RIP: Guest

Hello again, people! We told you it was going to happen, and as of NOW, commenting on Shanghaiist (and the rest of the Gothamist network) is limited to registered users. Registration is easy — either click the Create an Account link at the top of this or any other page on Shanghaiist or, easier yet, create an account right at the bottom of the entry page that you want to comment on. So easy! All you have to do after that is confirm your e-mail address and you're good to start commenting.

And for some reason we're not entirely sure of ourselves, the default icon for registered users across the Gothamist network is a panda — yes, the one you see on the right. If you don't like it, changing your avatar is a breeze. Just click on "Edit Profile" and upload a 100 x 100 pixel image.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, completes our process of moving toward a registration-only commenting system, similar to the ones used by many other major blogs and blog networks. Like it or hate it — and there has been quite a fair amount of debate — we are happy that this day has finally come. We feel that this move will improve the user experience for readers like you, and it lays the foundation for lots of neat features we plan to add to the site in the future.

Kudos in advance to users who register with names like "guest 1," "guest 2" and so on. You can do that, you know. No real names necessary, so anonymity is not lost. For those who refuse to sign up, you can always leave a totally anonymous comment on our Contribute Page.

Should you have any problems registering (Hotmail users in particular are having some trouble receiving their confirmation code), please send an e-mail to info@shanghaiist.com and we'll try our best to help you! Feel free to use this entry as your testing grounds. Enjoy.