(Click any image below in order to enlarge it.)

What's "off-topic"? What is "#groupthink"? "Off-topic" is any comment or comment thread that deviates from the subject matter in the post at hand. Obviously, conversations evolve and take turns, which is more than fine by us. What aren't acceptable are comments that come out of the blue and have nothing to do with the subject matter laid out in the post, or comments that denigrate, disrespect or dismiss the post topic by shifting focus elsewhere. Which leads us to... #groupthink, the Jezebel reader forum that is open 24/7 and serves as a repository for starting conversations or continuing conversations that have strayed off topic in comments on posts on the blog itself. (Commenting rules still apply here.)

Take a look at this:

(Click to enlarge.) As you'll see, directly below the "skyline" of featured stories is a submission field where you can send us tips or post to the #groupthink page simply by typing in your submission and adding a hashtag phrase (for tips, follow up your tip with #tips; to add to the open forum, follow up your missive with #groupthink). If you want to go directly to the tips or groupthink pages, you can also simply click on the #tips or #groupthink links to the right of the submission box.

Here's a glance at the #groupthink page, as it looked at 5:38pm last night:
(Click to enlarge.) As you'll see, #groupthink is full of lively discussions on everything from dating to delicious meals. And it's always open for business.

Earlier: The Craft: Commenting On, Contributing To Jezebel

The commenters on Gawker Media's stable of properties are known for their smarts, savvy, wit, breadth of knowledge and curiosity, but great online communities always need a set of rules and regulations to keep the discourse high and humming along.

If you're a relatively new reader to Jezebel: Welcome! We're thrilled to have you. As you may have figured out, commenting privileges on the site are not open to everyone, which means that we are able to maintain a higher caliber of contributions than those found on other, open and unmoderated websites. Want to become a commenter? You'll need to audition (a how-to here.) In addition, you'll probably want to take a look at our commenting policies, where are outlined here, here, here, here and here. (Lifehacker's old, but still good, post on how to comment on weblogs is also worth a look.)

Whether you're a brand-new reader or a commenting veteran, we ask that you take time to craft your comments, and that includes close attention to spelling, grammar, capitalization and punctuation: these basic requirements go a long way towards making us all look better. Make friends with your 'Shift' key. (Did you notice a mistake in your comment? Just click on the pencil icon next to your published comment and you will be given the opportunity to make edits.) Another good rule of thumb when commenting is to stay on-topic - editors and moderators may caution readers when a thread has gone off-topic - or to take your off-topic contributions to our vibrant reader forum, #groupthink, which we will discuss in more detail in a separate post later today. Notice a spelling or other sort of error in a post? Leaving this information in the comment of the post is strongly discouraged: editors do not always have the time to read the comments on their posts thoroughly so please, take a minute to email the editor in question or send the entire staff a heads-up by contacting us at tips@jezebel.com.

Many readers have already discovered how to make their voices really stand out via our #tips page, where you can share breaking news and tips, links of interest, timely video, or anything and everything else you think might be useful to Jezebel editors. (If you need a primer on how to use our hashtag system, go here.) Plus, if you give us some substantive explanation as to why we should follow up on your tip, your contribution might be promoted or featured on the front page. At #tips, quality contributors have the spotlight.

As always, when commenting on Jezebel, keep in mind that personal attacks, inappropriate behavior and off-topic rants are subject to bans, disemvoweling and deletion. Courtesy is of utmost importance: There are real people involved here, both on the front-end (writers/editors) and the back (commenters); ignore or disrespect this fact at your peril. (Starred commenters should be aware that their privileges are not guaranteed, which means they should be careful in the comments they approve and promote: do not feed the trolls! If you're an unstarred commenter, don't despair: there's an army of us on the lookout for the best and the brightest contributions.) We want the community to be the best it can be.

Questions? Leave them in the comments or email our beloved moderator, Hortense, at commenters@jezebel.com.

Earlier: Our New Look: Let Your Fingers Do The Talking
Extreme Makeovers: Update Edition
The Girl's Guide To Commenting On Jezebel: Version 1.2
A Message From Hortense, Our Commenter Moderator
The Girl's Guide To Commenting On Jezebel
Comment FAQ

Related: Geek To Live: Lifehacker's Guide To Weblog Comments [Lifehacker]

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.

The video starts off a bit slow, but once the song kicks in, it gets funnier and funnier. See for yourself:


Yo Comments Are Whack! [Mental Floss]

Change is hard, and a fair number of people are feeling miffed over the change in commenting structure. Thing is, the system has been implemented across all of the Gawker sites, and it won't be changing in any significant way anytime soon. That said, many of you had questions and concerns - technical and otherwise - that we want to address.

1. Who will be the commenter/moderators?
We are happy to announce that 5 commenters will be taking on some moderator responsibilities: AndBegorrah, BrutallyHonestBabes, MorningGloria, Khruschev, and BabyJane will be helping out when they can with account approvals, comment promotions/demotions and other assorted and sundry activities. Please give them a warm welcome.

2. Is the culling of the stars over?
No. It's a work in progress, and always will be. That said, it will probably wind down a bit in the next few weeks. If commenters want to alert us to readers they feel provide consistently excellent contributions and may benefit from "featured commenter" status, they can email us and let us know, but again, we are currently in the process of reducing – not increasing – the number of starred commenters. A few notes for those who already have stars: Using your status to indiscriminately, "democratically" promote any comment that rises above the level of "troll" is strongly frowned upon and may result in the removal of a star. In addition, everyone should know that starred commenters are not above having their comments demoted to the "unfeatured comments" page: the featured comments are supposed to provide a snapshot of the best conversations relevant to the post at hand, and, although I don't think that commenters should refrain from engaging in mildly off-topic conversational and or/jokey threads, those types of contributions don't really belong on the featured comments page. Shorter: Every commenter - starred or unstarred - has the opportunity to be "featured" and "unfeatured", depending on the nature of the contribution. (If your comment is demoted, please, don't take it personally. It's impossible for every commenter to bring her A-game 100% of the time, and the "featured" comments should only be the best/funniest/most insightful/most interesting.)

3. Who decides who and why some commenters get a star and others don't?
The decisions regarding stars are made by our "moderators": the site's editors and the five commenters we have given additional administrative access to. Decisions are based on any number of factors, including but not limited to: longevity (people who have made a ‘name' for themselves with an established comment history are yes, going to be trusted more than those who have not); quality of contributions; and use or abuse of commenting privileges. Quantity of comments is not of particular concern: there are many starred commenters who, although they comment infrequently, comment intelligently and responsibly when they do. Obviously, our judgments are subjective; it would be impossible for them not to be.

4. Why do only a few selected people get to decide what is "good"?
We run the site.

5. Isn't the star/non-star system just a popularity contest?
Nope. Comparing the current commenting structure to a "popularity contest" or complaining about its supposed resemblance to "high school" is your prerogative, but, in my opinion, both over the top and self-serving. In fact, the previous star system – which was based on number of followers – was more a "popularity contest" than the current structure, which, as I outlined above, will change and grow over time and allows everyone a chance at composing a featured comment. Again: Quantity of comments and number of followers is NOT a prerequisite for becoming a starred commenter.

6. Are the stars good across the Gawker network?
No. They are specific to each site. Meaning: A star can be awarded, or rescinded, on one site without it affecting the commenter's status on another.

7. Is there a way to change settings so that, by default, all comments are visible? Can the "show all comments" link be at the top rather than at the bottom of the first page of featured comments?
Yes, the first option will be available later this week. As for the link to "show all comments," it will remain at the bottom of the featured comment thread.

8. Is it possible for you to have the unfeatured comments show up in black text rather than grey?
There are no plans to implement this.

9. Will we eventually be able to collapse and expand all the individual thread discussions?
You can do that right now. Just click on the plus sign associated with each thread divide.

10. Will we see the return of links that control the chronological order of the comments or enable us to sort them by "newest", "oldest" and "most popular"?
There will be no return of clearly marked sorting functions/links, but there will be another method in order to view the comments in few different ways; we'll share that info in the Help section at some point in the not-too-distant future.

11. What happened to the "next" navigation arrows/links in the posts?
They're gone, sadly.

12. What happened to the permalinks to specific threads or comments, and how do I respond to more than one person at once in a comment?
The permalinks to specific comments/threads will be back shortly. As for responding to more than one person, you can type out an "@" sign before a commenter name or you can simply write a separate comment for each response.

13. When I click "show all comments" is it showing all the comments, both featured and non, on that page of comments, or all the comments overall?
The former.

14. Can you explain the point of the new system? It seems very [insert "unegalitarian", "Orwellian," "antifeminist," "censoring", other descriptor here].
The new system – which is, again, active on all Gawker Media sites – was created to give editors and moderators the ability to curate and highlight the best and most relevant comments on any given post by designating them as "featured comments", thereby providing a snapshot of the most interesting, engaging ideas/discussions currently going on. No comment system that includes auditions and moderation for quality control can ever be truly democratic or egalitarian; in fact, with regards to the comments on Gawker Media sites, egalitarianism was never the point. There are plenty of sites on the web with unmoderated comments, if that's what floats your boat.

15. The open threads are difficult to navigate with this tiered system; can anything be done about it?
One solution is to "view all comments" when participating in open threads. (See #5, above.)

That's all, folks. We won't be putting up any more posts about the comments after this, but you can always email us at tips@jezebel.com regarding issues - particularly technical ones - we didn't address. Thanks for all your queries...and your patience.

[Image via lemonysarah's Flickr]

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.

(Voracious consumers of American television programming may also recognize the word from a famous episode of Lost and Tourism Australia's latest ad campaign. But I digress.)

You may notice that reader comments have not been showing up under posts today. The explanation is this: my two-week trip Down Under offered me the real-life time and spiritual space - a walkabout, if you will - to make an important decision I've been mulling for months: to disable the comments on Jezebel.

Our commenting community is robust and beloved by many, including myself. But I've had the nagging, growing sense that the readership as a whole - and the site's editors - might be better served without the anarchic yet insular echo chamber often on display in the comments every day. Managing the comments is an exhausting, full-time job that takes away from the editors' other work, a job that has also become impossible for our moderator/weekend editor, Hortense, to do as effectively as she'd like. Other blogs have disabled their commenting functions with little fanfare but much success, freeing writers to think out loud and speak their minds without having to worry about personal, nasty and/or other ad hominem attacks and negative energy from anonymous readers and trolls. And although I'm not convinced that the blackout will last forever, for the foreseeable future, the commenting function will cease to exist on Jezebel for the betterment of the larger community.

What this means for you: You can still post public and private messages to one another and your commenter accounts - while not active on the site's posts - are still enabled. Your identities will remain intact. We will still post about reader meetups. As for "reader roundups", they won't exist anymore, but those who want to share respectful reactions to published posts can email them to tips@jezebel.com; we'll post reader emails from time to time on the site's homepage.

Although I predict that many will react to this news with surprise, disappointment and anger, I ask that everyone take a moment to consider that, in addition to its editors, this site - although virtual - this site is a living and breathing organism that needs more opportunity for study, growth, self-reflection and reverie. In short, it needs silence.

Keep your eyes on the sun and you will not see the shadows.

-Aboriginal proverb








Update: click here for more information.

The website, which normally focuses on official statements released by al-Qaida and other militants, today features commenters poking fun at the First Lady’s press release. One commenter, known as Dark-Side, sarcastically offered condolences for the cat, posting “For God’s sake, could someone tell us where the wake is to be held?” Another commenter mockingly worried that India’s death would disrupt Arab-U.S. relations: “This is not the right time to die. It is a dilemma for the Arab leaders at this time because they are busy and have to leave the region to offer condolences.” [AP]

[Image viaAFP]

What this means: You can use your Facebook account to log into and leave a comment on Jezebel. When and if you do so, your comment will appear below the relevant Jezebel post as well as in your Facebook feed, for all your peeps to see.

Because Facebook commenters don't require an audition or moderator approval to comment, there may be an influx of new commenters coming from the social networking site. But here's a word of warning: if new, Facebook-using commenters abuse the commenting system in any way (see here for guidelines) or piss off, bore or annoy us, they can and will be banned. And, unlike other methods of commenting, a ban given via a Facebook account is irreversible and permanent. (Note: By "permanent," I do not mean a certain type of hair processing.)

Lastly, some of you have inquired as to whether, when commenting via Facebook, if the rest of the world (i.e. the other Jezebel readers) will be able to view your Facebook account. The answer: No. However, readers will be able to see your Facebook name, which, of course, may also be your real name.

Questions? Leave them in the comments and we'll try to answer them soon.

The Girl's Guide To Commenting On Jezebel
The Girl's Guide To Commenting On Jezebel: Version 1.2

So let's break it down, shall we? The site is now viewable in two options: the default view, which is the Condensed version of the site, and the Expanded view, which is, visually, closer to the old school version of Jezebel. So if you're one of those people who truly hates the new design, just switch over to the Expanded view, and things should go back to normal. The tech team is aware that there's a problem with Firefox 3 and the Expanded view, and they are working on it, so hang in there! And if you're having any other technical issues, you can always email me, and I'll forward them along.

I will admit to being as confused about the new design as you are; things might look a little wacky today as I get used to posting with the new layout and such. But, in fairness, the Condensed view does have its benefits: the posts load much faster and you're able to see most of the day's posts without having to go back and forth between pages. I know we're all still kind of getting used to it, but for those of us who are constantly refreshing, it's nice to have a quick-loading site option. And again, the Expanded view is there for people who don't like the Condensed version of things.

Some of you might have noticed some other commenting changes going on; Anna will be addressing those at some point in the future so DON'T PANIC! Everything is going to be okay. Other technical issues: if the site doesn't seem to be updating for you, try clearing your cache and refreshing. If that doesn't work, send me an email and we'll try to figure it out. For those of you worried about PM's: you can currently access them by clicking on the "messages" tab on your profile page.

So there you have it. Lots of changes, and more on the way, but there are options for people on both sides of the site design debate, and to have those options, I think, is a good thing. And if nothing else, we could totally have a Condensed vs. Expanded snowball fight at the next Jezebel meetup. Because we're all about choice, ladies. You can pick which ever view you please.

Earlier: Keeping Up Appearances: Jezebel Is Getting Jerry-Rigged

Image via amigurmi via Flickr.

Threading is a way to make comments read more like conversations instead of a bunch of disconnected single replies. Now, when a comment is replied to by other commenters, all the replies will appear directly below the original comment. Each of these blocks is called a "thread". All of this will be self-explanatory once you start using the new system, but read on for a more detailed explainer.

The first comment in a thread will have a few distinguishing features, among them, the number of replies in the thread along with the time of the most recent reply.

Clicking the reply arrow on the lower right side opens a comment reply input box directly underneath the comment. No need to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to reply.

Replies to replies - sometimes known as second or third (or fourth) level replies - will not be indented as is the custom in most forums. Instead, second and third level replies will be collapsed.

How are the threads displayed, still in chronological order?
Each conversation will be displayed in chronological order. But organization of the conversations overall will be displayed based on popularity. The most popular conversations will migrate to the top. The most recent comment that has no replies will appear on top for 15 minutes before being filtered down. If a more active conversation receives a reply within those 15 minutes, that conversation will overtake the stand-alone comment.

Where did the plus and minus go?
The plus and minus, which was used to friend or un-friend a fellow commenter, has been replaced by a heart. Friends show a red heart, and the rest are empty.

What's the deal with the star again?
Star commenters were readers who have 25 or more followers, or were designated as stars by a comments admin. With the introduction of threading, the number of followers required to attain star is increasing to 40.

Is there a way to view comments the "old-fashioned" way?
You can switch to the old style comments layout by clicking the "classic view" link in the comments bar at the top of the threads.

We would also like to reiterate how commenting works on Jezebel, as first outlined in this post, excerpts from which are reproduced below:

1. Commenter moderator
2. Good comments vs. Bad comments
3. Banning
4. Disemvoweling
5. Deleting comments
6. Best/Worst comments of the day

1. Jezebel Commenter Moderator
As most of you know, we have an funny, thoughtful, and fair-minded commenter moderator, "Hortense". Hortense comments on posts as a regular reader but she also carefully surveys comment threads to make sure that they don't get out of hand, warns and admonishes obnoxious commenters, and, when needed, bans commenters who are not contributing anything informative or interesting to the discussion. She can be reached by emailing commenters@jezebel.com or via her profile page.

2. Good vs. Bad Comments
Read carefully before you comment — we can't tell you how many times people comment on posts they haven't read carefully, or read at all — and ask yourself, do I have something to add? Want to know what we define as "good" or "bad"? See below:

Characteristics of a good comment:
•Insight/additional information
•Intelligent critique
•Wit/humor
•Calm, courteous, reasoned disagreement, either with the opinions/facts presented in a post itself or with other commenters
•Sharing of relevant, personal anecdote (within reason)

Characteristics of a bad comment:
•Attacks on other commenters or Jezebel editors
•Deliberate provocation/trollishness
•Excessive vulgarity
•Self-promotion
•Banality
•Creating/contributing to an echo chamber: ("So cute!" or "I hate...")
•Whining/Complaining: ("I don't want to read about this, can't we see pictures of puppies?")
•Irrelevance: "I don't know who this person is" or "First!"
•Assumption/speculation over an editor’s motivations: (“This post was only put up in order to garner [editor name] pageviews”)
•Posting copyrighted material: (posting large swaths of news articles in comments instead of just linking to another page)
•Thread hijacking

Note: Although Jezebel editors have strong feelings on a whole host of issues — political and personal — we don't expect everyone to share them. Nor should you. Ganging up on commenters who don't share your point of view is not only unnecessary, it is tacky and contributes to a cliquish atmosphere that is not in the spirit of this blog. Differing viewpoints should not be shouted down; try to engage those with opinions opposite to yours with reasoned, polite disagreement. And if you find that difficult? Don't comment.

3. Banning
We reserve the right to ban for any reason. We do not owe banned commenters an explanation, although we may give one if we feel like it. As always, banned commenters can re-apply for commenting privileges after 2 weeks.

4. Disemvoweling
Disemvoweling is a function in which we remove the vowels from every word in a comment to make it virtually unreadable. The point of disemvoweling is to neuter an offensive comment and warn the commenter her/himself that they are on the verge of being banned. (Sometimes we will disemvowel AND ban.) It is permanent, and commenters who try to “reconstruct” and re-post a disemvoweled comment will themselves get disemvoweled.

5. Deleting
In rare cases we can – and will – delete comments altogether. Period.

6. Best/Worst Comments Of The Day
There have been some disagreements among readers over what constitutes a "worst" comment and complaints about "fairness". Let us repeat: We work with what we have, meaning, if you think there is a comment that deserves consideration as "worst" status, you need to send it in to either Hortense or the tips email or else we probably won't know about it. In addition, sometimes we are going to call out commenters who have committed what we think is a "bad comment" offense (see above for definition) even if the offense seems mild to others.

Earlier: The Girl's Guide To Commenting On Jezebel
A Message From Hortense, Our Commenter Moderator

This embrace by readers however, has also seen a change in the nature and tone of comments that has begun to seriously trouble me and the other Jezebel editors. Although we're thrilled that so many of our readers have something to say, there has been an increase in the stupidity, obnoxiousness, banality and purposeful provocation in our comments, an increase that has (rightly) upset both our most loyal readers and new recruits. So! We're going to start a spring-long cleaning of our commenters, meaning, we will ban anyone* we deem to be excessively self-promotional, obnoxious, immature, insulting, nasty, and yes, boring. Jezebel is not a free for all, nor is it a democracy; for those who want to say whatever they want, whenever they want, we suggest you start your own blog. For those who want to play by the rules, please see our guide to commenting on Jezebel below; we hope it will give readers — particularly new ones — some guidelines to follow.

*Note: Most bans will be preceded by a warning sent to a commenter's personal profile page, although we can and will ban anyone immediately and without warning. As always, banned commenters can re-audition at any time.

WHAT IS COVERED IN THIS GUIDE:
1. Commenter moderator
2. New commenting features
3. Blog/link pimping
4. Snap Judgments
5. Good vs. bad comments

1. COMMENTER MODERATOR
We are welcoming our new commenter moderator, longtime Jezebel reader "Hortense". Many of you are probably already familiar with her as she has been a prolific commenter on the site for many, many months. Hortense will not only comment on posts as a regular reader, she will carefully survey comment threads to make sure that they don't get out of hand, to warn or admonish obnoxious commenters, and, when needed, ban commenters who are not contributing anything informative or interesting to the discussion. Do not think of Hortense as a drill sergeant, but a den mother whose job it is to keep everyone playing fair. She can be reached by emailing commenters@jezebel.com or via her profile page.

2. NEW COMMENTING FEATURES
•STAR SYSTEM
Some of you have noticed the appearance of "stars" next to certain commenter names. Here's what's behind the star system: Across all Gawker Media sites, commenters who have 25 or more followers get a star next to their name. (The number of followers needed for a star will increase over time.) This is an automated function and can be rescinded by Jezebel editors and/or our commenter moderator without warning. In addition, commenters without stars can be given stars by Jezebel editors or commenter moderators as reward for one amazing comment or a legacy of great comments.

•COMMENTING VIA EMAIL
This is a way for Jezebel readers to comment through email without logging into the site. When logged out of comments, you will see an @ icon next to each comment, as well as a comment by email link inside of the comments login box. The first time someone comments via email they will be assigned a randomly generated username (note that these accounts remain anonymous and the email address does not appear on the site). Each comment must be verified before it goes live.

•VIDEO
Some readers have already noticed this but you are now able to add video to your comments by posting video embed code from another site into your comment.

3. BLOG PIMPING, THREAD-HIJACKING & LINKS IN COMMENTS
There's been an increase in the pimping out of personal blogs/off-site chats lately, and it needs to stop. Our comment threads are not opportunities for readers to market their own blogs; if you want to direct readers to your personal websites, you can put these links on your personal profile page. Please refrain from hijacking threads; we realize that discussions naturally take twists and turns but we strongly frown upon those who begin commenting about their love of ice cream in a post about Hillary Clinton. In addition, if you want to add a link to a webpage that is relevant to the comment thread you are participating in — and it is a provocative and/or potentially-upsetting or NSFW — it is only fair to label these links with some sort of warning or NSFW tag.

4. SNAP JUDGMENTS
There seems to be some confusion over what is allowed and encouraged in the comments on our "Snap Judgment" pictures, particularly among the newer readers, who may have not seen our January post on girl-on-girl crimes.

To reiterate: "Snap Judgments" are not a place for readers to rail against the physical appearance of the subject(s) shown, be snarky just for the sake of snarkiness, and/or add nothing to the discussion. (See example here.) And despite what many of you think, Jezebel editors are not "setting up" or "baiting" readers to do just that. "Snap Judgments" should be fun, filler content showing a single moment in time; if you have nothing nice to say, don't say it at all. The smartest and wittiest of our readers are able to open their minds and find fun things to say about a photograph as a whole, not the subject's thighs or face. Remember: be clever! (See example here.) As commenter BAngieB once put it: "Snap Judgment is supposed to be just that, a snap judgment. Back in the day, this was a really fun feature where we would try to out-snark and out-clever each other. It's the new people who have ruined by fixating on the person's flaws rather than the picture as whole. What's funny about the picture? What are they really thinking? Who is that dude in the background? In this case, I hate the playas, not the game."

5. GOOD VS. BAD COMMENTS
Read carefully before you comment — we can't tell you how many times people comment on posts they haven't read carefully, or read at all — and ask yourself, do I have something good or bad to add? Want to know what we define as "good" or "bad"? See below:

Characteristics of a good comment:
•Insight/additional information
•Intelligent critique
•Wit/humor
•Calm, courteous, reasoned disagreement, either with the opinions/facts presented in a post itself or with other commenters
•Sharing of relevant, personal anecdote (within reason)

Characteristics of a bad comment:
•Personal attacks on other commenters or Jezebel editors
•Deliberate provocation/trollishness
•Vulgarity
•Self-promotion
•Banality
•Creating/contributing to an echo chamber: ("So cute!" or "I hate...")
•Whining/Complaining: ("I don't want to read about this, can't we see pictures of puppies?")
•Irrelevance: "I don't know who this person is" or "First!"

Note: Although Jezebel editors have strong feelings on a whole host of issues — political and personal — we don't expect everyone to share them. Nor should you. Ganging up on commenters who don't share your point of view is not only unnecessary, itis tacky and contributes to a cliquish atmosphere that is not in the spirit of this blog. Differing viewpoints should not be shouted down; try to engage those with opinions opposite to yours with reasoned, polite disagreement. And if you find that difficult? Don't comment.

Earlier: This Year, Let's Call It Quits On The Nasty Nit-Picking
Mouthing Off On Jezebel: Now With More Meta
Jezebel Comments FAQ

First, you've gotta be logged in. If you don't already have a user ID, click "new user" at the top of the page. When you're logged in and you see a comment you like, click the "follow commenter" button to the right (it looks like a lil' plus sign.) Once you're following someone, links to their latest comments will appear on the front page of the site mixed in between the regular posts. This way you can scan the page and find out what your friends are talking about at the same time. (See above for example.)

Want to see who you're following — and who's following you? Just go to your profile page, by clicking the "welcome!" link at the top of the site. You can un-friend someone by clicking the x button next to his or her commenter name. If you want to see all of a particular person's comments in one place, click on his or her commenter name — you can even send that person a personal message on their profile page.

So welcome to the new world of Jezebel comments. Let us know what you think, and if you have any problems using the new feature, leave word below or write to tips@jezebel.com (be sure to note your OS and browser type).