Last week, Patches across the region conducted a special "Best Of" poll to get readers' picks on the "best" florist in each individual area. Many of the Patches ran these Best Of polls for the first time and had much success. It was a light, fun, friendly competition. A lot of the business owners even complimented each other and many members of the community paid homage to their favorite florist.
Here at LRSC Patch, we conducted the same poll. We saw a big reaction from the community, with hundreds of votes coming in to our "unscientific" poll, and dozens of comments about the florists. At first, the competition was what it was supposed to be - friendly and fun. But, by Tuesday, we started to see some very ugly words appearing on our polls. Quite frankly, I was extremely disappointed.
Look, I understand everyone has a right to their opinion. I understand everyone has a right to express that opinion. But, the intention was never to hurt any of these three wonderful area businesses. The intention was simply to engage in a mature conversation around and about our community.
It's kind of ironic. On Friday, in the midst of having many conversations with our readers about the polls, I was driving to a meeting and listening to my favorite radio station, 94 WIP. The morning show team was having a conversation about The Philadelphia Inquirer. That day, the Philadelphia-area newspaper ran a big story on the sport of curling.
"This paper has become so out of touch with its readers, and they've done so for an entire generation!" said host Angelo Cataldi.
And that's when it clicked. As a journalist and a manager of your Patch, I never want to be out of touch with you. This is why I'm making efforts like the effort I'm about to make today, as well as holding a Town Hall meeting to truly get a feel for what it is the Spring-Ford community wants and needs.
There were a lot of concerns expressed to me about those polls. Many people enjoyed them, according to some. Others said they never asked for these polls. Even further, some people thought it might be beneficial to no longer allow comments.
I want to leave it up to you. My question is, do you still want us to run the polls? Do you think it's hurting or helping our local businesses? Do you feel as though you, as a person and member of this community, are benefitting from participating in them? Let us know by voting in the "poll on polls" and leaving us a comment.
I value each and every view in this community, so I want to know how you feel. If you don't feel comfortable leaving a public comment, please email me at kevin.haslam@patch.com.
Thank you for reading and I hope as we proceed, we can find the best way to engage in great conversations about Limerick, Royersford and Spring City!
Kelly Campbell
11:42 am on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Comments can be hurtful but on the most part can be very flattering....I dont think a few bad comments should dictate whether we can or can not leave them...The negative comments that are left should not be a stairway for more negative comments...Everyone does have the right to opinions (even if we dont agree w/them!).
Gail Wellington
7:48 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Is it possible to vote more than once per email name?
Lauren
8:04 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Polls are fine, but is there a way for PATCH to approve the comments before they are posted to the site?
Matt Bowers
11:22 am on Friday, February 17, 2012
The internet is an open forum for discussion and should be treated as such. Like Kelly said, everyone has a right to their opinion and whether some people like it or not IS IRRELEVANT! I can not believe, you, Mr. Editor, would get in involved in such an argument. I did vote for the florist poll and I can tell you only because I do log on and read The Patch and The Mercury pretty much on a daily basis and could not help but run into the poll as it was splashed all over the front page. The odd thing is that it seemed you sir, were more interested in Ms Gail's rants than actual news that day, such as the news of the shooting in Pottstown last week, which was not on the main page or even near the main page the day it occurred, I had to go to the Mercury for that, yet you, Mr. Editor, found plenty of time to chime in and get involved in a back and forth about someone's opinion and the staff of one of the locations that was running in the poll. What makes it all more shameful is that it seems that you, Mr Editor, appear as a puppet on a string; as I see no reason why you should answer to anyone of your readers or get involved in any public forum of opinion for any side. You, Mr. Editor, should be voiceless if you are silencing others as you did, maybe you should only be heard reporting the news not interrupting discussions on your polls. Food for thought! BTW I don't feel the businesses participating should have a say! You are technically here for the people not for big business!
Kevin Haslam
12:17 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Thank you for your contribution, Mr. Bowers. For Pottstown news, please go to http://pottstown.patch.com. Have a great day.
RonPaul2012
2:34 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Matt and Kelly are right about this one. While I could see why someone's feelings can get hurt with mean spirited comments, I disagree with editing people's views and opinions (as long as there are no direct racist, sexist or foul language used) for the benefit or lack thereof of any person or business. It's an open forum for discussion and should remain as such. So 'Mr. Editor', Kevin, with all due respect, not letting people speak their mind for good or bad in a peaceful nature, such as in this comment board, would be Un-American..
Cindy Bevan-Wilson
11:10 am on Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Well said! ;)
Kevin Haslam
2:46 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
Thank you RonPaul2012. We appreciate your comment. After careful consideration, we've decided to continue running the polls as is. You are very right in what you said in your comment. So long as the comments do not violate Patch's terms of service (which include the types of things you mentioned), they should not and will not be deleted (as is indicative of our florist poll). Thanks for reading and as always, feel free to reach out whenever you'd like: kevin.haslam@patch.com. Take care.