The total number of comments posted on The Online Citizen since we went online in December 2006 has breached the 100,000 mark. Today, 23 September 2009, 9am, the number of comments on TOC currently stands at 100,026. (These do not include spam comments.)
This averages out to almost 100 comments each day in the last 34 months.
TOC would like to thank all our readers and especially those who take the time to post comments and share their views with fellow readers.
Please do continue to express yourself here.
HELP keep the voice of TOC alive!
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First!!
I kid! :)
I’m glad for TOC. If there’s one thing that really pleases me, it’s to see comments from all contributors being allowed, unlike our MSM ‘editing’.
Cheers!
“If there’s one thing that really pleases me, it’s to see comments from all contributors being allowed, unlike our MSM ‘editing’. ”
Disagree.
Internet Liaison officer of the brotherhood.
CC: Strangelands / Ekunaba / Ikiran
Congrats TOC! It’s certainly a great leap for the online community of Singapore.
While we celebrate the online citizens of this country, actually we can’t be 100% sure they are all from SG, are becoming more politically awared and involved. This question sets me thinking…
How do we extend the presence of TOC and awareness of its’ presence to those rely mainly on MSM (mainstream media)?
This would be a great way of helping the majority of the citizen at large who are pro-MSM, whether by will or by MSM’s extensive means and reach, to discern with balanced info countering MSM’s biased reporting come elections time or even for daily news/info provisioning.
Let’s share our views and bring TOC to greater height!
congrat! TOC. keep up the good work.
Congrats!
TOC should also constantly keep track of its viewership that will probably attract sponsorships. It will definitely help in defraying some of its operating costs. Not profit minded, buy practicality though.
Keep it up!
the debate on Creation and Evolution generated the most comments 600+ is it?
We need to invite ‘their’ supporters, lets call them this for convenience,
to give us what they feel about :
1. the TC investment fiascos. Do they feel nothing wrong?
2. the HK-SG mini bom boms. Do they feel nothing wrong?
3. the T invest fiascos. Why they see no need for more transparency? Do they know what they don’t? Oxymoron? Let them tell us.
4. The FT influx at such a high rate. Do they see nothing to be concerned about? Why so many came in , in the last 3 years?
5. Is CPF not a cost to employers? Tell me this has ZERO effect on our competitiveness. To reply, must be convincing with evidence.
And so, what have they done about it?
Do they still support as usual?
what i mean is, i hope we can challenge them to challenge their thinking.
I am sure many of them cannot answer.
5) ApApA on September 23rd, 2009 10.18 am
“TOC should also constantly keep track of its viewership that will probably attract sponsorships.”
I will have to give a No Confidence vote on that idea.
No private sector company that is not related to the u-kno-wat will be willing to sponsor imho. The fact speaks for itself, for the last 34 months, there is none.
Only when the fat lady sings.
READERs,
how effective do you think advertising on Google Ads can help increase readership for TOC? A blog next door has done just that whose ads could potentially appear on MSM websites.
“The is launching a publicity drive via google ads to increase traffic to its site.”
We need a Piped Piper to lead them to here to challenge them on their THINKING and welcome them to rebut and give their views on the issues full of question marks.
Those especially confident should take up the challenge to post here.
Real Gold No-Scared Fire Grilling. hahaha
Quantity, yes.
Quality? Only a few…….which is why people should be wary about the MOB behaviour when MSM talked about NETIZENS blasting others on certain matters.
Remember about those numerous vile and malicious allegations about former NMP Siew Kum Hong on the Internet/blogosphere following the AWARE saga and even before that when he spoke out for the repealing of S377a?
It is great to hear that the 100,000 milestone has been breached. It is also appropriate to applaud TOC for a job well done, bringing the silent and unheard voices, drowned out by the MSM, closer to the community, and, in the process, help to shape and mold the future of Singapore by means of greater political awareness, on issues of the day that affects all Singaporeans from all walks of life.
However, the milestone aside, and as with all developing processes, this is just the first step toward achieving a politically mature society. There have been gripes and grouses along the way, and so far, these have been dealt with, sadly, in less than an ideal manner; mostly by means of censorship.
Going by TOC’s last estimated average of 1-2 unpublished comment each day, we can well see that there are close to 1000 comments that did not see the light of day in the past two years.
Let me be clear that I am not raising a case against moderation and censorship. This issue has been dealt with, and generally, most have accepted TOC’s position and render it the respect it deserves as host of an unprecedented citizen discussion platform.
What I am attempting to raise instead is that TOC must begin to work harder to gain better credibility, and to leave no stone unturned, in its effort to be able to allow as many of the unpublished comments as possible, and let readers decide if they are fair comments or not. I am not pushing this though. It is just a thought that I hope will help TOC draw more participants and to scale greater heights.
Sometimes in a discourse, even if it goes astray, ideas and solutions can be picked out that may be helpful to the article or subject on hand. At times, it can be very pleasurable to read certain postings that the issue being discussed becomes secondary.
It is hope that the rigid stand of TOC, though mostly necessary, can be a little less rigid especially when no one gets hurt. This way, we can all learn to discuss issues more maturely and grow in the manner in which we share ideas – even robustly at times.
It is true that there have been many heated debates and quarrels on TOC’s many discussion threads. The most beautiful outcome of all this is the fact that when a new thread appears, all these debates and quarrels on the previous thread are not brought over to the new thread. It shows that each article is taken at the value that it is being presented for discussion. There is a certain level of maturity on some exchanges. The rest can only benefit from them.
It must be known that TOC too, has offended quite a number of posters and readers because it felt that it was being offended in the first place. It is hope that TOC adopts a stance that is more encompassing and forgiving than any poster or reader, who may not be as calm and collected as it is.
All the same, let me wish TOC another 100,000 comments in half the time it took the first 100,000 comments to be written.
Congratulations! TOC. It is truly a gathering of a Community of Singaporeans.
I visit TOC and the other major non-partisan politcal websites almost on a daily basis and you guys have been the beacon of hope for Singaporeans, I do wish you guys in TOC the best and keep up the good work! :)
Gemani, you are definitely one of the most preceptive contributors here. Most of the time at least, when you arent censored :) As for this 100K milestone, we can see it in so many ways. It means different things to people. I prefer to keep my comments on this subject to myself like SD. Less said the better. I am prepared to forget and move on to build a better internet, my fear is they will not. Nonetheless happy returns and wishing TOC the best.
Good news aside, we shouldn’t be complacent like the PAP. I hope TOC and the citizens can double up our strength for the coming election. Way to go and watch the ants move mountain – slowly but surely.
gemami,
I am not aware of anyone who has been “offended” by TOC, though a few have expressed disappointment that their comments have been moderated. (Very few, by the way.)
As for the daily average of “1 to 2″ comments being disallowed, claimed by you, this is not true. The number of disallowed comments is virtually miniscule. And there certainly is not “1,000″ comments disallowed. If there were, you would see a ruckus being raised here on TOC.
As we have said before, we do not apologise for disallowing comments which are vulgar, of personal attacks, racially inciteful or denegrating religions, or irrelevant to the issues raised in the articles.
Congrats TOC.
…. and thank you for the articles / comments published on your website on what matters / concerns / worries most Singaporeans.
I am sure that had more Singaporeans known about TOC, the online comments you received would have passed the 200,000 mark by now.
Thank you for letting Singaporeans have a voice and be heard in the open.
Why did TOC “censor” some comments? Was it too long? (then you should place a limit to the number of words)
I have placed three very long comments (in fact, article length) and still “waiting for moderation”
Hi btan #18,
From my experience, TOC puts comments longer than 500 words under moderation.
Congrats TOC.
A new milestone.
An alternative horizon for the people to voice their opinions. Especially singaporeans who do not enjoy the freedom of speech.
In the new age of internet, MSM & PAP are not too happy cos they live in darkness which they constantly do…..
TOC is not read just by singaporeans only but foreigners as well. Much better than MSM.
Look forward TOC for the next milestone….
Well done to all of those who have commented on TOC’s posts. Keep raising the level of debate, keep the argument respectful and respect alternative viewpoints.
Hi psascholar,
Thanks. For the record, and for being fair to TOC, I’ve not had many of my comments moderated or censored. Even when I commented out of context, I would get a warning at most.
And this is what I am propagating, that TOC involves itself less in the exchange of comments among posters. By all means, censor those that are vulgar and out to purposely make mischief.
I shall not comment any more than is necessary. There has been improvement. There is room for improvement.
100,000 comments is no small feat for a platform that generally sustains itself, and gain its popularity, by mere word of mouth.
More importantly, more and more Singaporeans are awakening to the falsities and lies of the ruling government. And we cannot deny TOC the right to claim some of this credit.
Keep up the good work TOC!
It was especially nice to see TOC being referred to by our MSM – the article was by Alfian on Hokkien as his origin. I haven’t tried comparing them to see if ST had done any ‘correction’. :)
TOC is right to moderate comments and should continue to moderate comments. I had mine moderated before because sometimes we get too carried away and may post sensitive views. TOC is gaining momentum with good writers attracting good writers to join in. Moderating comments (to exclude vulgarity, racism or religious attacks etc like TOC has been doing) would help to sustain the credibility of the site.
I agree with some comments that awareness of TOC need to be promoted. Suggestions:
- Print part of a good story a week, ending with “read full story in TOC website” with the TOC website address in big bold letters, and distribute this through coffee shops. You only need half an A4 sheet.
- Organise TOC marathon, or TOC fun fair and exhibition. Print website address on t-shirts and sell at cost price (you may include your admin cost).
- Print TOC address on items like umbrellas and caps, design them well and sell it on the TOC website, again at cost price. Add a strap line in stylish italics “bringing you the real stuff” or “I can’t stop reading it” or “now you can enjoy reading like never before”.
It is my sincere hope that TOC keep soaring to new heights. All the best!
Well done TOC! Keep it up!
I wonder when the P65 blog will reach such numbers….say did they start out earlier than the TOC blog?
I think we should not be too concerned about the numbers. We must continue to bring out the true news, nothing but the truth which ST has been trying to hide from the public. More forums and more blogs meaning more outreach to our 66.6% citizens, who remain ignorant of the current situations we are in. Let’s live and support each other online, be they competitors or otherwsie. It is a call of duty.
Hey guys, the credit is not to TOC alone. It’s to everyone who participates, either as writers/members or commenters.
I see TOC as 50% writers/members and 50% commenters. One cannot live without the other.. ha.. ;)
Andrew Loh
Congrats to Andrew and team for doing a good job here. I know that it is not easy going through so many comments on a daily basis 24/7.
I just hope that the comments are not so anti-establishment though.
Sometimes, one can even imagine what the comments will be once a new article is up. At least 90% are anti-establishment and there is certainly room for this but when it is too much it can give neutral readers a sick feeling.
I have often skip through the comments and just read the article proper as I know what the comments will be.
Of course, the comments nowadays are less attacking on one another compared to those that I saw in other sites. This is a good sign and ought to be continued.
“Sometimes, one can even imagine what the comments will be once a new article is up. At least 90% are anti-establishment and there is certainly room for this but when it is too much it can give neutral readers a sick feeling.”
Ya, like the one about Lui defending Straits Times as the most balanced & impartial medium. Why does this sort of articles have at least 90% ‘negative’ comments? Can people help it? My guess is even ‘neutral readers’ cannot help but post ‘negative’ comments. BTW, is there such thing as ‘neutral readers’, what or who are they? You mean robots?
Congrats, TOC! Great job!
At this juncture, I do not think Advertisers would want to risk being seen in the negative light by `u noe who’ but when the numbers get really big, it will be irresistible.
By the way, TOC, in addition to the total number of comments which came repetitively from the same people, can you provide the total number of posters to date?. I think the latter is more representative of readership.
One of the ways I can think of to increase readership is that we all help out here by sending links on TOC articles which are specifically of interest to some of our friends. Do not send everything but only those that we think will be of interest (to our friends). Also, do not copy and send the full article but only the link so that they will visit the TOC site and hopefully go on to read other articles and also from then, become a regular.
Cheers!
Congrats TOC for reaching this far. Please give yourself a tap on the back for a job well done. You have all done a TERRIFIC job online, but there is still a long way to go before the public gives due recognition to you all.
And like what Agent008 suggested, you guys need to go offline and engage the population. Organise activities/ outing. We’ll definitely show our support!
Anyone wants to help us do a weekly TOC Digest (a summary of our articles published in the preceding week) and send it out every Monday?
That might help.
Winston, yes, we’re planning an event. Will keep you posted.. ;)
Thank you, Sir : )
OK, thanks. If it is moderated due to more than 500 words, then I understand. My postings were at least 1000 words, I think.
That said, I must say the main reason TOC has so many comments is because it is so easy to make comments, unlike other web sites which requires you to sign on as member first. As I guard my privacy jealously, I usually prefer not to.
The other website where one can give comments easily is Temasek Review. That side don’t even need e-mail to give comment, while TOC need, which I am a bit wary.
Can’t help being a bit paranoic since most of the things said here are not kind to PAP and we know all sorts of dirty tricks they employ to silence their critics.
#12 Gemami,
yes, TOC has room for improvement. As you said, “leave no stone unturned”, I have not seen TOC utilizing the power of GOOGLE ADs yet.
-=-
17) Bananarama on September 23rd, 2009 2.34 pm Congrats TOC.
”
I am sure that had more Singaporeans known about TOC, the online comments you received would have passed the 200,000 mark by now.”
Agree with #17.
singaporeans can be very opinionated. But they are not used to a culture of voicing up on political issues.
If TOC and readers can help liberate the minds of these singaporeans, we will get tons more of opinions.
so far, for all policies, singaproeans generally accept . Case in point, ERP. People Accept as they still goes under the ERP gantry and keep their feeling bottled up inside not daring to voice up in public. You drive under the ERP and your money gets deducted . This is a form of acceptance. When you pay money or something, you accepted the transaction.
Maybe its just coincidence, just a unique phenomenon in this world that singaporeans accept all policies as in all policies get implemented, as far as i know. Let me know if there is any policy passed that is never implemented.
so nice, these people. So peaceful country.
Congrats, TOC on this milestone.
Must say TOC provides a convenient way to express one’s views, maybe even let out steam. But utlimately, I hope TOC could somehow channel this into some positive way to help bring about change to some situations in S’pore. By this, I of course don’t mean taking to the streets, etc..
Another point is that while the layout of the website is nice for very recent articles, access to older articles are not quite visible. Articles are usually front-paged for 3-4 days, then no visibility, hence usually only 1000-2000 hits. If one is not on a tread during that 3-4 days, then there is little incentive to participate, esp. for new comers, etc… I have seen REACH put articles up for months, and some can generate up to 100,000 hits.
So, perhaps TOC could start a little corner for high-hitting articles, or treads most requested by bloggers, best of the month, etc..
Lastly, the recent thumbs up/down interactive system is nice, though this could be an instrument to track consistent “trouble makers”. Also, it kind of slows down the loading of high hits articles. Thk goodness your bandwidth issue appears to be solved too.
Quote from the blog next door :
“The second most frequent search term is “wayangparty” followed by “sdp”, “huffington” post and again “the wayang party”. There was no sight of any SPH sites in the top five.”
“Together with The Online Citizen, both sites have a higher readership than the government-owned REACH portal, YPAP, PAP and the nearly defunct p65.sg which has faded off from the Alexa traffic ranking altogether due to its dismal traffic.”
WELL DONE TOC and our friend next door!!
After decades, its time to tear down the walls of Apathy.
Its time, ladies and gentlemen, its time to take this 1 step further.
Although,most of the people who write comments to your articles, I feel they are to
the left of the political spectrum.Nevertheless,the editors of TOC are fair and generous to the other side.For this I thank you.Ever since a friend of mine recommended me to TOC,I never look back.As a matter of fact,I’ve now reduce my
time reading ST.Preston Loon.
I have one major problem with TOC.
It is the same problem i have with the Mainstream media.
In TOC, 99.99% of the articles here throw bricks at the government.
In MSM, 99.99% of the articles are pro-government.
I think ideally, some people who like certain government policies honestly, should write in to TOC and start some threads even, or make some counter comments. Likewise in MSM they should be more tolerant of opposing views and not be kiasu to mention anti governemnt sentiments.
In order to materialise my idea in TOC, I think civil servants, pro-government people, those government planners who are really passionate about their jobs (there should be at least some, though not many i think) should make it a point to contribute to TOC, so that we can all learn their problems and why they do certain things, we can have a lively debate. Civil servants should take note that at TOC they can remain anonymous, they can explain or suggest or hint why the government does certain things…and they need not fear for their livelihoods by contributing articles here…
I don’t believe that 99.99% of things the PAP do is wrong. Maybe it is 90%. There is still a 10% margin of things they did right, and a more balanced view on this blog is beneificial for everybody.
TOC is beginning to get very boring and brings down my mood everyday. Because you can predict every article is throwing a brick at the government. Not that it is wrong, but it gets pretty boring.
Zero
To 40) Zero
You probably has missed the brick. I think TOC is not trying to be pro or anti establishment. The purpose of TOC, which in my opinion, is to report & cover news that msm dare not because of fear. Thus TOC bravery to report the truth may sound very anti-establishment. If you just want to hear the good things of this govt, than you should just stick to MSM. If you want to hear the truth, than you are also welcomed to read new media.
we are here to contribute and shared OUR simple daily breads issues without editin nor bluffin….in our owned truthFOOL eyes, we shared 1 common goal..
report it LIVED….
There used to be a time not so long ago, when the liaison officer could be counted on to respond cleverly and was even a source of joy for so many of us who came here. To do all that of course, he had to provide an answer beyond just one syllable, i.e. monosyllables.
These days as far as The Online Citizen is concerned he is contend to issue out only/ NO / DISAGREE / RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE / VERY RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE / NOT IN THE POSITION TO CONFIRM OR DENY…. / IT IS REGRETTABLE / WITH MUCH REGRET…. ect, etc/ Very sad.
Instead of real debate and real conversations which is of an intelligent ilk, that we can all find enriching and intellectually stimulating, we have instead grunts. It is something that I feel doesnt reflect well on the esteem of the liaison officer and his colleagues. Think abt it. We can all work together to build a better net. Or we can all fight right down to the last word and the very last man. But who will win at the end of the day? This is one area that certainly needs improvement.
Hi psascholar,
Your comments tie in nicely with those expressed by Zero. Indeed there was a time when such enlightening comments were the reasons for living.
I do not know what readers think, but to me, those comments usually came with serious undertones – undertones that many failed to see. That was the beauty I had tried to protect from disappearing. Alas, I failed.
TOC
To avoid charges of censorship, matbe you should have indicator on right hand side
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=7029&edition=2&ttl=20090924043733
Total comments
Comments Allowed
Not Allowed
In Q
psa scholar is spot on. There was a time when the threads were really buzzing with lively discussions that really set toc apart from other sites. I used to enjoy coming here. During those times, it was diabolically clever, well ventilated and a certainly a joy to many who came here. Unfortunately, it is a mark contrast today, when all we seem to get is off the shelve govt bashing. Its no exaggeration to say, characters like sd did certainly add much needed panache, aplomb and verve to the whole meaning of a virtual community. I really miss those days.
‘psascholar’ is ‘singaporedaddy’ is ‘nbl’ is ‘darkness’.
Alas, he is still the same self-glorifying troll. Expect more of ‘him’ to spew trash about himself.
The reason being because TOC brought up topics which concerns most Singaporeans. Unlike local media who are more concern with the upcoming F1. If you look at MY PAPER today, amidst all the hoo haas about F1 there is this article written by a reader in his 40s who claims he is still unable to land a job since the financial crisis started. Why get so excited over F1 when one of your own citizen cannot even find a job with a degree.
It’s very simple, guys.
No need to point fingers at TOC. If you find the articles are not up to par, you’re most welcome to write for us (ad hoc, or as our writer). This is how TOC has always operated – our articles are written by people who are courageous enough to put their thoughts down and have them published.
Gemami, for example, could write a piece for us and share his views on a wider platform as an article than as a comment, than to keep finger-pointing TOC.
The same goes to the liaison officer or whatever it is he calls himself.
Good Afternoon,
Nothing would give me the keenest pleasure. But no. I do not write. I dont have the metier. You should take up the matter directly with Darkness. If you can find him that is. I am not a postman. I dont relay messages. He does not visit this site. I wonder why? Maybe he doesnt have the courage? You could be right Andrew.
FYI I do not impersonate people here or anywhere else. I am not gemami, darkness, nbl, galye goh or whatever you choose to term me. I am Singaporedaddy, always have been and always will be.
I cannot be held accountable for what others may wish to think abt the Online Citizen.
I would appreciate it in future, if you extend me the same courtesy of care that I extend to this site and not resort to name calling and character assasination.
Thank you
SD
Internet Liaison officer of the brotherhood