At about this time a year ago, MND was making its first serious foray in the wild world of Web 2.0.
Our first build - MND version 2.0 - was precariously installed on an underpowered server, and this required its immediate overhaul. Two months later, MND v 2.1 was finally mounted on a dual OPTERON 246 2.0Ghz, with plenty of bells and whistles added to the package.
Since then, life on planet MND has been good.
Now, just a year later, MND v2.2 is almost in place.
Our experiment with making MND a more participatory environment has been a raging success, but it appears that MND as a publication is becoming tarnished by the inevitable banter of conversationalists and chatterers.
So - MND v2.2 will introduce some changes to our editorial process.
In coming days, MND’s comments will be hosted at blogwonks.com. The domain name mensnewsdaily.com will no longer be hosting comments.
We will, however, continue to ‘broadcast’ comments originating from blogwonks.com. More on this and other details will follow.
Meanwhile, all existing MND bloggers will continue to be hosted on the mensnewsdaily.com domain.
More prominent bloggers will be offered their own subdomain on mensnewsdaily.com. (Example.)
This new system will give MND authors much more latitude in configuring and managing their blogs.
Going forward, MND Authors will post to their own blogs in order for their articles to appear automatically in MND’s Vox Populi category.
MND’s owner and hosting company, Java King, Inc., is offering a full service website and blog hosting for MND/Blogwonks Authors who are regular contributors to Vox Populi, including free domain hosting. For example, MND Author Doug Powers’ website - http://dougpowers.com - is hosted on Java King’s server. Doug has his own website with his own blog on our servers in exchange for the ad units we carry on his pages.
Not everyone has their own domain name, of course. In that event, MND is happy to provide authors with their own subdomain: http://gonzosbarandgogogrill.mensnewsdaily.com/
Please contact me if you are interested in such a service for your website or blog.
As always, MND appreciates all of its readers, writers and lurkers! Our mission with MND v2.2 is undertaken with the intent of improving our community’s ability to hear and interpret the expressed views of individuals, and we thank you heartily for your ongoing support!
Best,
Mike LaSalle
Editor, MND
fourthwire said,
“Our experiment with making MND a more participatory environment has been a raging success, but it appears that MND as a publication is becoming tarnished by the inevitable banter of conversationalists and chatterers.”
The act of separating participants’ comments from the MND domain speaks for itself.
February 28, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Doug Powers said,
February 28, 2007 at 3:10 pm
The Gonzman said,
Maybe and I can get my main system back up…Hmmm
Cool beans.
February 28, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Charles Fockaert said,
If so, MND will contine down the path of filtered and pampered ‘journalism’ hacking away at the branches while ignoring the root of many of our culture’s and nation’s problems.
February 28, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Squiggy said,
February 28, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Elder George said,
There is a difference between readership and comments. It’s natural to horse aroung a little bit, but when gossip take over, then the intent of the message is frequently lost.
February 28, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Charles Fockaert said,
The Bokanovsky Process dominates at MND.
February 28, 2007 at 8:04 pm
BIGbrotherbites said,
Please tell me that MND is not going the “Poltically Correct” route…
Who cares if people rant and disagree with what the authors have to say. Ive been hanging around here for few years now and will go somewhere else if MND is out for Cesorship as Im sure many others will as well. Our wonderful Gov. in this United States of Amerika does that well enough for the whole world.
And Im not even Bitter. LOL
February 28, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Denis said,
March 1, 2007 at 8:47 am
fourthwire said,
His “experiment” called MensNewsDaily has played a critical role in educating men and spreading information about men’s and fathers’ issues.
But too many men have little or no voice on other forums, free of censorship and the tyranny of the politically-correct.
If MND becomes politically-correct, for commercial reasons or otherwise, Mike’s “experiment” will have certainly taken a new direction.
And if MND becomes politically-correct, then a vaccuum will be formed….. creating an opportunity for others to create new forums to attract viewers and participants interested in uncensored, non-politically-correct discussion of men’s and fathers’ issues.
I have periodically wondered whether MND’s existence as part of a commercial enterprise would come into conflict with its role in providing a PC-free forum for individuals interested freely discussing men’s issues.
Men’s and father’s rights activists are not typically presented with grants from private individuals, corporations or at the taxpayers’ expense for furthering their cause.
Through the 70’s and 80’s at the very least, and perhaps even today feminists “request” sizeable “donations” (or extortions) from major corporations, in exchange for being spared being targeted by their campaigns.
Universities diverted funding through their Womyns’ Studies programs so that feminists could spread their “information” to students and the public at large.
And taxpayers’ funds were used through special offices for women’s interests, set up through the executive branch of the federal government and state governments.
I do not see similar sources of funding for men’s issues sites happening anytime soon…… one of the reasons why MND has gained such popularity as it has.
Individuals interested in actual men’s and fathers’-related issues have been censored, their voices ignored, shouted-down, and denied involvement in much of the mainstream media, to avoid offending feminists, as well as on many forum-related Web sites where men’s interests are ignored, perverted, or worse.
Millions of men (and many women) listen to Tom Leykis’ radio show precisely BECAUSE he provides an alternative to the politically-correct,………..
………..precisely because he is willing to provide entertainment and a bit of education that man-haters find “offensive”.
He was provided with a “vaccuum” by the multitude of politically-correct radio, plus the fact that the vast majority of television programming and content (excepting sports) targets women.
I appreciate MND and Mike’s efforts to provide such a forum for men as he has done. But I will not stay if version x.x goes PC, for commercial or any other reasons.
And Denis, I would hope that bright, articulate, well-read individuals can find stable and sizeable funding to create a news-and-discussion forum for men- and father-related issues without worrying about being PC, or worrying how the feminazi propagandists will portray “men’s rights activists”.
And not a forum run by feminists or neutered “men”…….
Just my 2 cents.
March 1, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Teri Stoddard said,
March 1, 2007 at 12:32 pm
fourthwire said,
Mike has NOT written that he will censor anyone. Nor has he written that he intends MND to become more “politically correct”.
Now ask yourself why he would want to move the comments separate from the articles and blogs.
I can think of several reasons for doing so that are related to site security or performance.
Whether or not Mike’s planned changes for MND incorporate phased changes for those or other reasons remains to be seen, of course.
It’s HIS business, after all.
March 1, 2007 at 12:58 pm
midcitiesNCP said,
“Our experiment with making MND a more participatory environment has been a raging success, but it appears that MND as a publication is becoming tarnished by the inevitable banter of conversationalists and chatterers.”
In coming days, MND’s comments will be hosted at blogwonks.com. The domain name mensnewsdaily.com will no longer be hosting comments.
“We will, however, continue to ‘broadcast’ comments originating from blogwonks.com. More on this and other details will follow.”
_________________________________________________
Im just curious what that means if it isnt meant to limit peoples speech or opinions by not letting the comment to be seen with the article.
Most of the authors here are doing no more than voicing their opinions about things, same as the people commenting on their stories.
An idea could be to set up a Forum and make that the place for the conversationalists and chatterers and authors and all you people and me and them and him and her. They/you/we/them/all could still be on MND and voice their opinions
March 1, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Denis said,
March 1, 2007 at 3:33 pm
mruffolo said,
Men’s issues do not change often, and research could be cited with a hyperlink.
I vision areas as education, family, court, health, media portrayal, wages, violence, and or health.
One or two sentences to describe the point to be made ought to be enough to grab someone attention (like it is done now).
Additionally, a page dedicated that shows how feminist, for example, contradicted themselves or show our success (like when RADAR exposed United Nations’ false violence claims).
I offer to help.
March 1, 2007 at 3:42 pm
badger said,
I am of the opinion that it is the comments that are a big draw for viewers. They add richly to the topic at hand. The fact that there is a comments area is a big draw for commenters as well(duh!). My guess is that MND will see a spike down in viewership if the the comments area is less accessible.
Well said Denis. I don’t have a genius IQ, 5 degrees, or any debating skills what so ever but I don’t believe I have ever gone over the line. Mike speaks volumes with his absence on this comment thread. Perhaps elitism is at work or Mike does not understand the concept of moderators if he feels people are stepping over the line. Hopefully this does not carry over onto Gonz’s comment board.
March 1, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Denis said,
March 1, 2007 at 7:47 pm
tonysprout said,
March 2, 2007 at 7:13 am
The Rogue Jew said,
You have created a wonderful home that allows expression of free speech and exchange of ideas, even that of Chuckles the Clown our resident Hater. The comments left on my blog by Chuck have given me hours of laughter and enjoyment.
Thanks for everything Mike!
March 3, 2007 at 10:20 am
Charles Fockaert said,
It most certainly appears that way. MND allows comments such as “even that of Chuckles the Clown our resident Hater…” to stand but I myself have been removed as an author because of my views, accurate though unpopular they may be.
“I never read him saying he’s going to censor anyone.”
I’ve been removed as a contributing writer, does that qualify as censorship?
And after my removal, I noticed Linda Kimball’s article that essentially says the very same things I said that I was attacked for. The problem with my article is it cut to the chase, was politically incorrect and got to the root of the problem, and therefore was intolerable to the likes of Rogue Jew, mazza, [who later admitted he went 'over the top'] pseudo-patriot and a few others who hide behind their fake names as they attack others for their views. And oh, I was of course labeled an anti-Semite because I dare point out the policies of a particular group of people who have done a damn good job of shielding themselves from criticism with just such labels.
“Mike has NOT written that he will censor anyone. Nor has he written that he intends MND to become more “politically correct”.”
MIke doesn’t have to say anything to bring this about, he only has to do. And he has.
March 3, 2007 at 12:59 pm
julie said,
Oh dear, I didn’t know that was inapproriate. However, I suppose just reading new moves would be interesting and helpful. Countries do tend to be in the whole global pool these days.
March 4, 2007 at 8:01 pm
red pill said,
Thanks for the site, I’ve been luring here for years.
I still can’t believe that there are so few that engage in discussion here, I wonder how many hits you get per post on average? It seems to be the same suspects making their same comments (me too). Is it more than ten? Whatever happened to that Sartre dude? he seemed to go off into some kind of madness elsewhere but at the time made some good points.
March 5, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Thom said,
Hope that helps.
March 5, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Mike LaSalle said,
More changes are coming…
Mike
March 6, 2007 at 1:51 pm
mruffolo said,
In the New/Miscellaneous category ranking.com ranks the site 395th most popular.
Links pointing to this site: 37,472
Link popularity ranking: 17,218
http://www.ranking.com
Though I call this place home, I would like to see it grow in popularity without submitting to feminist/diversity like marketing as most sites have.
March 7, 2007 at 10:22 pm
fourthwire said,
“As an online discussion on the topic of human sexuality grows longer, the probability that someone will impugn a male opponent’s manhood approaches one.” - LaSalle’s Law
Exhibit 1: Mahablog
March 7, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Mike LaSalle said,
March 8, 2007 at 8:36 am
red pill said,
I have no problem with reading trash from fools. I have a problem where space for real news is given to Celbritney vomit and male and conservative baiting. Likely nobody will change the hivemind of the lefties and girlies, but maybe those about to go over to the darkside may have one last handhold before being cast into the MSM pit. Liberals are not prevented from contributing here, it’s true, but they are given special access as featured writers and that gives them tacit approval as they proclaim conservitive male thought as retrograde. Go ahead and provide feature space to those that don’t intend simply to offend but have a grasp of basic intellectual rules and capability to play the quid-pro-quo game honestly. Likely those that do will be few and far between, because it follows that honesty self-reliance and liberalsim cannot exist outside of an imperial state of mind. I’ve been searching for a place where actual conservative thought is appreciated, not given equal time with collectivist defeatist trash. It’s not censorship to demand equal reasonableness as a standard to be promoted. Should intellectually irresponsible thought be restrained by self-imposed refusal to cooperate with logic, then they have censored themselves. Surely there are some that will attempt to hold common courtesy above all, but I’ve yet to see it. That said, it’s not my problem when the quality of the debate or lack of it make it pointless to promote by its presentation. Beware of being fooled into thinking that equality of access if that be your goal, comes at the expense of equality of content…
March 9, 2007 at 3:06 pm
The Gonzman said,
Other than that, all is good.
March 9, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Mike LaSalle said,
And - just for the record - I’ve been rebuilding the site and its constituent blogs all week. Much progress was made, but I probably have another week to go before all the wrinkles are smoothed out again….
March 9, 2007 at 9:09 pm
David R. Usher said,
However, permitting feminists to enter our living room with bombs strapped on their backs created quite a disturbance. The movement cannot organize or develop majority thinking with a fistfight going on in the living room. This is why NCFC blew up in 1995, for example, with 2/3 of the executive board resigning all at once (I was the first to resign).
Since N.O.W. or various feminist sites will never publish articles by men’s authors, I see no reason for giving them the time of day at MND. This is not censorship! Censorship is to quash valid opinions and valid thinking on matters of great import. Declining to publish the drool of idiots or the rants of racists or card-carrying man-haters is the hallmark of good editorial control.
There is nothing to gain publishing the work of liars, and everything to lose by letting them confuse the many men who visit MND for the first time and find something unavailable anywhere else that is most important for them to learn about.
Hillary’s thesis said “There Is Only the Fight”. This is our training room. The village has an enemy — radical feminism. Advocacy the only way to stop the demise of marriage, men, and boys. There can be no advocacy if feminists are permitted to murder us in our own living room.
March 10, 2007 at 2:37 am
Denis said,
and on and on. In the effort to undermine each other, Left versus Right,
men were being divided against each other along political lines. Ms. Guess at least brought the focus back onto men’s issues even if he was challenging men’s issues and attempting to undermine them. I don’t know what the solution is to the stated problem by David but it’s up to Mike to decide if he wants to even address this issue and what to do about it if he does.
For the men’s right’s movement to keep going forward, men will have to see themselves first and foremost as “men” and not as Republican’s, Democrats, Yankee fans, Red Sox fans, Americans, Blacks, Whites, Christians, Football Enthusiasts, Whatever.
The movement needs and would greatly benefit by a unifying Mission Statement. In general, this movement will aim to provide and promote men with the following (minimally).
Good physical and mental health. Food. Shelter. Access to women. Peace. Security. Progress. Justice. A world fit for children. A non-violent environment. Things of interest. Plenty of leisure time. Plenty of friends. And probably many other things.
My 2 cents.
March 10, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Denis said,
March 10, 2007 at 12:57 pm
fourthwire said,
And obviously Denis is also correct in that MND has carried less of interest to men’s specific issues and more issues that some men find to be of interest, including politics, which also inspires more divisiveness among men.
Clearly Mike has to determine whether MND will be used as a rallying area to fight misandry and win equal rights for men…… or become a quirky place whose main advantage for men is that they are not censored any more than feminazis are on the site.
Ultimately, if feminazis are not kept from publishing their agitprop on MND, it will spawn the need for a new sheltered garden for discussing men’s issues and organizing men’s rights activists.
Whether or not MND becomes a rallying area for men or becomes a discussion and news site for the thick-skinned will certainly affect the momentum for advancement of men’s rights issues in Western nations.
And individuals like Ms. Guess will continue to plant their agitprop as long as Mike allows them to.
March 10, 2007 at 1:21 pm