Managing My Borders

The comments section has been a chore to manage lately.

As you know, I moderate comments.  What this means is that I see the comment before allowing it to be posted on the site.  Why do I do this?  My simplest answer: I don’t want this comments section to turn into the comments section at ZeroHedge – a competition of vulgarity, fallacious ad hominens and abuses of all sorts. 

Before I get into some detail, let me offer those of you who are not familiar with the google blogger back office some insight.  As mentioned, I see the comments before they are published.  But this isn’t completely accurate; I can see only a couple hundred characters of the comment before deciding if it will be displayed.  Sometimes this is enough.  Often I have to publish the comment in order to read it all, after which I might decide to delete it.

Lately I have had to delete more comments than I have had to delete probably in total since I started this blog; I have stopped posting any comments from two or three individuals (I think one of these came back as anonymous, as the style and critique were similar). 

This could be because I am getting tired of the repetition; it could be because I am getting tired of being ignored; it could be because I consider that those who use profanity outside of meaningful context to be illiterate and not worth my time.

I have been called a phony; I have had an offer for a sexual liaison, in the vulgar way you could imagine (and without a picture of the one making the offer, I could not consider the possibility); questions asked several times by me or others have been repeatedly ignored; I am accused of ignoring opinions contrary to mine – despite even having dozens of new blog posts dedicated to a single feedback with which I take exception.

All of this in the last week or two.  Perhaps I am touching on some nerves.

I appreciate and enjoy the dialogue at this site.  I appreciate views that I had not considered and also contrary views.  I find these worthwhile only if supported with logic and reason; I find these worthwhile only if the feedbacker properly engages in actual dialogue.

These are my borders and I intend to manage these such that my appreciation and enjoyment of the dialogue continues. 

For those who don’t like this, good riddance. 

For the rest of you, Merry Christmas.