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{{lowercase|pnj.com}}
'''pnj.com''' [http://www.pnj.com/] is the website of the ''[[Pensacola News Journal]]. Prior to [[2006]], the newspaper's primary domain was '''pensacolanewsjournal.com''', until the coveted three-letter domain was purchased from the Japanese company that had held it. The new domain went live on [[November 5]], [[2006]].<ref>"Visit pnj.com -- Your fingers will thank you." ''Pensacola News Journal,'' November 5, 2006.</ref> Since that time, the website URL has gained increasing prominence in the newspaper's promotional materials.
The ''News Journal'' first established an Internet presence in [[1996]] with '''gulfcoastgateway.com''', a [[Wikipedia:Web portal|portal]]-style website that did not fully duplicate the printed paper's stories. The domain '''pensacolanewsjournal.com''' was registered in 1997,<ref>http://whois.domaintools.com/pensacolanewsjournal.com</ref> becoming the primary URL, and most of the printed paper's content was made available at no cost.
In [[2006]], the newspaper acquired the coveted three-letter domain "pnj.com" from a Japanese metal trade press group that had previously held it. ''News Journal'' employee [[Anthony Cornealius]], who spoke Japanese, helped initiate communication with the company and broker the sale, and the new domain went live on [[November 5]].<ref>"Visit pnj.com -- Your fingers will thank you." ''Pensacola News Journal,'' November 5, 2006.</ref> Since that time, the website URL and logo have gained increasing prominence in the newspaper's promotional materials, including a first place location on the general logo and a new sign on its [[Romana Street]] headquarters.
On [[March 17]], [[2008]], the site relaunched with a new design, organization and features as part of a [[Gannett]]-wide overhaul.
==User content==
The ''News Journal'' encourages user contribution through a story commenting system, community forums, and a featured called "GetPublished" that allows registered members to submit news items, events and photos.
For many years, the ''News Journal'''s website used the [[Wikipedia:phpBB|phpBB]] software for user registration, comments and forums. When the site relaunched on [[March 17]], [[2008]], it had replaced the phpBB system [http://www.pluck.com/ Pluck]'s "SiteLife" software. A number of users who preferred the previous forum system migrated to a new site, [[gulfcoastgab.com]].
===Godzilla controversy===
{{main|Jeff Bergosh}}
On [[October 4]], [[2007]], the ''News Journal'' published an article by reporter [[Sara Rabb]] that revealed [[Escambia County School Board]] member [[Jeff Bergosh]] had been posting comments on the pnj.com forums under the pseudonym "[[Wikipedia:Godzilla|Godzilla]]." Rabb purportedly noticed that "Godzilla's" posts were similar to the views expressed by Bergosh at School Board meetings, and she was able to confirm with the website's administrator that Bergosh's personal email address had indeed been used to register the account. Bergosh accused the ''News Journal'' of "outing" his identity on what he had believed was a safe outlet for anonymous opinion: "When the ''Pensacola News Journal'' created an anonymous forum, encouraging the use of pseudonyms, as to let people take down their guards and speaking in a frank manner regarding political ideas and thoughts, I jumped at the opportunity."<ref name="statement">[http://ricksblog.biz/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/jeff-bergosh.pdf Statement by Bergosh regarding Godzilla]</ref> The publication pointed out that their website's current terms of use reserved "the right to identify you as the author of any of your postings or submissions by name, email address or screen name, as we deem appropriate."<ref>[http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=TERMS pnj.com Terms of Use]</ref> The ''News Journal'''s decision to share details of their website registration database with the editorial staff was criticized by many members of the pnj.com forums and by other publications. According to the [[UWF]] ''[[Voyager]]'', "A bias was inherent in that story — the bias to sell more newspapers."<ref>[http://media.www.thevoyager.net/media/storage/paper977/news/2007/10/11/Opinion/Newspapers.Should.Report.Not.Exploit-3035316.shtml "Newspapers should report, not exploit."] ''The Voyager'', October 11, 2007.</ref> The online editor for the ''[[Northwest Florida Daily News]]'' decried the exposé as "bush league."<ref>[http://www.nwfdailynews.com/blog/post/theOnlineEditor/746/Comments-and-Anonymity Comments and Anonymity], October 9, 2007.</ref>
==Outages==
[[Image:pnjExpiredScreenshot.png|right|200px|Screenshot of the expired domain redirect page]]
:<tt>pnj.com expired on 05/08/2007 and is pending renewal or deletion.</tt>
The domain was likely not set to auto-renew.
==References==
==External links==