DailyHeights

Mike writes: “Hello from San Francisco. Just wanted to let you know that I really like what you’ve done with your neighborhood blog. I just started one up for my neighborhood in San Francisco, Potrero Hill, and will probably borrow some of the ideas from your site.”

Borrow away! I’ve taken a look at PHSF… Mike “gets it,” as they say, and it’s based in San Francisco, so naturally, it will take off like wildfire. Go, go, “citizen journalists”! (And BONUS POINTS if you offend a Potrero Hill beat reporter by using that term.)

[email protected] checks in from New Zealand to write: “This citizen journalism site [Daily Heights] was mentioned on the BBC WORLD NEWS web site in the Magazine section as being so good that the New York times often reports on the same issues a few days later. Awesome. You guys rock! Good luck.”

[Update: Uh… “whocares” got it a bit confused. BBC didn’t specifically mention us — they linked to an article in Poynter Online that mentions Daily Heights.]

I didn’t know about the New York Times… but I do have a growing list of articles based on tips reporters got on Daily Heights, that as far as I know, have never mentioned DH as the source.

Example. I just found a Brooklyn Daily Eagle article about some unspecific “uproar” in the community over the New York Times misreporting the height of the planned Union Temple parking lot condo as 30 stories. I suppose it’s theoretically possible that the reporter stumbled upon an uproar somewhere in the neighborhood (be careful where you uproar–you never know when there might be a reporter lurking around, ready to report on you!). But from my admittedly myopic view, the only uproar I’m aware of was right here on Daily Heights and on Curbed and Curbed again via Daily Heights. (OK… there were also some updates on the PHNDC Yahoo! Group, and I think ProspectHeightsParents, but I don’t recall the discourse being uproarious.)

Don’t get me wrong… I am totally cool with this practice, and I totally encourage journalists to hang out here and contact DH users (say hello to … Private Messaging in the message boards!!!)

…But is it TOO MUCH TROUBLE to give us credit somehow? Some sort of “secret nod” that only we will get and say, “hey, that’s us!!” Maybe some old-fashioned attribution?

Come on, already. Make my weekend.

Recently, the phrase “my bad” was used unironically in the Daily Heights Forums, prompting an emergency investigation to identify other potentially-typeable phrases that are clearly outside the limits of good taste and proper online expression. To date, phrases banned on Daily Heights include, but are not limited to:

–“Don’t go there” (Obvious!)

–“I am so ____” as in, “I am so loving this discussion about Home Heating Oil!!”

–“Yeah!” said in three syllables, with the accent on the first, so as to suggest “no duh” in response to an obvious statement by another party (admittedly, it would be difficult to type this… if you were to defy the ban, it would probably look something like this: “YEah-uh!”)

-Referring to anyone as “dog” or “dawg”

More forbidden phrases will be posted as they come to our attention. Thank you for your patience during this difficult time of transition!

Special note: Daily Heights is seeking an injunction to enforce Internet-wide bans on the phrases “A ______ grows in Brooklyn” and “If you ______ it, they will come.” To shield your publication from future liability, please discontinue use of these phrases, effective today. Thank you!

LINK: Post #259, FORBIDDEN PHRASES (Was: Pic of Spalding bldg on Pacific?) [Daily Heights Forums]