You have been hacked message

[janraaskalt]

I received the exact same message as reported in this article when viewing the Giant-Shimano report card on Cycling News: I got the same message as in this article: http://www.cnbc.com/id/102222249
Nothing serious for users, but maybe it can be fixed.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

Thanks, I will report it.

Susan

 

[Jeff]

This problem should now be fixed.

Gigya, the 3rd party service we used for social media login and commenting, was hacked by the SEA on Nov 27. Cyclingnews itself wasn't affected and none of its user data was touched.

Although Gigya say they resolved the problem, we took the option of removing it from the site on November 28, and are currently investigating alternative solutions.

That means there's no commenting for the time being, and you won't be able to log on via social media.

 

[Irondan]

I read the post about the comment section being down for the time being and then went onto the website and noticed that the comment section was back up, for about an hour or so. I'm not sure if it's back down or hacked or what. Does anyone know what's going on?

 

[cyc_oh]

I read the post about the comment section being down for the time being and then went onto the website and noticed that the comment section was back up, for about an hour or so. I'm not sure if it's back down or hacked or what. Does anyone know what's going on?

They seem to be disabled, considering I have so much to say, I feel disabling them is lame. They say they got hacked? I reckon they got sued.

 

[bonnyc]

The comments have been removed from the site for the time being while we look into a replacement service for Gigya. We are investigating several different options and hope to have a new commenting system installed soon.

We're also in the process of updating the whole site, and probably wont update the commenting system until we have that in place - so it may be a while before we can bring them back, but we'll do it as soon as we can. We have saved all the existing comments so we can re-instate them when we are ready.

If you want to know more about the Gigya hack, the Independent wrote a piece about it here: Syrian Electronic Army hack hits sites using Gigya.

If you have any concerns or would like to ask any questions, please contact me using our feedback form.

- Bonny

 

[Irondan]

Thank you for giving us an update on the state of the comment section. Hopefully it will be up and running again soon.

 

[Granville57]

We have saved all the existing comments so we can re-instate them when we are ready.

Good lord. Does someone seriously believe that the content of those comments are going to be worthy of that extra effort, and should be preserved for some reason?

If "opinions" want to be expressed and shared, isn't the forum a far better place for that to happen?

CN was late to the Comments party to begin with. My advice would be to jump on the emerging trend of eliminating them altogether.

Reuters.com is ending user comments on news stories

Why doesn't Vox allow comments/provide a comments section on its articles?

Online comments are being phased out

Sun-Times Media group will temporarily cease to run comments

POPULARSCIENCE.COM WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT COMMENTS ON NEW ARTICLES


Seriously. Don't allow CN to be the last ones in line on this issue.

 

[wrinklyvet]

Thank you for giving us an update on the state of the comment section. Hopefully it will be up and running again soon.

I agree with this and not with Granville57 who is clearly a great devotee of the forum.

Occasionally I like to make a comment with regard to the actual article and that's where the commenting system should be. Yes, it's true that the result of many comments can be to detract from the article itself, but mostly the diverse opinions add to the entertainment and information value.

Having dipped my toes in the forum while the other system is down I can't say I really like it so much.

 

[Irondan]

I like the Comment Section on the website!

Good lord. Does someone seriously believe that the content of those comments are going to be worthy of that extra effort, and should be preserved for some reason?

If "opinions" want to be expressed and shared, isn't the forum a far better place for that to happen?

CN was late to the Comments party to begin with. My advice would be to jump on the emerging trend of eliminating them altogether.

Reuters.com is ending user comments on news stories

Why doesn't Vox allow comments/provide a comments section on its articles?

Online comments are being phased out

Sun-Times Media group will temporarily cease to run comments

POPULARSCIENCE.COM WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT COMMENTS ON NEW ARTICLES


Seriously. Don't allow CN to be the last ones in line on this issue.

I'm not completely understanding why this would bother you? Why do you care if me and some others like posting a comment at the end of an article? Your not paying money to be a member to this site, so it should not be a issue for you as to the way CN decides to distribute its resources.

I agree with wrinklyvet, I've only dipped my toes in the water in this forum and I'm not entirely comfortable with it. I enjoy the informed and the ill-informed comments that I read at the end of each article. The best part is the article is usually archived within a few days so there's always something new. Not these rehashed threads that get pummeled to death with minutia.

The comment sections that have been turned off on the sites you listed were so because of the deep dark holes they turned into. The CN commentators seem to have restraint compared to a site like ESPN or some other large website that the trolls like to hang out on. Hopefully CN doesn't turn into something of a wasteland. Until then, I would like to comment over on the website rather than post a comment to this forum. I hope that's okay?

Shutting off the comment section for good just because the other sites listed turned theirs off is a rather silly thing to do.

 

[Granville57]

I'm not completely understanding why this would bother you?

A fair enough question.

First off, it's really not that important to me, it's just an observation on my part. The point I was making was that across the web, there is a growing realization that comments sections are an ineffective platform for exchanging thoughtful ideas—and that's being extremely generous.

I personally believe that most sites offer comments sections to appease some of their readers by creating a false sense that they are contributing to the "discussion." What usually unfolds is rapid-fire vitriol as people start to compete to be "the first one in."

If someone feels they have a strong point to make, or that they have something of value that might contradict any given article, then a forum is much better suited to that. Links can be provided, theories or perspectives can be defended, and a greater body of knowledge from other users can reinforce, debunk, or expand upon any given topic in ways that simply aren't suited to the environment of a comments section. The alternative is often little more than people shouting from their rooftops, by way of the comments section, about how they approve or disapprove of the latest headline.

Truth is, I very rarely ever glance down at the comments section. So why might any of this bother me? It only adds to the visual clutter if I happen to scroll down too far after reading an article. There's really not much more to it.

Why might I even care?
I suppose if I were to be more serious about it, I might reflect back on the early days of internet growth and the optimistic outlook I had on the possibilities of shared, global communication, particularly in the area of specialty interests and hobbies. Then comes the realization that along with such potential comes the arena of the lowest common denominator. There is good reason why comments sections have become known as the toxic wasteland of the internet—because they have. The links I provided only support that.

I am greatly discouraged by much of what transpires in social media on a daily basis, and the detrimental impact that has had on the way the mainstream media now presents itself. I would like to think the we, as a global community, are better than much of we have seemingly become in the past decade or so. The platform provided by a comments section seems both outdated and quaint to me when compared with other, more rigorous forms of exchange, and in many ways have come to represent the worst of what digital communication has to offer across time zones and cultures.

God knows, forums themselves are wrought with their own difficulties and destructive elements, but if there is a way forward in terms of broader communication and understanding of one another, I somehow doubt that will come to us through comments sections.

I also find it somewhat amusing that CN was relatively very late in adding comments to their articles to begin with, and as the trend now shifts away from that, they will, once again, be followers rather than leaders (but that's just me poking fun at CN, and is really neither here nor there).

Until then, I would like to comment over on the website rather than post a comment to this forum. I hope that's okay?

Knock yourself out. My remarks were originally directed at the CN staffers anyway, not you personally.


Now, can you imagine us sharing these same thoughts within a comments section?

 

[webvan]

Thanks for the update.

An easy fix would be to generate a forum discussion automatically in a news section for each article and just link to it, problem(s) solved.

 

[wrinklyvet]

Thanks for the update.

An easy fix would be to generate a forum discussion automatically in a news section for each article and just link to it, problem(s) solved.

The problem is likely to be that for each item about women's cycling the forum discussion would amount to nothing - no discussion. Two things dismay me. One is the lack of interest on the part of men and the other is the lack of interest on the part of women.

But let's not hijack the topic. Couldn't resist a moan.

 

[B_Ugli]

A fair enough question.

First off, it's really not that important to me, it's just an observation on my part. The point I was making was that across the web, there is a growing realization that comments sections are an ineffective platform for exchanging thoughtful ideas—and that's being extremely generous.

I personally believe that most sites offer comments sections to appease some of their readers by creating a false sense that they are contributing to the "discussion." What usually unfolds is rapid-fire vitriol as people start to compete to be "the first one in."

If someone feels they have a strong point to make, or that they have something of value that might contradict any given article, then a forum is much better suited to that. Links can be provided, theories or perspectives can be defended, and a greater body of knowledge from other users can reinforce, debunk, or expand upon any given topic in ways that simply aren't suited to the environment of a comments section. The alternative is often little more than people shouting from their rooftops, by way of the comments section, about how they approve or disapprove of the latest headline.

Truth is, I very rarely ever glance down at the comments section. So why might any of this bother me? It only adds to the visual clutter if I happen to scroll down too far after reading an article. There's really not much more to it.

Why might I even care?
I suppose if I were to be more serious about it, I might reflect back on the early days of internet growth and the optimistic outlook I had on the possibilities of shared, global communication, particularly in the area of specialty interests and hobbies. Then comes the realization that along with such potential comes the arena of the lowest common denominator. There is good reason why comments sections have become known as the toxic wasteland of the internet—because they have. The links I provided only support that.

I am greatly discouraged by much of what transpires in social media on a daily basis, and the detrimental impact that has had on the way the mainstream media now presents itself. I would like to think the we, as a global community, are better than much of we have seemingly become in the past decade or so. The platform provided by a comments section seems both outdated and quaint to me when compared with other, more rigorous forms of exchange, and in many ways have come to represent the worst of what digital communication has to offer across time zones and cultures.

God knows, forums themselves are wrought with their own difficulties and destructive elements, but if there is a way forward in terms of broader communication and understanding of one another, I somehow doubt that will come to us through comments sections.

I also find it somewhat amusing that CN was relatively very late in adding comments to their articles to begin with, and as the trend now shifts away from that, they will, once again, be followers rather than leaders (but that's just me poking fun at CN, and is really neither here nor there).

Knock yourself out. My remarks were originally directed at the CN staffers anyway, not you personally.


Now, can you imagine us sharing these same thoughts within a comments section?

Well made points, I have the same opinion of social media in general, shooting from the hip comments and influential people taking to Twitter with verbal diarrhoea.

The point is that human beings have taken 1000's of years to evolve to where we are now but the average human has now devolved into an egocentric smart phone addict who thinks the world cares what they have to say (when they don't). No one knows what the long term damage of tech addiction on the human mind.

It's these very same people that would have a breakdown if they lost their phone and break out in a cold sweat if they can't get online.

I went to a Zoo the other day and saw a load of monkeys sitting chattering and bonding as a group, it dawned on me that some humans I know could learn something from them about being 'present' rather than zoning off in another cyber world than the real world they are actually in.