10 votes

There is no such thing as acting alone: Behind the 'lone-actor strategy.'

6 comments

  1. [6]
    TheJorro
    Link
    The article title is "There is no such thing as acting alone", it seems more punchy.

    The article title is "There is no such thing as acting alone", it seems more punchy.

    1 vote
    1. [5]
      cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Article titles these days usually change over time, and are often completely different depending on where the publication submits the articles to/where the audience is coming from, in an attempt...

      Article titles these days usually change over time, and are often completely different depending on where the publication submits the articles to/where the audience is coming from, in an attempt by them to maximize click-through and retention. Some even use A/B testing to accomplish this and will basically randomize the title between a big list of possible ones for different viewers, in order to gauge the results of each. However, if you look at the URL slug (something that doesn't often change), you can usually tell the article's original title, which in this case was likely "Racist hatemongers spent 30 years perfecting a lone-actor strategy. El-paso is their latest win."

      And if @jahnu edited the title, IMO they did a good job keeping it objective. Also IMO, "punchy" isn't necessarily something that should be encouraged, especially when it comes at the expense of clarity and much needed additional context in the title.

      2 votes
      1. [4]
        TheJorro
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        By "punchy", I meant right to the point. This article is a perspective and I think that the punchier title is one that succinctly describes this specific perspective. I don't think clarity or...

        By "punchy", I meant right to the point. This article is a perspective and I think that the punchier title is one that succinctly describes this specific perspective. I don't think clarity or necessary context were sacrificed, thanks to the lead line.

        I don't think declaring a perspective as the truth is a path to objectivity (nor uniqueness in this era of Google News headlines), which is why I appreciate the article's chosen headline.

        1 vote
        1. [3]
          cfabbro
          Link Parent
          Fair enough, and in retrospect I agree the “Truth” part might be a bit much. Do you think perhaps combining the two would help solve the problem, e.g. ”There is no such thing as acting alone. The...

          Fair enough, and in retrospect I agree the “Truth” part might be a bit much. Do you think perhaps combining the two would help solve the problem, e.g. ”There is no such thing as acting alone. The story behind the lone-wolf paradigm” or something to that effect? I can change the title if we can come up with something appropriate.

          1. [2]
            TheJorro
            Link Parent
            With the OP's blessing, I believe so.

            With the OP's blessing, I believe so.

            There is no such thing as acting alone: behind the 'lone-actor strategy.'

            1 vote
            1. cfabbro
              Link Parent
              Yeah, I like that better since it works in the slug title as well. And it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission, IMO, so I changed it to that. @jahnu, feel free to provide some feedback...

              Yeah, I like that better since it works in the slug title as well. And it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission, IMO, so I changed it to that. @jahnu, feel free to provide some feedback if you like though, and we can see about working in any suggestions you have as well.