Great article by the Globe & Mail’s Mathew Ingram in the Nieman Journalism Lab.

Headlined Newspapers get the kind of communities they deserve, he summarizes the research and thinking he’s done since become the Globe’s first “communities editor”.

It’s interesting reading and we can all learn from what Mathew’s gleaned. Of particular interest is his discovery that “the surest way to improve the tone of the debate in forums or comments is to get involved in them. Writers who do, both at the Globe and elsewhere, uniformly say it has a significant effect on the civility of the comments they receive afterwards. On top of that, there is almost always a pleasant surprise on the part of readers that a writer is actually responding.”

In the past I’ve felt awkward about getting involved in the discussion that’s happened in the comments section of a story I’ve written. It felt like I was interfering. I’d already had my say, and I thought of the comments section as being a place where the readers could have their chance.

But Mathew’s article gives me permission to participate, and I’m glad about that.

The Internet is a discussion, after all. Right?

I attended the Vancouver pre-launch event for Bungie and Microsoft’s new Halo game the other night. (Read the report I wrote for the Georgia Straight.)

But in researching the publicity plan for the game’s release, I stumbled onto a few “YouTube”: videos – posted on Sept. 12 and Sept. 14 – that each show an object impacting Toronto from the sky.

• Fiery object crashes to Earth in Toronto

• Backside 180 heelflip with epic asteroid crash

• Unexplained fireball seen over Toronto!!!

Given that I found links to these at the Bungie ODST forum, it’s likely that we’re to “see” the impact as being an ODST pod.

The story of Halo 3: ODST is of a rookie trooper who becomes separated from their squad during a drop into New Mombassa. It’s possible that the “pod” we see streaking into downtown TO is a pod that’s warped through time. The I Love Bees ARG that promoted Halo 2 involved a time-travel plot line.

With less than a week before the game releases, it seems a bit late to be sparking up a viral campaign or ARG, but you never know.

Anyhow, just noting the existence of the videos for posterity. And as a node in case anyone is inclined to dig a little deeper.

This is the second game in a new puzzle franchise from Nintendo for the DS platform. The first, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, didn’t register on my radar, but this title has vaulted to the top of my “must-play” list.

Featuring Professor Layton, an archaeologist with a penchant for puzzles, and his assistant, Luke, Diabolical Box is much more than just a collection of more than 200 brain teasers. Yes, it will give your logic and reasoning muscles a workout, but the training is presented within a compelling mystery.

Come for the puzzles, stay for the story.

Cross-posted at the Georgia Straight

This week, in my “Trigger Happy” column for the Georgia Straight I talk to reps for Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony about the recent announcements about price and configuration changes on the Xbox 360, Wii, and PS3.

Gamers have long been waiting for Sony to drop the price of its PlayStation 3 console, and on September 1 they got a lower price ($299) and new hardware.

Also in this week’s Straight is my review of Batman: Arkham Asylum:

Batman knows something is amiss as he escorts the Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill) into Arkham Asylum, Gotham City’s institution for the criminally insane.

This week’s edition of Fast Forward Weekly includes my suggestions for games to watch for in the first couple of months of the fall season.

Like it or not, fall is coming, and that means the snowstorms of winter aren’t far behind. Here’s a look at some of the video games recently released or coming soon that will keep you busy when you’re frozen to the floor.