Can’t everyone comment? Why are you being so Big Brother-y?
Yes, anyone and everyone can still comment. What has disappeared is the ability to comment as a “guest” (i.e., without registering). Although I’d long been in favor of as few barriers to commenting as possible – I wanted more, honest feedback, and I wanted a robust community – we’ve seen in recent months that the openness has actually become counterproductive. Too much noise, not enough signal. The registration requirement will be simple enough for people who are here to genuinely engage in thoughtful discussion about the Cubs/the site/fun stuff.
What’s it mean to register?
Basically it just means that you sign up with a username (your choice), an email address (your choice), and a password. Once you’re registered for the site, you can log in with your username and password and drop all of those fantastic comments you’ve been leaving in the past.
How do I register?
First, you go here. Fill out the form, and then you’ll be sent an email to activate your registration. If you didn’t receive the email basically right away, check your spam folder and/or make sure you entered in your email address correctly. Once you’ve activated via the email, login at the site (either here, or in the comments), and be on your merry way.
Why are you doing this? I don’t trust you!
Unfortunately, as the site has grown, it has become necessary to require registration to keep the comments reasonably enjoyable for those who use and read them. By requiring registration, not only will it be much easier for me (and/or moderators, should we grow to need them) to monitor/deal with abusive users, it will also dramatically cut down on the volume of drive-by douchebag comments that add nothing of value to the site’s discourse.
Yeah, but I still don’t trust you!
As you can see in the site’s Terms of Use, “Bleacher Nation will neither rent nor sell your personal information to anyone.” It’s just not something I’m interested in doing, so you can feel comfortable providing an email address. And, in the end, participating on this site in the comments is both free and voluntary. Register, don’t register. That’s up to you.
OMG something isn’t working! It’s your fault!
What isn’t working, specifically? Have you received the registration activation email described above? No? Well, check your spam folder and make sure you entered your email address properly. This will cover 95% of the “OMG something isn’t working!” complaints. For the other 5%, is your preferred name already taken? Have you tried resetting your password? Have you tried clearing your browser cache?
WordPress – the software this site uses – is pretty glitch-proof when it comes to this stuff. So, while I don’t want to say it’s definitely on your end, if you’re having a problem … it’s probably on your end. If you’re *certain* you’ve done everything correctly and still can’t comment, then use the site’s Contact link to get in touch with me and we’ll sort it out.
But one reason things might not be working for you …
Do each of the Cubs blog, the Bears page, and the Message Board each require registration? If so, that’s dumb, Brett.
Yeah, it’s dumb, but it’s necessary for functionality reasons. Yes, you have to register in each of those three places IF you want to participate in each of those three places (obviously if you’re not going to use the Message Board, don’t bother registering there; ditto Bears page). You can use the same name/email/password to register at each, though (unless someone’s already ganked your name), so that should reduce the headache once you’ve gotten through the initial registration process.
Anything else I need to know about commenting?
Well, check out the Commenting Policy to make sure you aren’t in violation (the short version: don’t be a jerk, and you should be fine). And add an avatar (the little picture thingy by your name) if you’d like. This site uses Gravatar, so go to gravatar.com, get an account, and just make sure you use the same email address there that you use here. Then, boom, avatar.