Midweek Cafe and Lounge, vol. 161

Just a note to tell you how much I am trying to like the Progress Pond site (though I am still missing Booman Tribune)
I am ready to throw in the towel on the site name, and on the confusing front page layout, and on how I often don’t know whether I will be able to read an article until I click it to find the dreaded green “Prime” bar floating in the top photo.
But there are two site practices on your front page that really are not respectful of your readers: lack of bylines, and lack of publication dates.
I look for front page bylines because the articles I come here to read first are the ones by Martin Longman – I have such respect for Martin’s profound knowledge about Washington politics, for his writing ability, and for the depth of his political analysis – his views on important stories are the main reason I come here, so it is frustrating when the front page doesn’t list authors, and I cannot find the articles that are his. I’m not saying I wouldn’t want to read articles by other writers, maybe I would, if I got to know them better and could see at a glance the kinds of stories they write. But they are not why I come here.
And I also wish you would put publishing dates on the front page, so I know at a glance whether an article is new or a few days old. This allows me to judge whether I want to read it, or perhaps skip it if it is likely to be out-of-date.

Thanks for listening,
Cathie