Caracas Chronicles 2.0: Sneak Preview
Quico and Juan Cristóbal say: The new software platform for Caracas Chronicles is finally here! After several months of intense work, the site is now presentable enough for everyone to look at.
Check it out!
For now, the new site is at EsferaPublica.com, which we hope will be the URL of the new, Spanish version of Caracas Chronicles. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting in parallel here and in the new site. Early next year – once we’ve brought over the archive – we’re going to put this old blogger site to sleep.
At the heart of the new site is an innovative system for managing the comments section that, we hope, can solve the age old problem of ceaseless flame-wars in Venezuela’s political cyberspace.
The idea, basically, is that Juan and Quico don’t get to decide which comments get top billing and which comments get hidden; you do.
With this new system, the community collectively gets to decide which comments get top billing by voting.
The system asks you to vote not just on whether you agree with a given comment, but also on whether it helps drive debate forward. Read all the details in the new system’s FAQ.
Remember, you don’t have to create an account to comment on the new site, but we strongly encourage you to do so anyway. It’s free, and it only takes a minute or two.
By logging on, you allow the system to track your reputation within the community, and the better your reputation is, the more impact you’ll have on the way the forum works, the more visible your comments will be, and the more weight the system will place on your opinions. And if you’re among the top 10% of commentators in any given week, the system gives you a whole set of additional goodies regular users don’t get.
Early next year, we’ll be launching Caracas Chronicles 2.0 in full, which will include a Spanish version. This will open up CC to a whole new cast of characters, but hopefully the new software will steer the conversation away from the troll wasteland you find in places like Aporrea or Noticias24.
We look forward to your feedback, but not here.
As of today, the old comments platform on this site will be disabled.
Please comment on the new site.
Caracas Chronicles is 100% reader-supported.
We’ve been able to hang on for 22 years in one of the craziest media landscapes in the world. We’ve seen different media outlets in Venezuela (and abroad) closing shop, something we’re looking to avoid at all costs. Your collaboration goes a long way in helping us weather the storm.
Donate
