I've run into several complaints recently about comments that have not appeared beneath articles on this blog. I'd like to remind readers of a few important points.
- If your comment is profane; or a personal attack on another commenter; or, for that matter, a personal attack on me; it's not going to appear. Civilized, reasonably polite disagreements are fine. Insults are not. I delete all such comments without bothering to read them in detail.
- Some comments simply don't make it to moderation at all. Blogger has been known for "disappearing comments" for some years now. I don't know why that happens, and I can't do anything about it. If I never see your comment, I obviously can't approve or deep-six it.
- Comments calling for violence, illegal retribution, criminal actions, etc. are a no-no. Be reasonable, people. If your comment calls for illegal or criminal actions, or physical harm to some person or group, you're inviting law enforcement and legal attention. We may feel very strongly about groups and individuals with which/whom we disagree, but that doesn't mean we can openly incite violence or bloodshed against them. To say such things in public is to make yourself a target, particularly in the present legal and prosecutorial climate. I won't have this blog (or myself) tarred with that brush.
- Some readers have their own axes to grind, and make comments that are nothing more than diatribes, polemics or rants about how right they are and how wrong everyone else is (including yours truly). Sometimes I publish them, but in general, if they're overly dogmatic and "preachy", I discard them. This is a place for reasoned, informed discussion and debate, not rants.
- In general terms, anything one would say to another person in polite conversation is fine. Disagreements (with a person, policy, action, whatever) are also fine. However, anything that demeans, insults, attacks or disparages another person is not.
- If you don't like any of the above policies, feel free to say so in a comment to this post: but please also say why you don't like it/them. If you make a good case, I'll consider changes. However, in the end, this is my blog, after all. If you don't like how I handle it, there's nothing stopping you from starting your own and saying whatever you wish there.
I hope that clarifies the comment situation. I think an adapted Golden Rule sums it up nicely: "Comment about others as you would have them comment about you."
Finally, please remember that this is a family-friendly blog. I strive to keep it that way. I'll be grateful if commenters will please do the same.
Peter
Sir,
ReplyDeleteThat you find it increasingly necessary to explain these things, tells its own story.
So much for decorum and comportment; old-fashioned, maybe, but worth upholding.
Thank you for your efforts.
Mike in Canada
Adapted from what a financial newsletter editor once told me - Comments should be such that you wouldn't mind your mother reading them.
ReplyDeleteAhh...I remember well the long ago IRC days (before it became a hackers paradise).
ReplyDelete2 tenets i came away with from that era were:
a) offensive and/or easily offended people didnt usually last very long on that forum.
and, b) manners and consideration are out the window when folks think they are anonymous.
Your house, your rules, I don't like them there is lots of other places to go.
ReplyDeleteI have no issues with this.
ReplyDeleteThis s YOUR house. I have no gripe with it running under YOUR rules.
There was a time when this was common.
I see no problems with these. I don’t comment often, and only since it was opened to anonymous, but have not yet had any problems. I also don’t feel like my comments are of vital importance to be posted. It’s more like a large group discussion, like a shared meal or Bible study, in which maybe I get a chance to throw my two cents in or maybe the conversation moves on before i am heard, but my two cents are not something that was going to suddenly shift all paradigms.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXvQMfKjuC8
ReplyDeleteMr. Grant, I hope this fits here. Would you comment on why the press and "influencers" persist in saying "Joe Biden did this" and "Joe Biden is going to do such and such". Everyone in the world, especially the Russians and the Chinese, know that he is not in charge of anything and makes no decisions. Also, who is making the decisions? Who is running the country? And who has their finger on the Red Button? It could matter.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Old Tommy
Your blog, your rules, Peter. I don't comment often, but I peruse every day. Thank you for all the work you put into it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above comments regarding "your place, your rules">
ReplyDeleteIf they don't like it, there is nothing preventing them starting their own blog.
Phil B
I've had one or two not published, I'm not complaining, your page your rules.
ReplyDeleteBravo on this; social media are so toxic in general that I tend to avoid most, except to read some items which happen to catch my attention. One note, though: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" also works for sado-masochists, but with unintended consequences. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhy has the Goldern Rule fallen out of fashion these days?
ReplyDeleteI only comment once in a great while, but these seem like good rules to me. As others have pointed out, if you don't like the rules, there are lots of other places to go.
ReplyDeleteHey Peter;
ReplyDeleteYour House, Your Rules...We are Guest here.