"
We don’t write well enough. Linkbait invective spreads quickly
because it angers people, in turn prompting a degradation in the
quality of writing. People write opinions unchecked and unedited,
leading to thoughtless arguments and shoddy research.
We don’t read well enough. We deal with problems of curation and
moderation, which both stem from finding trusted sources to sift
through the morass for us. We don’t focus on writing of substantial
length, and we place rants on a pedestal, even though they don’t offer
any solutions.
We don’t talk about writing well enough. To be sure, we’ve made
inroads here, but I don’t think it goes sufficiently far. Comments
aren’t moderated well enough on most sites, and thriving communities
are difficult to build.
I want to create a space where we can do all three of these things
better, so I’ve spent the past few months working with several others
on the beginning. Presenting Distance: a quarterly journal for long-form essays about design and technology.
The first issue has essays from Ben Jackson, Vitorio Miliano, and Jon Whipple;
you can read more about the content and authors at the journal’s
aforelinked site. Subscriptions and single issues will be available, in
both print and “digital bundle” (PDF, Kindle, and ePub) form." -Nick Disabato, editor