Ed Note: With any technical problem or bug you see, it's extremely important that you send us a description of the problem along with the type of computer you are using, its operating system (name and version number), internet browser (name and version number) and a screengrab, if possible.

1. Load More Posts
Great news: This function, which was causing problems for everyone, is no more. We're back to pagination, which means you can scroll through older posts on the site by heading to the bottom of the homepage and clicking on the page numbers (1, 2, 3, and so forth).

2. Show Hidden Comments
Many readers who set their profile preferences to "show hidden comments" were not, in fact, seeing the hidden comments. This bug should be fixed; if not, email us and let us know.

3. Why am I only getting notifications when starred commenters reply to me?
You shouldn't be, at least not anymore; this feature was updated and all replies - from starred commenters and unstarred commenters alike - should be showing up in everyone's notifications.

4. I'm having trouble using the editing functions in my comments.
This should be fixed; if not, let us know.

5. Pictures and introductory text in the posts are not appearing.
Older posts often revert to headline-only when traffic on them has died down; if you are seeing relatively recent posts ("relatively recent" = 3 hours old or younger) that are showing up as headline only, or if images are not loading or appearing as boxes with an "x" in them, send us an email with computer/browser information and a screenshot of what you're seeing.

6. I am an unstarred commenter; why can't I create hashtag pages?
This is part of the new system, i.e. not a bug. Unstarred commenters, however, can create new threads within already-created hashtag pages.

7. I still want to be able to sort commenter discussions by most popular.
We won't be providing an easy-click option for this but those who want to sort comment threads by most popular can add this code

?sort=active

to the end of any post's URL in order to see the most popular/active threads.

More questions? Submit them in the comments. Problems and bugs, as mentioned above, need to be emailed in with appropriate and detailed info.

Earlier: Our New Look: Let Your Fingers Do The Talking

Before we get into the whys of the resdesign, lets get into the hows.

On this screenshot of the homepage (click it to enlarge), you'll see a number of changes. Up top, new navigation tabs, a login prompt, and search field. Directly below that: the biggest change: A hybrid commenting/submission form. And below that, the site's posts, ordered, as usual, from most recent to oldest, but with subject headers (subheads) incorporating Twitter-style hashtags. ("Hashtags" are a fancy internet term for the "#" symbol.)


The profile login remains the same, as does the site-specific search function (both are at top right). What's new are the navigation tabs (top left). There are four in all: "Jezebel" (to show all posts); "celebrity" (which will aggregate celebrity/entertainment-related posts); "sex" (self-explanatory); and "fashion" (if you have to ask...). Clicking on any one of these navigation tabs will allow you to customize the content you see, should you wish to do so.


Onto the commenting/submission box. This, obviously, is the biggest change...and the most revolutionary. The default message (or "prompt") in this box reads, "Let your fingers do the talking." Consider this an invitation to send us tips, comment on posts, or create new subject matter specific to your needs. In its "normal" state, the submission box looks like the one above. If you want to send a tip, comment, or create new content, click on "Share" and the submission box will automatically expand. What do you do now? Keeping in mind that this new feature is based on Twitter-style hashtags, any content that you type into the box will automatically be categorized - as long as you use an accompanying hashtag below the submission. So, to submit, say, a story tip, type in your tip, then include the hashtag #tips (conveniently, it's also the default hashtag) directly beneath it, and it will show up here. An example - based on a fantasy we'd love to see come true - below. (You can also use your own tags. Got something to say about Megan Fox? Send it to the #meganfox page.)


After you're done completing your submission, just click on "share" and your information - we're talking text, images or video - is good to go.


Next up: Reply notifications. We know that many of you have been waiting for this feature for some time, and we're thrilled to announce that it's finally in effect. What this means: When you're signed into your commenter profile, a notification will appear above the top post alerting you to any and all replies to your comments. Bellissima! You'll also notice that most replied to comments are not appearing to the right of posts; this is on purpose, because these sorts of comments will be featured within the flow of the site (meaning: in between editors' posts) throughout the day.

Now that you know the hows - and there's lots of other tricks and tips we'll get into in a post later today - here's the whys: Gawker Media's stable of websites is moving towards a more "open forum" format: In addition to allowing readers to post tips, sightings, gossip, photographs, videos and other content via our new submission form, we're also essentially hosting 24/7 open threads - the name of our primary forum is "groupthink" (#groupthink) - where contributors can, well, hash out ideas, chat, vent and otherwise engage themselves outside of the daily roster of posts on the homepage. (No more weekend-only open threads.) Featured/unfeatured commenting will continue, as will our open tips line via email, still the safest and most secure manner in which to send in gossip/ideas anonymously. (Note: If you're not an approved commenter, your posting has to be approved by an editor, moderator, or star commenter and the two-tier system applies to these tag pages, too. In addition, previous commenting rules still apply to all comments, whether on blog posts and hashtag pages.)

Obviously, change on this scale will take some getting used to. (Here's Nick Denton's particularly-dramatic take on the situation.) We encourage you to send us feedback - and technical problems/bugs you're noticing - via email (tips@jezebel.com) or in the comment thread of this post; we'll work on helping to get any problems fixed.

Over the past year (or more), the commenting communities on Gawker Media websites have literally exploded (in fact, of all the Gawker Media sites, Jezebel consistently holds the title - if you can call it that - of "most commented.") But, as with any massive increase in quantity, the quality of commenting threads on all of our sites have suffered. In order to gain some more control of the comments, and to present the best (funniest, thoughtful, intelligent, well-argued) to readers who have neither the time nor energy to wade through the more mediocre contributions, the comment threads will be broken up into two sections, or "tiers": Tier 1, which will appear directly below each post and house only the contributions of starred commenters, and Tier 2, which will house the contributions of everyone else (those without stars). To view Tier 2, click on the directive "Show all comments on this post": you will then be able to see all the comments – Tier 1 and Tier 2 together.

Stars
Stars will no longer be given out – or retained – based on the number of followers a commenter has. Instead, they will be granted to readers who have proven themselves to be engaged, intelligent, humorous, fair-minded, thoughtful, rational, etc. (I could go on.) Although there will FAR fewer starred commenters - a cull will commence today and continue for the foreseeable future - those starred commenters who remain will have more control over the commenting sections, essentially functioning as mini-moderators.

Specifically, starred commenters will be able to:

•Promote a well-written, thought out, intelligent and/or otherwise notable comment in Tier 2 to Tier 1 in order to give it a higher profile. (In addition, when a starred commenter in Tier 1 responds to a commenter in Tier 2, the Tier 2 comment will be moved to Tier 1.)

•View unapproved comments from new commenters and approve them so that they appear on the site in Tier 2. (Approving an unapproved comment does not mean the commenter herself is approved: the approval is for one-time only and does not give the commenter full commenter privileges).

Starred commenters will not be without oversight and are still privy to the commenting guidelines and rules: Commenter administrators can – and no doubt, will - override a Tier 1-promoted comment and push it back to Tier 2 at any time, for any reason. In addition, if starred commenters use their new powers to abuse other commenters, break commenting rules, or approve/promote/respond to Tier 2 commenters in order to start or highlight unnecessary arguments, their stars can and will be taken away. Shorter: Using starred status to respond to trolls or obnoxious comments is STRONGLY discouraged.

Note: In addition, the site will be giving out partial administrator status to a few commenters, giving them broader powers in terms of moderation. More on that later after we finalize the names/duties.

Functionalities
Good news: Readers will now be able to edit their comments… even after publication. For 15 minutes following the publishing of a comment, the commenter – using the little "pencil" tool that will now show up underneath each comment – can modify her comment in order to fix spelling/coding/grammatical/etc. mistakes.

Another bonus: Image and video uploading has also been made much easier; see the actual commenting form later this afternoon for more on this.

Aesthetics
Comments, like those on Facebook and Twitter, will now be displayed in reverse chronological order - newest on top, oldest on bottom - except within comment threads, where replies will be presented in chronological order. In addition, the company has decided to do away with the site's "expanded view" option, as many have already noticed, and stories that relate to each post will appear in a column on the right hand margin of each permalink page, meaning that the width of our photos and stories will narrow somewhat.

Open Threads
Many of you have noticed that open threads have been disabled a day after they went up. Although the open threads have proven very popular, they have unfortunately, contributed to threadjacking and the treatment of the comments on "regular" posts as a messageboard. To remedy this, we will now post two open threads per week, one on Friday and one on Saturday nights. They will be disabled on Monday mornings.

Commenting Guidelines
In addition to previously articulated commenting rules - here, here, here, here, and here - I'd like to address a few issues that seem to have cropped up lately in the comments, issues that will not be tolerated.

Thread-jacking, however minor or well-intentioned.

Complaints about what we are or are not posting about; no one is forcing anybody to read anything, and if you have suggestions for posts, you can email them to the editors. Although we can't often respond, we do read our tips!

Jumping to conclusions about and/or engagement in meta discussions as to the decisions, motivations, and psychologies of the site's staff, other commenters, parent company, the site itself, etc. Reasoned response to opinions and assertions presented by staff and other commenters is encouraged; accusations, insinuations, nastiness, sarcasm, etc. is not. If you have concerns and/or problems, they can and should be emailed directly to the site's editor(s)…the comments are not the place for them.

Piling on other commenters or derailing of the focus of a post by nit-picking and going after (perhaps) ill-advised statements made by others. This is a major problem, and not only will commenters be banned if they participate in it, the thread(s) itself will be terminated. There are far too many commenters on this site who do not give others the benefit of the doubt and the chance to explain themselves before jumping on them. A little generosity is in order.

This last point is perhaps the most important. It is imperative that we remember that the commenters on this site come from all age brackets, cultural backgrounds, maturity levels, education levels, and political and religious stripes. Although the site's editors subscribe to what some might call more progressive points of view - and hell, we do not always agree with one another! - we do not demand that the comments following posts adhere to those points of view. Our more vocal commenters shouldn't demand it either. Debating passionately but politely in the comments is one thing: piling on, belittling and mocking are another, and the latter does nothing to advance readers' knowledge or, for lack of a better term, change the hearts and minds of those you disagree with. Instead, it contributes to the much-mocked echo chamber on this site that we are determined to do away with.

Last, But Not Least
I have no doubt that this new commenting system will create confusion, frustration, and, for some, outrage – among both editors and commenters alike – for a period of time. But we're excited about and committed to the new system, and ask that you please bear with us as we reorient ourselves in the service of making our already-vibrant and engaging threads even more so. Questions? Leave them in the comments here, and we'll try to answer them or do a follow-up post as soon as we can. If you are seeing glitches, email them to us with an exact description of the problem, the type of computer and exact operating system you are using, as well as the browser you are viewing the site on.