I can't stop laughing. I was having a good day. This makes it better.

I find this extremely offensive,Tim.

Erin, I don't think the shot was made at you, I think it was made at the Patch in general. This site runs on gossip.

I agree with Missing 34.

Even if this comment WERE geared to the whole Patch website, you still put it on this article which is extremely offensive to the person who wrote it. This was completely unnecessary and is very offensive. Especially writing that way about a Catholic Church.

Honestly, I didn't even write this article and I am offended, as a Catholic, this is very offending. I cannot believe you would write something like this on an article intended on stopping gossip and how HURTFUL it is. It is no joking/laughing matter.

That's a good one. "I picked my house because people in my neighborhood don't gossip". And you knew that before you moved in? Wow!!!

Greg -- if you're going to use quotation marks when referencing my post, please do so with words that I actually wrote. The sentence that you wrote does not appear in my post. What a totally bizarre thing to do. It's a strange level of interest in things that I never said. And a great example of how odd people can be online, I guess.

We chose our neighborhood because it was more established (not new construction and full of young families) and of mixed ages. We spent hours driving around and observing the neighborhood before we made an offer. Weekends, weekdays, weekday evenings, etc. We purposely did not choose one of the new developments because we wanted a more private, reserved feel. I have friends who moved into the newer communities with pools, etc., and they love them! That's great for people who enjoy that sense of connectedness and socialization. We opted for something else with more privacy and a quick wave every so often.

We may not know the neighbors' names, nor do we have block parties and bbqs, but we also don't experience online sniping through the neighborhood message board or FB feuding with someone over a perceived slight over a party invite, etc. All things that I hear people constantly complain about when it comes to neighborhood/subdivision drama.

Many people adore a close-knit highly social n'hood and I think that's great - different strokes! When you don't know the neighbors and they don't know you - there isn't much gossip! lol

C'mon Jane, your neighbors probably get together and try to guess what your story is. ;) LOL

@Robyn -- lol! The funny thing is that at almost a decade in, I probably wouldn't even recognize neighbors who live within 3 or 4 houses of me if I stood next to them at Target. ; ) We walked this neighborhood so many times to get a feel for it, and there was *never* anyone outside. And we moved in the spring/summer, when the weather was great! We can go months without even seeing out next door neighbors. It's a total "keep to yourself" street and we love that. I remember when I had my 2nd baby and we were out about 7 mos later and somebody from down the way asked if we were babysitting because she never knew I was pregnant. lol!

Oddly enough, our kids have just recently noticed that no one is ever really out and they always ask why no one knows when the weather is good. Ha! Their idea is that if there isn't a total thunderstorm, surely you should be outside. ; ) They get that from their dad, not their AC-loving mom!

I think I would be more concerned about living in a neighborhood where neighbors don't know one anothers names or know anything about them and their habits, or that they have children out there playing alone, than about stalking an older neighborhood because they don't gossip..

Way to go, Jim Glover (and your granddaughter's class)!

What is amusing about it, is that is is printed on a site that is notorious for 'less-than-accurate' reporting... otherwise known as gossip. I am not talking about just in the comments, but the editors as well. What would otherwise pass for rumors, end up being front-page stories, and any questions as to the accuracy of these claims will be deleted from the comments entirely by some editors. No external links to verify claims are given, and demanding such evidence will get an account deleted/suspended under the claim of 'personal attacks'.

Other than listening to the echo chamber of patch employees, attempt to gain an outside view and google the phrase 'AOL Patch problems', or 'AOL Patch Ethics' and sit back in amazement at what comes back.

*I am not making the claim that Erin specifically does this, just that other unnamed editors have a reputation for doing this locally, and also throughout other patch sites.

I debated as to whether or not to step in on this and defend the current writers and editors in the media today. Why? Because I didn't want to get into a crazy verbal altercation. So I will say one thing ... You have no idea the pressure the media is under these days. You don't just file a story and go home to your family. You don't wait for the paper to come out the next day with your article in it. You're constantly attached to Twitter, posting new stories, and releasing info as it becomes available because WE the public want to know everything right away. Then, if you're Steven, Erin, Andre, etc., you have to monitor posts (some great, some completely irrelevent) from people about your stories. It's a never-ending job that gets little positive recognition, especially in the age where people can hide behind screen names and take pot-shots. Do they make mistakes? Yes. We all do. Is the Patch the greatest piece of writing known to man? No. But guess what, you don't pay for it. Tim, considering your post here and what you said about the Catholic Church in a previous post, you should be the last one making claims about gossip. It's really quite amusing to me.

What did Tim say Kelly that wasn't true?

It baffles me that Tim could take an obnoxious swat at the Catholic Church and no one seems to notice! That's what is so unbelievably offensive. And Vanessa, your inappropriate laughter didn't go unnoticed.

Seriously? I'm Catholic(and I attend most Sundays, kids in CCD classes etc) and wouldn't attend a seminar given by the Catholic church on the dangers of Child molesting.

No one commented about his comment on the catholic church because it is 100% true. Also, it's not even the point, it's simply an accurate comparison to some of the gossip the Patch posts.

It's the blanket statement about the church that I think offends people like myself. It would be like saying that every high school employs a bunch of molesters simply because of a few sick people, or that all cops are crooked because of a few bad apples. And finally, I think he phrased it as kind of a joke and molestation is NOT a laughing matter.

The joke was at the expense of the church, not child molestation. The people that laugh at such a joke are probably the ones that are angriest at the Church's reluctance to really do anything about it for many, many years and can see the irony in such a statement. If you find it offensive, that's fine as well, but don't expect others to react the same way you do.

The Church's reluctance was because of the loss of valuable dollars, this site runs on advertising dollars and many articles are presented here to get a response and to promote conversation (GOSSIP) and drive people to this site. See the irony? The Patch is loving this.

I never said I expected others to react the same way I did, I just explained why I made the statement I did. My original point was that I was amused that he made a statement like that after talking about gossip. And it still stands. Gossip is idle talk, and considering the fact that the church and molestation had nothing to do with what Erin wrote about, that's what it was.

I don't recall Tim ever criticizing or condemning gossip, he just found the irony in the article being written on a "gossipy" news vehicle and compared it to another ironic (albeit sensitive) situation. I am however, glad you found it amusing too.

I also apologize Jane, it was not you that expected us to be offended, it was the original author of the article.

Once again, I never said he criticized it or condemned it. And my name is Kelly ... I am offended by that. Kidding. :)

Apologies on the name Kelly, I must have taken my position from this comment:

"considering your post here and what you said about the Catholic Church in a previous post, you should be the last one making claims about gossip. It's really quite amusing to me."

No worries, have a great day.

I could see how you might assume that's what I meant, but I didn't. No worries here either!

Whatever Erin. While you may think that Tim's comment about the Catholic Church is offensive, I don't. I'm entitled to my opinion and right now I'm commenting as a reader, not a reporter.

@Vanessa, after having read some of your "articles" it is obvious that you are not commenting as a reporter in those either.

I completely agree. I can't believe some people find this 'amusing'. Especially trying to be funny towards a Catholic Church. Great article. I wish some people could actually appreciate it more.

Which is exactly why I gave you two phrases to search in google to read what others have experienced at Patch.

Luckily, Patch can only censor their own site, not the entire internet.

http://www.gossipandvice.com/tag/aol/
http://www.framingham.com/patch/

The first link is from a blogger--blogs are no better than any other "gossiper". The 2nd link had nothing to do with "...a site that is notorious for 'less-than-accurate' reporting." that I could see. These certainly can't be considered proof to substantiate your allegations about this situation, at least in my book. So, I'll chalk your posts up to nothing but gossip.

Marie,
That is why I gave you phrases to search, which you still have not done.

You can discount the 2 links I provided you all you want, but they are still a sampling from the phrases I posted for you to search on your own, and of the experiences that others have had with Patch and their 'style' of gossip=news.

Frankly, your inability to check a search engine on your own, and instead rely on only 2 links provided to you, is exactly why Patch thinks there is a market for gossip. They seem to be able to count on people just believing what they read, without going off on their own to verify it.

In fact, there are so many people who can not be bothered to look something up on their own, a site has been created just for you. It is called 'Let me google that for you'.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=AOL+Patch+Problems