Hard News: Announcing: Public Address System! : Public Address

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Hard News: Announcing: Public Address System!

Posted at 10:29AM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

I mentioned at the beginning of the week that we had something new in the works for you. Well, this is it: Public Address System, a community site designed to complement the one you're reading right now.

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We've been soft-launching the site over the last couple of days and this morning we're fully public, so please, pop on over, register and enjoy. The warmest thanks are due to our developers, Matt and Karl at CactusLab, who have the ability to get what I'm on about, point out to me when I'm wrong and just make it happen.

When you visit their website (check out the clever little Halloween remix they did with style sheets) you'll see how busy they've been this year, so I'm very appreciative of the attention my little job has had in the past couple of weeks. (Oh, and I'm also loving that little Google-style "beta" note Matt's put on the new masthead.)

Anyway, a little about what's on the site:

The Public Address Café and Forum: Yes, finally, comments - although yer standard blog comments is precisely what I'm seeking to avoid. You'll need to register to post, our preference is for people to register and post under real names, and we will be moderating for quality. I'm keen to expand the pool of people engaged in online discussion and I think an atmosphere of respect is vital to that aim. For the time being, only our bloggers will be able to launch new topics, but I'm open to suggestions for those. As we proceed, I'll make a practice of inviting in people with knowledge and experience relevant to the question under debate. There are several topics running already, so get in there. You'll note there's also a "discuss" button at the bottom of this post.

Real Times: The Documentary Channel Blog: Which is what the title suggests. In the interests of transparency, note that its author, The Doctor, will often (but not always) be me, and that the Documentary Channel is paying us some money to appear on our site.

OurTube: A user-generated forum for New Zealand (and otherwise relevant) multimedia posted on YouTube and elsewhere. The opening crop includes Shortland Street's most famous line.

Monitor A little forum for the discussion of television. Again, feel free to add topics here.

Feeds: We've got 'em up the wazoo. There are RSS feeds for all parts of the site, down to the level of individual forum topics, and also inbound feeds from Scoop, the excellent New Zealand blog aggregator Planet of the Journals (BTW, I've been trying to contact the Journals guys as a matter of courtesy, but their email link seems to be broken), and Graham Reid's popular Music from Elsewhere. We may add more inbound feeds in future.

Public Address itself will continue to dish up good writing and opinion on a daily basis. I've conceived Public Address System as a site you can (and please do) visit throughout the day. Anyway, that'll do for now. We're very proud of our new baby and we trust you will love it too.

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Che Tibby
From: the back of an envelope
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 1523

Posted at 10:29AM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

wow...... pity i had to go resigning and miss out on all this fun.

great work cactus labs, it looks great.

Nick Bryant
From: Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 12

Posted at 10:50AM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Well done Russell, it looks to be a great evolution of your online work.

Speaking of work, I suspect this will now make it even harder for me to get the paying stuff done.

Russell Brown
From: Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 9060
Moderator

Posted at 11:01AM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Speaking of work, I suspect this will now make it even harder for me to get the paying stuff done.

There you go again, blaming the system ...

thomas scovell
From: Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 1

Posted at 11:02AM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Looking good!

Hadyn Green
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 1802
Moderator

Posted at 11:32AM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Hear-hear, great system! I wish the email confirming my entry had said something like: You have now been assimilated into THE SYSTEM!

But now I'm watching this like a reality TV show. Who is gonna get kicked out first?

Deborah
From: Adelaide
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 815

Posted at 11:33AM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Fantastic! And thank you.

Raymond A Francis
From: 45' South
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 234

Posted at 11:52AM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Nice idea Russell
Of couse this just backs up my theory that you were cloned while in the States
Your posts there and since then have been aceptable (or better) which is a worry for a right winger....or does this mean you should worry
Great work

MaskedAvatar
From: H'Siffaen Shield
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 8

Posted at 11:54AM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

An excellent initiative.

The common meeting ground for intelligentsia, left wing academics, middle New Zealand and skinheaded jackbooted morons.

I apologise in advance if my presence attracts the wrong crowd, but I apologise moreso if it attracts no-one at all.

Good luck with moderator duties Russell and crew!

Stephen Judd
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 2033

Posted at 11:55AM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

A couple of usability niggles:
- if you're in a thread, and you log in, you get deposited at the front page, and not where you were before you logged in.
- if you post in a multi-page thread, you get deposited at the first page, not at the last one.

But well-done!

noizyboy
From: wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 156

Posted at 12:11PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

if you post in a multi-page thread, you get deposited at the first page, not at the last one.

I second that call. 'tis a bit weird.

noizyboy
From: wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 156

Posted at 12:13PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

and when do we get to change those anonymous little grey people above our user name into actual avatars?

matthewbuchanan
From: Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 125
Moderator

Posted at 12:17PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

and when do we get to change those anonymous little grey people above our user name into actual avatars?

This will happen as soon as Gravatar.com deploys its new server. It was under an enormous load during our testing phase so we disabled them temporarily, apparently the new server is "imminent".

Other usability tweaks noted and should be rolled out in the next few days. Thanks for your patience!

Tristan
From: Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 79

Posted at 12:24PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Great work, I am looking forward to how you keep the disscussion above board its very much needed

Gary Rawnsley
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 28

Posted at 12:35PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Russell: Is the intention to give all PA posts a "discuss" button, or only when the author decides he/she wants a comments thread?

Don Christie
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 1407

Posted at 12:35PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Good stuff. Links already appearing from all over the Planet.

Planet Catalyst

Paul Capewell
From: London
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 58

Posted at 12:41PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Fantastic work. Much appreciated.

Russell Brown
From: Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 9060
Moderator

Posted at 12:51PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Russell: Is the intention to give all PA posts a "discuss" button, or only when the author decides he/she wants a comments thread?

The latter.

Michael Hills
From: Hokitika
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 2

Posted at 1:16PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Great work guys, I've been hoping for a long time that some kind of discussion with other Public Address readers would be possible.
I'm pretty optimistic for the success of moderation on here, considering how other places seem to manage.

red01
From: Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 9

Posted at 1:31PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Wicked I like it...

I think it is going to complement public address very well.

P.S
I know its only beta but, I think you need an edit function for the users post though

matthewbuchanan
From: Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 125
Moderator

Posted at 1:59PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

I know its only beta but, I think you need an edit function for the users post though

red01, this is in the works. Thanks for all the positive comments.

James Doleman
From: Auckland
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 13

Posted at 2:01PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

First time I've ever posted online with my real name...

Spooky.

Robyn Gallagher
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 1309

Posted at 3:36PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

First time I've ever posted online with my real name... Spooky.

I'm sure the idea is that we'll all be much better behaved posting under our real names, but I can personally testify that it is possible to cause a ruckus doing things online under your real name.

Emma Hart
From: Christchurch
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 2629
Moderator

Posted at 3:45PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Yes, I've just realised (it's hot and I'm tired okay) that using my real name means I'm completely unconnectable with my normal internet pseudonym. It's like having a whole NEW pseud. I mean, it's not like this magic box connects with the real world in any way.

David Hamilton
From: Hamiltron
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 107

Posted at 4:24PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Great stuff, I like the concept and the design. Looking forward to the collision of opinion.

Damian Christie
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 609
Moderator

Posted at 4:32PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

I second all these comments. We fucking rock. ;) Well done Russ-Matt-Karl.

Go on, moderate me, I dare ya.

andrew llewellyn
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 2061

Posted at 4:36PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

First time I've ever posted online with my real name...

Are we going to 'fess up to our nom de blogs? I'll start, I'm Redbaiter.

;)

andrew llewellyn
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 2061

Posted at 4:38PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

noms de blog?

Deborah
From: Adelaide
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 815

Posted at 6:20PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

What about a link to Public Address System on the Public Address front page?

'fessing up to my full name - I have day-job issues, hence the continued partial anonymity. But as a token of good faith, I did give my full name when I registered.

Could someone explain how to put urls into posts if html isn't enabled. The instructions to the left of the 'post a reply' box are too cryptic for me.

And again, thanks for this fantastic forum. I'm thrilled to have a way of discussing / comemnting / posting in a Public Address community.

Robyn Gallagher
From: Wellington
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 1309

Posted at 6:43PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Could someone explain how to put urls into posts if html isn't enabled. The instructions to the left of the 'post a reply' box are too cryptic for me.

It's easier than it looks. Replace url with the link and replace text with the words you want to lead to the link.

As an example (and using curved brackets instead of square ones) to link to Google, it would look like this:

((http://www.google.com/|Google))

And remember the | between the URL and the text. Got it?

Malcolm 141
Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 15

Posted at 6:59PM on 3 Nov 06. Permalink.

Pleased to be here. Hope you don't mind just half my name. I still feel the need for a bit of anon. I'm supposed to be right most of the time in my day job, so I relish the opportunity to be wrong.