the idea, tho I'm very open to suggestions to modify the "plan." If somewhere between four and ten regular contributors would be willing to post a link or two to news & views in the main body of the daily Commentariat, let me know. You can contact me here. It isn't especially difficult, as those of you who've run your own blogs know. In fact, it's easier than creating links in the Comments section, as contributors do regularly. I'll provide instructions.
I'll try to set up a new page at about 5:00 pm ET every day, but these lucky "correspondents" would have the ability to do it, too, if I am busy installing reclaimed baseboards in the closet (today's project) or tiling a bathroom or two (next week's fun). The page, over the course of the day, would end up functioning in a fashion similar to the way it does today.
Meanwhile, we'll make sure the Comments are open.
This is a little bit of a riff on the much-despised New York Times comments caste system. I don't like it, but it wouldn't be too helpful to have that "Fuck you, asshole" guy mucking up the page, so I think it best to limit those with direct access to the main page.
Let me know what you think, & if you're a regular contributor who is willing to help run the show, please let me know via e-mail (linked above). Soon.
Marie
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Reader Comments (21)
Marie -- I plan to send you an e-mail from home, in response to your idea, after the (my) workday.
Please make this happen! Loss of RC would be great, as I know of no other site that so aptly summarizes the news.
I believe the comments following an article by Coates in The Atlantic are often moderated/censored quite effectively by a handful of volunteers.
Could you not publish a list of publications/bloggers to be monitored by volunteers who would undertake to daily read and submit 'articles' to be scrutinized by a few lead volunteers you feel could be trusted to exercise control over what is published and to shepherd the comments allowing you to reduce your input to perhaps an hour a day or just function as a court of last resort for disputes? Whatever you decide giving up control is going to be difficult for you.
If you can find no way to keep Realitychex functioning to your standards I would just like to say that it has been an educational few years that I have been lurking here. I had no idea of the difficulties/responsibilities involved in running a site like Realitychex. It's been illuminating, which makes losing you just that much more painful and the internet a few bits less valuable.
Although I think it would be absolutely wonderful to be able to continue Reality Chex using commenter/volunteers, I know I cannot be one of them. I am waaaay too tech-impaired. (Jeebus, I can't even embed a link correctly.) Also, that old bromide "Too many cooks spoil the broth" comes to mind. I just cannot imagine Reality Chex without Marie--but, as you all know, I am an old hippie who gets high on "train wreck" and wanders the streets--so I may be "misunderestimating" my tech-savvy fellow commenters. Hope so.
I saw Nancy's offer to set up a Facebook page just for us, and I must say, although not a FB fan, I am interested. (Sorry, David, I know you are horrified!) Anyway, I belong to a closed FB group that functions very well, partially because it has someone in charge. It is subject-specific, and I am sure that helps too. Very, very different from the little I have seen on regular FB which mostly makes me want to arc a bean.
I am wondering if anyone else, besides Nancy, is interested in a closed Facebook group dedicated to political news and sidelights. I think we could persuade CW to participate a bit if we offered to help her tile! I would want only those of us who are commenters here on Reality Chex as members--including those who follow RC but do not make many comments. But, NO TROLLS. I think that could be accomplished by having Marie check the list of group "members" to make sure we are all Kosher. And we would probably need some volunteer commenters to keep the TROLLS at bay and point out obvious errors, etc. I could certainly do that.
That's where I am as of right now. One last concern: we have not heard from Barbarrosa for a very long time. Do any of you have any information about what has happened with him? Knowing how ill he was with ALS, I fear the worst.
I'm intrigued by this idea and believe that it could work, although there may be a trial and error period. I also wish I could say, Hey, count me in for several postings a day, but my nonwork time is limited. However, I have particular interests, as I am sure everyone else does, and pick and choose what I read accordingly. Perhaps the contributors could dedicate themselves, not completely but largely, to particular fields of interest. Hunting for articles that specifically address, for example, restrictions on a woman's right to choose would be quicker than checking out all the major papers and favorite blogs to see what seems Reality-Chex worthy.
And I agree with Marie that posting on a blog is a simple thing, once you get used to it.
(And @Kate Madison, I too have wondered/worried about Barbarossa. A member of my extended family has just been diagnosed with ALS. I can't begin to imagine how she and her husband are coping with this.)
I have written to Marie telling her I am willing to take on some responsibility.
I, too, have wondered about Bob––so Bob––if you can, let us know how you are faring.
I have also written and offered to help. I think this could work ( not as splendidly as Marie's version) and I am game to try. I would also be happy to do the Facebook idea, where we could also post photos and perhaps share some slightly more personal info and views., and in general relax the rules a bit. Either, or both, would be fun!
Hmmm. Considering those of us who sit in the back row, who love to listen and learn from RC but are afraid, no - incapable of fashioning eloquent arguments and hurling spitballs like all of the rest of you elites; will there be 'seats in the back' of your putative FB site for us non-troll quiet types?
Please keep us "readers but not commenters" in the loop - as many have written I have read RC "first thing in the morning and last thing at night" - for years.
Many thanks - especially to Marie B. and all of the remarkable and quotable comments from all of you - they are very influential !!
I have been a follower of this site for several years (not a commenter) and just as others have written, I read through the postings almost every morning and again later in the day. I hope a means can be found to keep Reality Chex active. If not, I will miss it.
I do not know how much work that it takes to link the various sources and write the text introducing the links and other editing tasks, but I certainly appreciate all of that work. Thanks CW for all of your work.
Reality Chex is Marie Burns. Marie Burns is Reality Chex.
Reading other comments, I have waffled between further eulogizing, commiserating, and often feeling like the relative who overstayed the visit and now can’t simply get in the car and drive off. You know, the relative or friend who keeps running back for one last hug! (Knowing full well the host would like nothing better than to sit in an ‘empty’ house and enjoy a glass of wine, do the leftover dirty dishes…or wash socks!)
Despite wanting RC to go on and on, it seems a daunting task for volunteers to co-ordinate and continue. The job description is a killer. But, good luck!
Over the years, Marie has outdone the postman. Every day, year-after-year, RC has been there as we dawdled over morning coffee—before adding our own ‘brilliant’ comments! She has been there seven days a week, 365 days a year, through holidays, road travels, personal matters, power outages, snow, wind, hurricanes, thick & thin, and forever washing those darn socks!
Thank you, Marie.
Part 2...continued:
Reality Chex is Marie Burns. Marie Burns is Reality Chex.
What if... (jus’ speculating) how about a ‘Same Time, Next Year’...or (now I’m pushing it) a same time, next month Reality Chex Monthly Recap? Where Reality Chex takes a look at past and current news on a single day...with a week open to comments?
I love reading good news! I look forward to the new format and would love to be included on the facebook group.
This idea seems like a workable solution for your readers and regular commenters. Same setup, just minus you doing the heavy lifting, Marie. The Facebook solution I offered yesterday (and let me say how much I hate Facebook) was as a last awful resort.
I never considered myself a regular commenter and I doubt I'll comment in the future (baseboards, gardening, grandkids and cancer), but it sure would be nice to have the site continue.
Put me in the category of Jeff K and Maytag Lady, a loyal silent follower for many years.
Thank you Marie for your hard work and witty comments.
I've been lurking since Marie stopped writing her magnificent replies to the NYT. Reality Chex has been a large part of my semi-handicapped life ever since and I cannot possibly thank Marie and her contributors enough. You put into words my all too scattered thoughts on the politics of this country (anger through joy) and express them to a T. It will be an awful loss to me if/when? this website is discontinued. So please, if it's decided to keep RC open but on a limited basis, don't cross me off your list. I wish I could help but if I could, I wouldn't be a lurker. Marie, I am so humbled by your prowess. You deserve a life outside of RC more than anyone in the world but oh damn; I'm going to miss you.
Continuing in some fashion is an exciting prospect! I've been a back-rower, not a commenter and never a troll (!), so I'm not sure I should weigh in with an opinion on what form it might take--but (here comes the opinion anyway), a closed Facebook group is easy for posting. Whatever form it takes, I hope I may be included in its readership. And once again, Marie, I remain dazzled by your accomplishments here, and so grateful for the many years you have helped me stay informed. Hard act to follow doesn't begin to describe!
For more years than I'm capable of remembering Reality Chex has been a constant companion as I consume half a dozen large cups of coffee. There are hundreds/thousands like me who have responded only a few times over those years whose dwindling mental capacity have found this place to be a refuge of clear thought and rational reasoning.
Facebook is probably the best option, in one form or another to continue the dialogue.
Thanks again Marie!
Hglad
thanks again
Thank you Marie. I have been taking a free ride twice a day on REALIY CHEX for years now. Am grateful and hope to be able to continue the ride making only an occasional comment from left field.
I wish I could offer to help with the logistics of keeping RC running, but (stop me if you've heard this before) I'm woefully inadequate when it comes to technology. I've been a daily reader ever since I discovered Marie commenting at the New York Times several years ago, and I'm now completely addicted to RC. I don't post because (among other things) I'm always late to the discussion (as, for example, today) but I relish sitting in the shadows listening to the conversation of the best Commentariat on the internet, bar none.
If this excellent group finds a way to maintain the site, albeit in a different format, I would appreciate being included on the list of approved members. I promise I'm not a troll.
This seems like a good place to express my deep gratitude to Marie for her indefatigable efforts, 24-7-365 for so many years, and my equally deep appreciation for her brilliance, wit, and no-nonsense attitude toward the news of the day. It's no wonder she's attracted such a stellar group of commenters.
I'm grateful for all of you, and I hope this doesn't have to be good-bye.
Namaste.
I second the eloquent message that Terry posted on the 29th. I too have been a silent fan and supporter, and have promoted this very thoughtful, passionate and dedicated site to many of my like-minded (and not-so-like-minded) friends and relatives over the years. I hope this new approach is wildly successful, but whatever the long-term outcome may be, many humble thanks to CW from bringing this "baby" through adolescence. I have grown to depend on it as an island of intelligence leavened with humor. I hope that the rest of us can carry it on to a long and productive adulthood.