Fright Day Q&A

Questionable Contusion

Greetings, crickets and ghouls. Welcome to a special Halloween edition of the Q&A. I'm cooking up a spooky celebration of the season, so grab your trick or treat bag! Unless you live in my neighborhood, which apparently takes issue with a middle-aged Power Ranger making the rounds. What gives? I was just trying to feed my family.

Q: What's the scariest thing you saw this Halloween?

A: Probably some late-breaking news from the PSAEF. It involved the most terrifying phrase in web design: "big changes are coming." Any former Digg users can tell you, this is not what you want to hear in regards to your web community. As a veteran of the FAILtastic Fark redesign, it chills me to the bone. r.

Q: What kind of changes?

A: From what I can gather, it's a complete overhaul of the voting system. Instead of the current single option voting, users will soon be able to vote for an entry as either "best," "funniest," or "crap." You might remember a similar rumor that I discussed in April of last year. Back then, it lacked the latter option. I'm not sure who's bright idea it was to add "crap," but it's definitely the most upsetting decision I've seen come down the pipe.

Q: Why would anyone think it to be a good idea?

A: Brain damage? Your guess is as good as mine. I'm sure there will be an inevitable chorus of "you'll get over it." Honestly, I have my doubts. Recent events, like the demise of Digg, have shown that no good can come from alienating users. I sincerely hope that Drew reconsiders this regrettable idea.

That's all for this time, ghoulish reader. Have a happy Halloween. I hope the rumors discussed in this week's post has little or no basis in reality. Just keep in mind, we've heard of this before. That makes me think it's either in the works, or something Drew tells Photoshoppers to troll them.

Stay tuned for more unwanted changes from the Doctor!