Monday, October 24, 2011
Some commenters are just plain weird
I apologize for having to terminate comments on the post I put up last night about the latest scandal in the Catholic Church. I'm afraid the comment thread got spammed by some idiot who seemed convinced I was nothing more than a Catholic-hater who needed to be put in his place, plus another person who appeared equally convinced that the Catholic Church is the biblical whore of Babylon and needs to be exposed as such. In both cases, the commenters produced a great deal of heat, but no light whatsoever. Rather than let them build up a head of steam until one or both exploded (and/or until others decided to jump in), I killed their comments and closed the thread.
I'll continue to allow open comments by anyone, from any point of view, as long as they're reasoned, rational and relatively polite. When the name-calling and mud-slinging starts, I clamp down. There's no place for that sort of nonsense here. I don't want to go to permanent comment moderation, as some bloggers have chosen to do; but if I have to do so, I will. Meanwhile, if my more sensible readers notice someone frothing at the mouth in a comment thread, please send me an e-mail (the address is in my blog profile) to let me know about it, in case I've missed it.
Thanks.
Peter
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
Good for you.
You are a Liar.
Aaaaaand Anonymous at 7.20 a.m. demonstrates exactly what I mean . . .
These creatures are rather pathetic, aren't they?
One of the reasons I much prefer blogs, Facebook and Google+ to the constant irresponsibility of Usenet:
the ability to neuter cowardly anonymous comments!
Nu-uhh, you are.
I said it first.
Liar liar, pants on fire.
I'm rubber, you're glue...
I'm telling.
There, that about sums up their collective disagreement, made about as effectively as they can make it.
I have four kids, and I get to listen to them disagree on occasion. I'd like to think that when they grow up, they be able to argue more effectively than a pair of anonymous internet trolls.
Granted, it's not much, but I'm a simple man with simple wants.
WV--runship
Why, yes, I do. I do indeed run this ship. At least, until my wife tells me what to do.
Comment trolls are one of the lowest human life forms. I for one am glad not to have to read their hateful contributions. Thanks for keeping the sandbox clean, Peter. ;)
WV: hypsi (the Musky Rat-kangaroo, Hypsiprymnodon moschatus, a rat-sized marsupial species) :D
How apropos. ;)
One of the advantages of having your own blog is setting the rules. You did well.
In re: the post which drew the fire.
We must remember that this is called the 'vale of tears' for a reason.
Bishops, Popes, priests, nuns...all sin.
So do I, by the way.
@Dad29: Yep. Me, too. That's why I can't point a finger at any individual - I may as well have a mirror between them and myself, so my finger would point straight back at me. Uncomfortable, that . . .
I'm sympathetic for you. I'm not Catholic by any stretch, but I can at least imagine the sense of horror and betrayal you must be feeling.
So, sympathy.
No need to apologize, Peter. Not only is this your living room, and so your rules, but your rules are reasonable.
Post a Comment