This is meta, if you’d rather skip it.
I think we’ve got a good community of commenters here, and in order to encourage a more perfect expression of interactivity, I’m going to implement a few new things.
First, the stick. I’m posting the Pharyngula filter file contents in that Dungeon tab at the top of the page. Now you can see a list of everyone who has been banned from commenting at this site, with some short comments about why. Try to avoid joining them, OK?
Second, the carrot. I know most of you probably have favorite commenters here—people whose names you look forward to seeing in the list of “Recent Comments” on the left sidebar, and who you read avidly, perhaps more avidly than the posts of yours truly. I’d like to start acknowledging those good people.
Here’s the deal: every month, I’m going to put up a post like this one asking you to nominate and vote on a great commenter. It can be someone you’ve found consistently wonderful and insightful, someone who you think routinely elevates the discourse around here. It can be just someone who wrote what you thought was the most hilarious or enjoyable or deep comment that month. Name them, say something good about them, link to a favorite comment, spread the word. If there is consensus on one person, they win; otherwise, I’ll be the arbitrary judge of the nominees and pick one.
Winners will be inducted in the distinguished Order of the Molly. There will be a page dedicated to the winners, which will also be on the tabs at the top of Pharyngula. There may also be some other perks made available, depending on how easily my tinkering with the page templates turns out to be. No prizes, though, just recognition. Shouldn’t that be enough?
Oh, and about the name…when one thinks of a great raconteur, someone with wit and humor who was also uncompromising in standing up for principle, who comes to mind, who do you consider a role model and someone whose writing skill we can all admire? Yeah, me too, so I thought I’d name it after the late Molly Ivins. We’re aiming high here, gang.
Comments are open for nominations. Who should be the first winner of the Molly Award for excellence in commentary at Pharyngula? I’ll name your choice on Sunday evening. If there are more that you’d like to see acknowledged, keep in mind that I’ll do this every mid-month.
How do I get Robert O’Brien off my comments as well?
The “Dungeon” tab doesn’t show up in the list of tabs I see, although it does appear between “About” and “RSS” when I go to the Dungeon page itself.
I’ve noticed a feature on other blogs (e.g. Wonkette) where you can click on the commenters name and get to all the comments on the blog from that commenter.
On Pharyngula the commenters name already links to their own URL. Perhaps this feature could be added to an icon or some small text such as “read all comments by x”.
This would be helpful in finding nominees.
I love the dungeon’s file name. Reminds of all the time I wasted on usenet.
Unfortunately, the only way I could do that would be to turn on the TypeKey registration requirement…I think most people would rather I didn’t do that.
I’ll second that – I can see the Dungeon only after clicking on one of the other tabs.
First winner? hrmm.. Caledonian and GWW each stand out for their bipolar-ish commenting at times, so probably not the ‘first’ winner.
I’d probably say Steve_C or Steve LaBonne right now. I used to look forward to reading wintermute but I don’t see that name around enough any more.
Rev. BigDumbChimp and Bronze Dog are up there, too.
I’ve had a fun time reading and exchanging comments with AJ Milne, Colugo, Greg Laden, Keith Douglas, Kristine the Amused Muse, Russell Blackford, Sastra, Sonja and Torbjorn Larsson to name the first few which sprang to mind. This is the sort of situation where I worry that my sporadic memory will lead me to slight people
scratch that – no problem now.
Of course, the moment after I complain that my memory is failing, stogoe has to go and rub in the point by listing a whole bunch of names with which I heartily agree. Sheesh.
I think you might want to add one to the Dungeon hall of fame…
Yamil Luciano/A Good Christian Man/Weapon of Mass Instruction.
oh wait…
I’d nominate for the Molly: Stogoe or Bronze Dog and the other Steve… LaBonne I think he should change his first name to Simon though.
I don’t see DaveScot on your Dungeon file.
Love the dungeon, but did not see D*veSc*t listed.
I second the nominations of the 2 Steves and BDC.
Is it OK for a simple lurker to make a suggestion?
I suggest Greg Laden. He is the sexiest man on the internet.
Came to say the same thing. I know he’s banned here because you’ve alluded to it in the past, but he’s not listed in the killfile.
Come on. How could you forget the master of DiSaster?
I hate to sound pessimistic here, but what’s to keep people from voting for themselves?
Oh, one more thing. For some reason, I have this hunch that this thread will attract a crowd that will greatly appreciate this tribute to a little piece of brilliance. Off-topic, but everyone and their pets must see this.
If I got myself banned here, I could probably double the size of traffic I’m currently getting at my blog just from being linked to in the “Dungeon.”
Good to know that people are noticing me.
Tom Foss has been doing well in his comments on a lot of blogs, so he’s an up-and-comer you may want to keep an eye on.
As for the Dungeon Hall of Fame, I’ve got a lot of personal experience with Yamil/WoMI. Lead to the first closing of a thread I’ve ever done.
Just to note: WoMI’s started shifting towards denying germ theory of disease. He ain’t afraid of HIV or HPV.
Hank Fox.
DaveScot currently is not in the killfile — it’s fear that’s keeping him away. Heh. I may have to add him just for consistency’s sake.
Yamil…how could I miss Yamil? I’ll update that later, but I’ve got some driving to do.
Out of loyalty from one Molly to another, and to honor the Mollyness of this award, I nominate Molly, NYC. I always look forward to her thoughtful and occasionally hilarious posts.
I love the dungeon! What a great idea, since some of the trolls get very tiresome after a while.
As for commenters, I like Scott Hatfield, Bronze Dog,Greg Laden, Kristine the Amused Muse, Sonja, llewelly, Hank Fox and Torbjorn Larsson. Their comments always are food for thought (even laughter is food…)
Kristine! Smart, good looking, dancer, what more could you ask for?
Yikes. I suddenly have this nervous feeling I am going to get banned. You won’t ban someone just for being a creationist right? oohh… I hope not.
Well, if you don’t see me around for much longer, it isn’t because I don’t like you all. :)
Heh.
z.
Carlie, Ichthyic, Molly, NYC, RedMolly, Kristine, Steve_C, Caledonian, Steve LaBonne, BlueIndependent, oldhippie, stogoe. And Great White Wonder! And Blake Stacey! And Steviepinhead! And Ginger Yellow! And wintermute! Hank Fox! Tristram Shandy! Quork! Jonathan Badger! llewelly! Azkyroth! Torbjörn (way over my head)!
All of you!
For full disclosure, if somehow the moniker “jimmiraybob” somehow shows up when I post a comment it’s not a malicious morph. However, I don’t know how to explain it. I think I’m being followed.
It takes alot to get banned z. But being a creationist does set you up for ridicule.
Prefer my mum’s Molly:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gruts/383989613/
Did I use up my vote? If not:
Kristine (fond remembrances of the old RSR days), Molly NYC, Torbjorn, and Hank Fox (I always think of “Kissing Hank’s Ass” when I see his comments).
As for banned creationists: the problem is when they start to scream and spam and switch handles in response to other commenters’ criticism.
Doesn’t “The Order of the Ivins” have more of a ring to it?
What George said
Я большой поклонник Блэйка Стэйси …
Oh crumb – now I’ve gone and embarrassed myself!
Я большой поклонник Блэйка Стэйси …
Oh crumb – now I’ve gone and embarrassed myself!
I see a trend… few pick a single favorite.
PZ is gonna have to create a ballot.
I’m in awe of the restraint your killfile exhibits.
“Molly” is a great name for an honor related to spot-on commentary and take-no-prisoners wit.
[Derail]
You might be interested to know that WoMI said some nasty things about a Molly while anonymous.
[/Derail]
“I am a big fan of Blake Steisi …”
Google translator does work!
Ксения=Ksenia
Do I even want to go there Bronze?
The guy is a vapid waste of space whose blog apparently exists for just him.
Maybe it’ll be good for a laugh.
Perhaps off-topic and off-blog, but since we’re in the ‘meta’ realm:
Is there any change or any way of getting articles on sexology, by an actual sexologist, on ScienceBlogs? You’d think that the web was full of sexology related blogs.
Second, since Pharyngula is a blog frequently revisiting the subject of atheism, and I suppose, skepticism on overall, here’s an article from a study that pertains to the topic and, I believe, has quite interesting implications, some of which are not too surprising (BTW, this isn’t the only article from the study):
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/113389327/ABSTRACT
To briefly summarize the article, superstitious beliefs (including a belief in a god) belong to a fairly well defined set of beliefs that follow from a confusion of properties of fundamental ontological categories (psychological categories, not philosophical). (Incidentally, this study was covered in a Finnish popular-science magazine Tiede.) It occurs to me that Scott Atran was speaking of the same phenomenom at Beyond Belief and in the followups on the edge.org. The study also brings forth the hypothesis of a dualistic way of thinkig, namely a distinction between intuitive and analytical thinking.
I would like to nominate Blake Stacey, or Stacey Blake; he is one of the few commenters who don’t make me roll my eyes. I would nominate Greg L as well, but I have to save something for next month.
“Molly” is a great name for an honor related to spot-on commentary and take-no-prisoners wit.
it’s also the common name of a most excellent group of fishes (Mollienesia – more recently Poecilia) from a most excellent group of fish (Poeciliidae).
perhaps one of the most significant families in both developmental and evolutionary biology, in fact.
right up there with Cichlidae.
I figured it was just open for nominations at this point.
I’m split between Kristine, whose wit, humour and writing skill always makes her an enjoyable and enlightening read, and who I can’t help but feel that I’d want to have as a friend, and Torbjörn, for much the same reasons although he’s a different entity altogether (and probably more the kind of geek that I myself am). The down side to Torbjörn is that he, being a Norwegian, probably has a tail, and that’s a bit of a turn-off, even from one straight guy to another.
Martin
The first Molly should definitely go to Hank Fox. The Steves and Kristine can wait for theirs.
Steve_C, once again you have ferretted out the truth. ;-)
Yup I think Blake is great, he’s one of a few commenters who nearly always makes me nod my head and mutter, “Yes, yes, right, exactly!” I have been known to quote him (without his permission, sorry Blake) to my friends. I’d like to say we think alike, but that would be an insult to Blake – so I’ll say, he thinks they way I’d LIKE to think. He’s eloquent, witty, and if he has a mean streak he keeps it pretty well hidden. And he knows how to get out of Somerville! How cool is that? I ask you!
However, lest my admiration of Mr. Stacey come off as a tacit condemnation of the rest of the community, which it certainly is not, I must second the earlier comment(s) that point out that selecting ONE person or comment is nearly impossible. I’d have to look back through the past month’s worth of threads and try to pick out the handful of comments and that really inspired me in some way, and each month it could be just about anybody. A difficult task.
Ichthyic, we had mollies in our fresh-water tank… I assume they belong to same group as you mentioned? If I remember correctly, they’re live-bearers… and I loved seeing those little fry swimming around. We had guppies, too.
Finally, I wish to say that I am moved by Dr. Meyers’ selection of Ms. Ivins as the namesake of this award.
PZ, in an odd way I envy your need to ban trolls and such. My blog is far to tame!
I would like to vote for Kristine.
And I’m not voting for Kristine just so she will buy me a beer tonight.
There are so many great commentators on this blog that this was a very difficult decision. Ah, but there is always next month…
(Pssst…. the vote’s off if she does not buy me a beer)
I nominate Scott Hatfield.
And I wish to apologize for not checking my spelling more closely, Dr. Myers. *blush*
(And I should know better. Believe me, I have plenty of experience being on the receiving end of a name-spelling error. *grin*)
Thank you very much, Mike Haubrich and Kseniya. Quoting the latter:
‘s OK. I like my words ending up in odd places (a slideshow in MIT’s OpenCourseWare, for example). Quote away!
Benefits of being able to revise statements before publication. . . .
It’s trying to find a particular location in Somerville which is the real problem!
I agree wholeheartedly.
Ichthyic, we had mollies in our fresh-water tank… I assume they belong to same group as you mentioned? If I remember correctly, they’re live-bearers… and I loved seeing those little fry swimming around. We had guppies, too.
yes, molly->mollies.
both guppies and mollies belong to the family Poeciliidae.
yes, they are all live bearers; not all that common in fishes.
they also are one of the few families where internal fertilization is the norm (goes along with the previous).
the modification, unlike the sharks mentioned in another thread, is to the anal fin, which is then refered to as a gonopodium.
sexual dimorphism in poeciliids has been well studied, and theories about relative selective pressures (environmental and sexual) have been excellently addressed both in the lab and in the field.
funny, I’ve posted this link twice today coincidentally, but it really is neat to see a PBS site that addresses one of my old prof’s research, as well as giving a fun activity to go along with it:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/sex/guppy/
Kristine, Hank Fox, Blake Stacey, Scott Hatfield, Torbjörn Larsson, Ichthyic, both Mollies, Zeno.
It’s a mutual admiration society, Blake.
Kristine, Torbjörn.
just to be complete, Mollies, Platies, Guppies, Swordtails are all Poeciliids, also commonly known as “toothed carps”.
Of course, I’m just scratching the surface here.
ask me about Poeciliids and protgyny sometime.
meh, OTOH, better not; unless PZ wants me to do an entire thread on the subject.
on the subject of voting, i simply can’t. too many good posts over such a wide area, and I’ve just never thought about it in those terms before.
maybe next time around.
I like how a comment thread which is basically just telling each other how much we like one another is now the second most active discussion at ScienceBlogs.
I vote for Blake.
;)
Order of the Molly. Great idea. Outstanding idea.
Wonderful tribute.
Off-topic, but I need to share.
On Point: Carl Sagan’s Footprints On Space with Tom Ashbrook
Guests: Neil Degrasse Tyson & Ann Druyan
Druyan’s comments at the end of the show on the relationship between science and spirituality were beautifully stated, and so close to what goes on in my head that I was moved to tears.
Off-topic, but I need to share.
On Point: Carl Sagan’s Footprints On Space with Tom Ashbrook
Guests: Neil Degrasse Tyson & Ann Druyan
Druyan’s comments at the end of the show on the relationship between science and spirituality were beautifully stated, and so close to what goes on in my head that I was moved to tears.
The Dungeon’s definition table and on-notice table could do with some delineating border lines to separate entries (like the banned table has). They are rather unclear to read at the moment.
Don’t forget those mosquito fish!
The Poeciliidae are known as live-bearing tooth-carps. There are egg-laying ones too, most notably the killifishes. At least I think that’s right. It’s been a while since I’ve studied fish.
Thanks George, Kristjan Wajer, Russell Blackford and Ichthyic! Also, my gratitude again to Кseniya for providing the On Point link, to which I am listening now.
Tss, tss, tss. “Fan” approximates just one of the three meanings my dictionary gives (brought here to help me if I happen to encounter paleontological articles in Russian). :->
Well. I suggest Torbjörn, Kristine, and Ксению (so, no danger of picking an undesired transcription, plus the opportunity of showing off!), and a large number of others whose names I have either failed to remember completely or mixed up… in the absence of faces, it’s easy to confuse names, especially as late at night as I normally read Pharyngula…
Tss, tss, tss. “Fan” approximates just one of the three meanings my dictionary gives (brought here to help me if I happen to encounter paleontological articles in Russian). :->
Well. I suggest Torbjörn, Kristine, and Ксению (so, no danger of picking an undesired transcription, plus the opportunity of showing off!), and a large number of others whose names I have either failed to remember completely or mixed up… in the absence of faces, it’s easy to confuse names, especially as late at night as I normally read Pharyngula…
I wholeheartedly agree with those who have named Scott Hatfield. It can’t be easy for him here at times, but the guy consistently shows grace and class. He is a constant reminder that there are theists out there who deserve our respect and attention.
Unfortunately, I have a ‘negative’ vote for one of the other favorites, though. I find Hank Fox’s little visual trick with the ellipsis’ annoying. He claims that he does it to make it easier to find his own comments. Well, that’s just rude and disrespectful. Anyone who can’t be bothered to use Ctrl-F like the rest of us doesn’t deserve my vote, no matter how wonderful his comments are.
Yes, I agree with the nomination for Scott Hatfield.
However, all of them pale compared to Zuckerfrosch. Check out the previous post. He*’s a genius.
* Guessing based on German grammar, where frogs are male unless proven otherwise…
Yes, I agree with the nomination for Scott Hatfield.
However, all of them pale compared to Zuckerfrosch. Check out the previous post. He*’s a genius.
* Guessing based on German grammar, where frogs are male unless proven otherwise…
Personally, as much as you do SO much right, PZ, I find these sort of popularity contests repugnant and antithetical to bringing out the shy lurkers. Sometimes a person shows up and makes one really great comment, then there are others who are always making comments. Usually great comments are acknowledged at that moment. I thought we left Junior High School superlatives behind years ago, no?
That being said, the first person I noticed here to be a very good writer, has diplomacy and a clear, concise argument style, let alone the best disposition among atheists:
Scott Hatfield.
As one of the old timers around here I agree with those who say that Hank Fox should be the first. He has been with us through thick and thin and adds a wonderful tone to the discourse.
Hank is the most Molly we’ve got.
I hate to sound pessimistic here, but what’s to keep people from voting for themselves?
I dunno. But you got my vote, kid. So whoever is the site manager person today please chalk up one vote for David Livesay. Thanks!
I started to make a list, but it’s too long! That’s one of the reasons this is my favorite blog: the quality of the commenters. (commentators?) Everyone who’s here “regularly”, whether posting often or rarely, makes good, well-supported points. It’s Lake Woblogon: all the topics are smart, all the squid are good-looking, and all the comments are above average. This place almost never bottoms out into shoutfests of who can repeat his or her opinion the loudest and most often; people are passionate but reasonable, and don’t shoot blanks. I know that no matter how involved the disagreement, everyone has a good reason for their preferred stance and isn’t shy about stating it rather than throwing ad hominems around instead. I’ve learned a lot here.
David M., of course I meant поклонник to mean “admirer” (more colloquially, “fan”) so Steve – or should I say Google? – was correct. (I’m afraid to ask what other meanings your dictionary suggests…!)
“Ксению” See? Even misspelled by someone who knows enough to get it right. ;-)
David M., of course I meant поклонник to mean “admirer” (more colloquially, “fan”) so Steve – or should I say Google? – was correct. (I’m afraid to ask what other meanings your dictionary suggests…!)
“Ксению” See? Even misspelled by someone who knows enough to get it right. ;-)
I really like this idea, as I do look forward to what certain individuals will have to say on a subject (esp. the science-y threads as that is not my background).
I would have to say that Blake Stacey has very interesting, informative posts on a variety of topics and I’m always impressed by his depth in those subjects. And he writes well, too.
The Poeciliidae are known as live-bearing tooth-carps. There are egg-laying ones too, most notably the killifishes. At least I think that’s right. It’s been a while since I’ve studied fish.
easy to confuse, but the killifishes and zebrafishes belong to the Cyprinids.
I’ll add another vote for Kristine Harley. Not simply because she offers tremendous posts across the blogosphere, but as a likewise Dawkobot, I am compelled to do so.
Love the name of the Order, but my vote for first inductee would be Molly herself, just cuz. My second inductee nominee is Azkyroth, simply because most of his comments go over his head; I don’t need to read things I already understand, I want to read things I don’t.
BTW I can attest to the fact that getting banned is awesome for hits. Getting banned at Gawker got me a good hundred and fifty extra hits that day; being un-banned for two months since hasn’t added up to that many.
I meant, of course, that Azkyroth’s comments go over my head, not his. As does typing, obviously.
Erm …
You DID know that “Molly” is a man (usually bearded) dressed as a woman, as a side-figure in some forms of English traditional mummers plays and dances?
And that “Molly Dancing” is a variant form of the Morris-Dance?
( Which as all Pratchett readers will know, is spread throughout the multiverse )
Here are some Molly sites (including one in California …
http://liveavatar.com/madmolly/
http://dmoz.org/Arts/Performing_Arts/Dance/Morris_Dancing/Molly/
Warning – you may need to re-set your brain later …..
Are you sure? I know the Danionins have always been Cyprinids, but I thought the killifishes were Cyprinodontids. Did they revise that taxonomy while I wasn’t paying attention?
As a native Texan, I’m very touched at your appreciation for Molly Ivins. With her gone, I’ve got one less clear argument for why Texas doesn’t suck (too badly).
I vote for Rev. BigD… I mean Kristine and/or Bronze Dog.
Others, Steve_c and Blake.
Excluding your fellow ScienceBloggers (sorry guys), I’ll vote for Hank Fox, Torbjorn Larsson, and Bronze Dog. Naturally, there are many other excellent commenters here, but those three come to mind quickly.
As far as the stick goes, there’s also that greasemonkey plugin, but I assume that won’t work for anyone using Internet Exploiter!
I knew Ms. Ivins was fighting cancer, but hadn’t heard that she’d died. Damn….
I love the award name!
David Harmon just reminded me that I should link to Daniel Martin’s killfile script, a tool for Firefox users which screens comments on ScienceBlogs.com, LiveJournal, most TypePad blogs and various others.
I nominate… umm… that poster who posted that really funny comment.
Great. Now I’m going to have to start paying attention as to who is posting what.
Oh, thanks Daphne and Rev. BigDumbChimp!
I vote for the Steves and Kristine! Usually when I see a comment I agree with or that makes me think, one of those three wrote it.
I’m also impressed at how many people manage to comment on Pharyngula all the time and still get work done, so kudos to everyone!!!
I vote either Blake Stacey or Kristine, myself. But there so many good ones in here! I’ll think of some soon…
…walks off, deep in thought….
Blaine stole my nominations. Evil man!
Tom Foss has been doing well over in the “Retraction” thread. I’m expecting great things from that fellow.
(Thanks also to Blaine and, implicitly, Joshua!)
I nominate Hank Fox. His response to the creationist re: eye rolling put it over the top.
(Don’t worry, Blake. You’re next.)
MikeG
Yep, add another vote for Hank Fox.
Thought so.
What? I just put thee into the accusative. Because it was after 3 at night, I thought I was showing off that way.
Yep, add another vote for Hank Fox.
Thought so.
What? I just put thee into the accusative. Because it was after 3 at night, I thought I was showing off that way.
I haven’t seen George’s name nominated yet. I especially liked his Evolution Sunday sermon comments.
Sadly, like people who read my sociopoliticoreligioblog, I think you’ll be waiting indefinitely :).
But thanks to you and Bronze Dog for the compliments. I’ve been enjoying this blog and others in the godless skeptic science blogoverse for a few years now, but it’s only been within the last year or so that I’ve actually felt like I’ve read and absorbed enough that I could contribute something to the conversation.
In other words, if I have been profound, it has only been through stealing ideas from the mouths of giants.
As far as my nominations would go, I’m a big fan of Torbjorn, Blake, Bronze Dog, and Zeno.