An Open Letter On Proper Madame Noire Etiquette: Since Some Of Yall Don’t Know How To Act

December 18th, 2012 - By Veronica Wells

 

Source: Shutterstock.com

Source: Shutterstock.com

Remember in elementary school when a handful of students acted a fool, the whole class was punished as a consequence? I can’t even count the amount of recess time I lost because someone else was misbehaving. Well, this piece is written in that same spirit. For the most part, you, our beloved readers, are polite, thoughtful or hilarious in your responses and respectful of the work we do for you each day. We can’t adequately express what it means to know that thousands of you choose Madame Noire, over every other site on the internet to learn about the latest news, discuss lifestyle topics, or enjoy a hilarious article about or concerning black women. We sincerely appreciate you.

We know you have expectations for our site. You want our facts to be correct, to read content free of spelling and grammatical errors. You want to be considered in the stories, videos and  other projects we decide to pursue. We know this and surely appreciate those of you who politely let us know when you feel we are not living up to those expectations.  This piece is really not for you. Though you are more than welcome to continue reading, you are the children who’ve behaved well all school year.

This piece is for those who may need just a friendly reminder about who we, Madame Noire, are, what we’d like for you to know about the work we do and what we expect from you, our readers.

Things We’d Like For You To Know

Those Annoying Slideshows
Trust us, we read the e-mails, the Facebook posts, the comments on the site and the tweets, asking us what the hell is going on with all the clickity, click clicking. Unfortunately, at this time, and probably for a long time to come, the slideshows are here to stay. As troublesome as you may find them, they are always, and I do mean always, our most read, best performing stories. They keep you on the site longer, they increase our page views and most importantly let advertisers know that people are actually coming to and staying on our site, long enough to see whatever message they may want to share with you. As obnoxious as that may be, the ads make sure that the editorial staff and other writers can get paid and also that our readers won’t have to pay for MN’s content. If that still doesn’t do it for you, please know that slideshows are not easy for us to prepare either. It literally takes hours to upload photos, write copy, edit and promote a single slideshow. They’re not exactly a walk in the park for us either; but they’re a necessity and we know, from the numbers, that quite a few people learn something or enjoy reading them.

Madame Noire is not one person
For some reason, quite a few people are under the impression that Madame Noire is one woman. Madame Noire means “black woman” so all of our black, female readers, are Madame Noire. She is every black woman. If you’ve checked our “About Us” page, you’ll see that Madame Noire’s editorial staff  is composed of five women and we currently have two interns. With that being said, please keep in mind that all the content you see everyday on the site as well as the posts you see on Facebook and Twitter is either written or edited by one of these five women. With an average of almost 30 stories published a day, not counting the stories published on our Business Page, that’s a lot of work for just five people. It’s work we enjoy doing; but it’s not easy and when things aren’t perfect, or to your liking, it may take us some time to address those valid concerns.

Caps Lock is offensive
Some of you may have missed this internet etiquette lesson; but as a rule of thumb, typing in Caps Lock is the equivalent of shouting in person. It’s offensive and a bit uncalled for if you don’t have a personal vendetta against us. Not only that, it’s incredibly hard to read and if you type that way on our Facebook page, Facebook will assume it’s spam and will hide the comment from view.

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  • In Disbelief

    Additionally, if you’re finding the work difficult to balance, why don’t you hire more employees or interns if money is tight? I’m so DISGUSTED with the quality and tone of this post! You effectively turned me off – a dedicated reader at that.

  • TatumPascal

    This article lowers the integrity of MN, along with the constant spelling and gramatical errors and the fact that the writers of the articles will respond to comments when they feel the they are going too far left. That is just unprofessional. I understand they need to make money and the ads are how they do it, I really do get that. However, this article was a poor decision on their part and while I enjoy the site for the most part, I may just need to find a different site to frequent. No shade intended. And what some people are saying about “if this article doesn’t pertain to you then it shouldn’t bother you” is rediculous. I don’t know anyone who was murdered but I still feel sad for the lives taken. According to that logic, I shouldn’t.

  • Disappointed

    Highly unprofessional and unnecessary post. I’m actually quite shocked and appalled that MN chose to publish this. Shame on you.

  • Chrissy

    I enjoy subscribing to this site and reading the articles. For the most part I have no issue with them. What I do take issue with is the basic issues with the web quality of the site itself. Common Madame Noir staff. This is 2012 soon to be 2013. If you want to have an a list site and you have major advertisers paying for spend some of that money on proper web design. The design is so poor that a reader cannot complete an article without unacceptable delays, reroutes and interruptions. If you want to have a first class site and stop the rumblings put some money into hiring someone reputable to fix the basic issus and don’t be so thin skinned about it. My next issue is the content of this ‘open letter’. Its simply not acceptable. You cannot hope to have a site on par with other competitors and then spend time penning a finger-shaking letter admonishing people how to respond to your articles. What kind of ridiculous thin skinned nonsense is this?? Have you researched or looked at the open forums that are available on major sites -Yahoo – MSNBC you name it?? The comments that you recieve are nothing compared to what I have seen on those sites. It sounds to me that the staff needs to mature a little, perhaps hire someone more seasoned and actually listen to their advice. Grow up. Sheesh.

  • ANTMilf

    How about get rid of Funniest Comments Of The Week, like no one cares, except those whose comment gets mention. And the clicky click-a-page slideshow STILL HAS TO GO! This excuse makes no sense, more views, REALLY! Hey, IJS and keeping it real.

    • msgeegee

      i love reading the funniest comments of the week. keep it!!

    • sassybuttclassy

      I didn’t appreciate their “excuse” for the clicking either. Their explanation just made them look money thirsty. If the money they make from all the ads and clicking was put to better use towards the site and all its flaws and hiring an editor I wouldn’t be so disappointed.

  • Kaori

    Is it okay for me to say that I think this site needs to be redesigned?

  • Erin George

    Additionally, I find it funny that the writers at Madame Noire consistently “go in” on the people they blog about from the safety of their keyboards yet that want to admonish faithful readers for expressing their opinions in the same manner.

    • Guest112

      Like I stated earlier, this article is one of the best/worst compliment sandwiches ever.

    • EasyReader

      Well said! Comments that are constructive have been deleted by “staff” and some staff members (I guess they can be called that) have gone in on readers in the comments section of their articles. The pot calling the kettle black.

  • Erin George

    For the most part, I do not mind clicking to get the information. But, I am disturbed by the poorly written and edited articles. I want to see an excellent production from black women so our sites can be considered outstanding. Some of the mistakes come from negligent fact checking, poor training, and carelessness. It shouldn’t hurt your feelings to read that you make frequent, avoidable errors. Just read a style book, brush up on your grammar, fact check what you think you know, and do better. No offense.

    • LMJ82

      Here, here!

  • Meyaka

    Whoop there it is,I apologize if I have personally offended any of the Madame noire staff members,I’ll remember these guidelines in the future. Thank you for creating a little home on the Internet.

  • for real now?

    Mmm…. I agree that people should maintain a level of civility on the message boards, but I disagree with the statements you made about corrections. I see nothing wrong with readers providing corrections to articles. Correction is what makes a person grow and develop in whatever craft/career he or she chooses to participate in. If someone is offering constructive criticism than you and your writers should take it, period.

    I had to blink my eyes a couple of times when I read that because I thought, are they for real?

    Established papers make corrections to articles all the time, like when a writer prints something that is not factually correct. That is being a professional.

    Now, I’m not trying to offend but maybe people correct because they see potential for the site to be bigger and better than what it currently is.

    Rise to the occasion and be great. Don’t run in a corner and nurse your bruise ego.

    • bluekissess

      Beautifully well written. Since MN can’t appreciate constructive criticism I would like to say THANk YOU

      • jasmine

        I must have read something different, because in the article, MN says they welcome corrections. I find that most of the folks in an uproar about this article didn’t read it thoroughly.

  • Kaori

    FOR THE LOVE OF YOUR DEITY – CAN Y’ALL NOT POST ANYMORE ARTICLES FROM THAT HORRIBLE SBM AND VSB SITE?

    • Heavanly1

      Well, we can clearly see that you’re one of the very violators this MN article was referring to.

    • http://www.facebook.com/amanda.browne.7165 Amanda D. Browne

      LOL @ you writing in all caps after she clearly said they hate when people do that! hahahahaha!!!

      • Kaori

        That wasn’t intentional. I realized afterwards.

    • TatumPascal

      LOL Kaori! I get you!

  • MadiRae

    I discovered your site a few months ago, and now I am hooked! Keep up the good work! You all write insightful and often hilarious articles, with even funnier viewer comments. I <3 MN.

  • Trisha_B

    The tone of this article!!! Lol. I say us “children” stop clicking the slideshows that have 10-15 pages, their money will decrease real quick lol. I understand their are multiple writers for this blog, but can there be some fluidity here. One person will write about how she hates being called a Baby Mama & how degrading it is, & then the next person is calling someone a baby mama. When post will be about unity of women, the next is tearing down a woman. When i 1st started coming on this site, i loved it. It was a breath of fresh air. There was no shade throwing, no side comments, no grammar problems. But then it changed. Which seems to be a trend w/ blogs. When they 1st get noticed, it’s cool but after the popularity rises the authors change the tone & turns readers off.

    • http://twitter.com/Nerdstradamas Kendra

      I do agree with your comment about fluidity. Madame Noire may need to strengthen it’s identity as an online publication and filter the content it decides to showcase. There seems to be inconsistencies with style and material at times. Some articles come across as pointless and as if they are just brain farts or written for the sake of writing (i.e. the article on body odor, and the embarrassing article about celebrities thought to be black/African-American; the first slide being Channing Tatum).

      Some writers manage to write fluff/opinion pieces that are quite enjoyable. Other’s leave me scratching my head….like, wtf?

  • Haterseverywhere

    It’s funny how the people offended at the satiric undertone in this message are the ones who are guilty of everything Madame Noire mentioned in their article. I have never gone onto white-oriented sites where the readers continually disrespect the writers. I frequent Yahoo everyday and have never seen the amount of disrespect and negativity thrown to their writers. Every Yahoo article is not well written yet white people don’t feel the need to tear each other down. Hopefully one day blacks can learn to uplift each other and maybe we can become better in the process.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Malaika-Angel/100000835938433 Malaika Angel

      White people tear each other down all the time. Visit HuffPo and read the comments by the mainly white readers. Whew!

      • Haterseverywhere

        I read Huffington Post all the time and I have never viewed any of their readers attack their writers. Their readers disagree with the content of the articles but they do not attack the writers in the same way as Madame Noire readers. Black people are much more likely to tear down other blacks than their white counterparts. The truth is the truth and we can take the explicit disrespectful comments of some of the Madame Noire readers as a perfect example.

        • http://twitter.com/docbndgrl9113 Keesha (Киша)

          I absolutely agree with you!

        • http://www.facebook.com/issa.lopez.77 Issa Lopez

          AMEN!

  • Guest112

    After re-reading the “article” and comments several times, I can see the point of those in support & those against it.However, I personally will not continue to visit a website that feels it needs to talk down to some of its supporters. In business the customer is always right, even when wrong and spell/grammar check is just an ‘F7′ away.

    • Kaori

      ‘The customer is always right’ needs to be done away with once and for all.

      • sassybuttclassy

        Kaori how long have you been working for MN? And does your cut come from ad and click money? Just wondering…

        • Kaori

          What are you even talking about? I think the whole mantra ‘The customer is always right’ is wrong and poor for businesses to implement. What does that have to do with MN?

  • laleeleeeeee

    we didn’t have to click through 5,367 pages to read this mess so your point is invalid. If that was your means of making money every article would be that way! MN isn’t the only website that provides celeb gossip & stories and their content is free without all the annoying ads and excessive clicking !

  • Where’s the editor?

    This site is definitely unprofessional. For example…why is it that the “More on Madame Noire” links do NOT link to the actual articles, but to the very same article that you’ve already read? This has been a problem for weeks and it easily fixable, yet it’s still occurring. I right-clicked and opened new tabs for all the articles, only to see the same link for all of them. Those are missed page clicks that resulted in me not visiting the site for a few weeks. Get your act together!

  • http://www.facebook.com/camaro.harrisrice Camaro Harris-Rice

    Thank you for this…respect should be shown in all aspects.

  • bluekissess

    I would like to tell the MN readers that I’m one of those “faithful readers” who questioned the author and the site. I use to enjoy reading these articles. They gave me another way to address certain issues. Now it’s a shift one article talks about how to love your man and the next is how to find out that he’s cheating. This use to be a forum where women openly expressed personal experiences and no judgement. But, if your story is trash expect to get trash as your answer.. I would’ve loved to hear some sort of an apology from MN but it just looks like excuses. We the readers keep you in business and put paychecks in your pocket. So if this is a blog for us and by us why aren’t any of our opinions and ideas considered? It only takes a handful of people to walk away from this site to really see how MN succeeds. Keep speaking up readers keep them shaking in there boots

    • Wow

      You used the wrong word. It’s their boots not there boots. Just saying.

      • bluekissess

        In my “positive voice” Thanks

  • http://twitter.com/buddiejames buddiejames

    May I suggest to Madame Noire that when they post a story headline, that they dont have the reader clicking next, next, next just to read the content of the article. I lose interest after about 2-3 clicks if the subject matter isnt addressed after 1-2 clicks, and give up on the article. Is that your way to get more ads in ?

    • goldenlifeinfl

      It was written in the article that they have so many slideshows and clicks to get the content to keep you on the site longer and to get you to view more ads from sponsors.

      I can honestly say that is the main reason why I keep my visits to MN on the minimum. The constant clicking for content for one story is excessive. I rarely ever finish a story on here because I don’t like clicking and then waiting for each page to load only to take me back to the top of the page and I have scroll down to see the new content.

      • jazzy

        here, here! in addition to the ridiculous slideshows, i notice that the links don’t work. instead of bringing me to the correct article, it redirects to the same page as if i hit the refresh button. this might just be me, but it has happened on different computers i’ve used. overall, i’m not impressed with this site and i find myself coming here less and less. the subject matter is lowbrow, the writing is not good (sorry, i’m a writer and it bothers me that the staff isn’t more detail-oriented) and it’s unprofessional for these bloggers to argue with their detractors in the comment section. however this site is owned by the same clowns that run bossip, so i’m not too surprised. it’s like going to mcdonald’s and expecting great food. there are much better sites that cater to black women with quality layout, content and readers.

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