Dear Kevin Rose

Please remove the stupid "Smiley" ad that yells at us

2008-05-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

The ads on Digg can be annoying, but for the most part, they can be ignored.

All, except one.

The stupid smiley ads -- you know, the ones that actually scream at you, saying "HELLOOOOOO" -- please remove them. They are the worst possible thing to have on the site.

Just FYI.

Mr. Rose, Tear Down That Wall

2008-02-12T15:25:00.000-08:00

One of the most annoying aspects of Digg over the last few weeks has been the lack of communication. There were nice bursts of exposure, such as when Kevin and Jay talked on The Drill Down, but for the most part, silence.

The promised Digg Town Hall Meetings seemed like such a great idea. They were mentioned on the Drill Down by Jay and Kevin as something that could happen every couple of weeks, possibly every month. Then, the disappointment hit.

We hope to have these virtual meetings every three to four months.

Instead of taking down the wall that separates users from being able to communicate with Digg, it has forced a "be there or miss it, but at least we're trying" type of new wall. This is a worse sort of wall, as it makes it even more difficult to communicate. Why? The time frame makes it to where issues will come and go, but only those issues that are given their allotted time will come to light. If you miss one, you're stuck for another quarter of a year.

There are things that Digg can do. First off, hire some more people. Answer the emails. Every other social media site out there shows the courtesy to its users of answering their emails. Digg is bigger and gets much more spam, as Jay and Kevin pointed out, but it's also big enough to hire a couple of "Membership Retention" staffers who can sort through the spam and answer emails.

Open up a forum for Digg users that is "patroled" by Digg representatives. Surely there's enough money in the coffers to afford to hire some forum moderators.

Whatever you do, do something. Take down the wall and communicate with us.

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A Rose by any other name is BANNED

2008-01-02T20:07:00.002-08:00

In a recent discussion with several Diggers, great and small, we discussed some of the issues facing Digg today. The one that stood out as clearly a top priority is the rash of bannings without notice or explanation that have removed some valuable friends from our ranks.

There have been several, but most notably are Emobrat and 0Boy. Both were very active, digging and submitting quality content daily.

Both disappeared.

Both asked for a reason.

Neither got one.

Mr. Kevin Rose and your staff, we understand that there are more important issues going on, with the prospects of selling the website for hundreds of millions, but please do not stomp on our friends.

At the very least, banned users should be told WHY they are banned and potentially, depending on the reason, be given a chance to come back on. Thank you for your time.
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