" What is going on with the youth of this city that they think they can prey on the elderly and go get their gang to do a home invasion while people are sleeping and beat the people with baseball bats because of something that was said to them earlier in the day at 16 yrs. old none the less "

" Sorry Jim but this is one time I have to agree with Karl, Farmer's Gal and CM. Two cents, even with some name calling, should remain as it is. I like to voice my opinion there and even if I disagree with another persons opinion I still believe they have the right to express it. This is still the United States of America with free speech. And as Farmer's Gal states, Nancy Pelosi is a public figure. So if you do not agree with "The King" or "Queenie" as Karl would call him, then ignore it or write your own opinion, just be ready when you are ridiculed and called names by those who disagree with you. Believe me you will never get everyone to agree with your opinion. This is a good place for us to learn to agree to disagree. "

" This is probably the ONE thing we two-centers AGREE on--leave our column/site alone!
It IS bad enough that it was taken out of the print version, many have complained-for it was useful in opening the eyes of the citizens whether they agreed or not.

I may not live in Auburn but just about all my family does, as well as friends.
I have been visiting yearly for 2-3 weeks for the past 4 years now.
There are many things going on in their own city they do not know about until I mentioned this column! Within the past few months--they are now calling me on the debates good/bad that are being talked about. A few members that called-- didn't even know I posted on this site-yet they wanted me to read it.
Sometimes ideas in use/in progress, in my area, (those not living in Auburn) are helpful to Auburn or visa versa!

Compared to other sound-off sites this is site IS clean-cut. Have you read any responses on AOL news?? Much worse than the cayuga forum!

Two-cents is exactly that! A site to voice your opinions. Some days we get too riled but overall I think we do pay better attention to what's happening near/far. "

" Two Cents is an open community forum, not something officially "published" by The Citizen. As such, it is very popular and gets people reading the news articles to which other posters refer, get (some) people thinking and debating important issues, local and national and even timeless philosophical issues.

I do agree that The Citizen should be much more diligent about enforcing their own posted rules -- they do NOT actually enforce the rules about personal attacks and insults, though they tend to go overboard in their interpretation of what might be considered "libelous," and we all get a laugh out of the way their automated software will not let anyone send a post including the word p0rn -- even when we are trying to discuss it as an issue in our community.

Seriously, The Citizen's staff DO need to be more diligent about enforcing the no personal attacks and insults part of their own rules.

Sure, some readers are just jerking knees at each other, but overall, the group tends to be self-policing, calling out others who are behaving badly. But, none of these things are reason to do away with a rich and popular discussion space.

Also remember -- Ms. Pelosi is a public figure, and therefore subject to criticism by the public and in public. Unfortunately, that's the kind of stupid remark you get from the public sometimes. The comment you quoted, Jim, is from a guy who just likes to get a rise out of people. He knows he's being a crude, crass chauvinist -- and so do the rest of us. Some take him on (for all the good it does), and some just ignore his nonsense. No sense encouraging him.

But don't even think about taking away Two Cents -- we're all pretty unhappy they took it out of the print version of the paper where there can be more exchange between technology haves and have-nots. "

" Hey Jim--stick it in your ear, buddy! Don't you think there's a REASON that the Post also has a forum for vituperative public expression?
YOu sound like somebody who's pi$$ed off because maybe your beloved "turf" didn't get passed and what--you're going to blame the "Two Cents" contributors for it? Geez; thanks for the compliment, to think that we have that much power!
Grow up, buddy--this is called a "blog", and it's for the big boys--the ones who can give it out as well as take it. It's an important way to judge community and public emotion on any given issue, and for the people who spout off there, it's an outlet that plays a role.
If you don't like it, here's a clue--don't read it!
What kind of person are you who would advocate the stifling of free speech just because you don't like the message? SHAME ON YOU, JIMMY BOY!!! "

" Here's an example of the thoughtful (sarcasm) recourse on your two cents...

" pelosi is an old bag. she has no clue. shes the only italian i can say i actually hate. does anyone actually think a woman knows anything about war and tactics. shes just another stupid dem. broad. "

Authored by The King.

And someone at the Citizen allowed this garbage to be posted. Shame on you. "

" Something really has to be done about the two cents. Between the lies, mocking, insulting, and threats, this collection of loony tunes has become an absolute embarrassment to your paper, themselves, and to our community.

It is the paper's responsibility to better screen these posts, require real names with each post, or eliminate the two cents all together. At a time when our community is rallying and moving forward on several important initiatives, providing these knuckleheads another public forum is irresponsible.

There is an alternative for these ill/uninformed two cents' posters. They can join the lunatics on the Syracuse.com Cayuga forum. At least there they won't be given the credibility of an implied endorsement by the Citizen. "

" New ad formats.

We are moving to a new format for our online advertising.

In the past, we had as many as 7-8 ads on one page, mostly small, and in various places. Our new format is going to be a maximum of 4 ads on any given page, arranged like this:

Across the top: a banner ad that is short and wide.
Down the right side: A "skyscraper" ad that is narrow and tall.
Near the weather: Our weather sponsor.
Somewhere in the middle: Our "big ad", which is a rectangular ad of medium/large size.

Instead of putting a large number of ads on each page, we are now going to focus on a smaller number of ad positions on each page, with a large number of ads taking turns in each position. So, while you are only going to see 4 ads at once on any page, those ads will continuously change if you keep reloading the same page over and over, or as you travel to different pages in the site.

Part of positioning these new ad spots was doing minor re-designs to certain parts of the site. We are trying to eliminate as much blank space as possible while maintaining a useful layout.

Tell me what you think of this new format. "

" You are welcome, and thanks for the feedback, as always. "

" Thanks, this is much better. "

" The new format for posted comments is harder to read. I liked it better contained within a neat box, each poster's comments clearly delineated from others rather than smeared across the whole screen in a messy blur. MHO.

I was recently reading an article in Library Journal on why electronic books just have not caught on, not even among the younger generations who are much more used to reading things on a computer screen. There have now been physiological studies of what is and is not comfortable for the eye to do -- and when reading online, it is not comfortable to read to the edges of the screen -- most people skim/scan down the middle (perhaps without even being aware of it). Today I see (literally) what they meant -- it is NOT comfortable reading lines that stretch the full width of the screen -- much faster, easier and more comfortable to read text contained tightly on the sides and scan down.

I can send the reference if you are interested -- it's not a long article. "

" Purchasing photos:

On almost every page of this website, we have our "Multimedia Block"
--------------------->

At the bottom of the multimedia block, there is a link for purchasing photos. "

" I have a question? How do I go about purchasing a photo in the paper? Who do I contact , and what information do I need? "

"

Your Photos Updates!

We now have a new format for the "Your Photos" section which I think everyone is going to like a lot better. Check it out!

We are going to be using a similar setup for all kinds of things, including our various contests that involve sending in your photos (Bright Idea, Pet Idol, Citizen and Me, etc.).

Let me know what you think of it.

http://www.auburnpub.com/your_photos/ "

" CayugaWriter,
We have no control over the AP video player, as it exists on another website and we merely link to it. However, I can tell you that it is flash-based, as are all our video content. The AP is made to look like windows media player (who knows why?) but it is flash-based.

Farmer's Gal,
We were having all kinds of site issues yesterday, so it wouldn't surprise me if the search box was messed up (more than usual). "

" Problems with the search box today? "

" I have a problem which some others also have.. I cannot see AP Video, and all your major articles use AP inputs which result in a red X at the first para. of each article. If those were jpegs, they could be seen, witness your opinion columns which use jpeg photos. BTW, I cannot read the Post-Standard's AP video either, and Some of their photos from that source. Why not use what Channel 9 WSYR uses - flash technology. It would solve most all of the video problems. Thank you. I find the rest of the on-line Citizen very readable and satisfactory. "

" You only have to go through all the old photos if you start at the first photo and keep hitting "next" until you get to the new photos. If you hit "previous" instead, then you will go to the last photo and backward through the stack until you see the photos you have already seen before.

Or wait two weeks until we get the new photo gallery online. "

" Hello - I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, but...... I love the "Your Photos" section. Great photos of scenery, kids, pets and good times, but can't you clean them out every so often? I get really bored of having to go through the older photos to get to the newer ones. I do love this feature though. Thanks! "

" Hi Rich.

Saw your response, couldn't find an email address. I thought I saw it here somewhere before but no such luck at the moment. Can you post it for me?

Thanks.

"