NYT Two Cents

When I wrote comments for The Times every day as a 22 yr old, my TimesPeople nom de plume was "Liz, NY" with no icon. I not-too-secretly longed for a gold star, or something recognizing that I was consistently the top readers' recommendation and highlighted by the editors.*

I believe they should incorporate Facebook's API but still allow people to create disguised identities of themselves.*  By not requiring users to log into Facebook Connect to participate, but rather providing it as an option, would not exclude potential active users who wish to remain anonymous.  Disqus, a widget platform for comments, allows users to log in with Facebook, Twitter, or anonymously.    It would have to be customized to enable ability to rank commenters *within* the site.

Having a leaderboard which gives readers more incentive to stay active on the site, simply by getting recognition from their peers, would definitely bring in more hits.

The NYT should also look at Opinion Space, a State Department project, in conjunction with Berkeley's New Media Department.  Users can rate others' comment quality as well as whether or not they agree. This is quite genius, while websites like Digg simply block alternative viewpoints with the thumbs down feature.

The Times editors highlight comments based on quality of argument and unique perspective. Its readers should be able to recognize quality content and then determine whether or not they agree. Such would foster a more meaningful discussion.

Fresh, unedited, and editors' selected:
The Next War President
A Way Out of Gaza
Twitters From Texas
What Iran Jews Say
Middle East Reality Check
Stage of Fools
Cars, Kabul and Banks
Connecticut Senator draws Voters' Ire for His Bonus Role
The Chess Master
The Destructive Center
Stuck in the Muddle
Magic and Realism
A Threat to McCain-Feingold
The Confidence Surplus (comment 1)
(comment 2 - new account)
The Year-End Quiz
The Lure of Opulent Desolation
Bigger Than Bush
One Singular Sensation
Roll Over, Abe Lincoln
To Tweet or Not to Tweet

And it would be nice if they gave you a 30 minute window where you could edit your comment.

*July 2010: Now this is called "Game mechanics"
**Sept 2010: NYT has majorly incorporated with Facebook.