EDIT: A good friend sent me this graphic. It's as apt for this situation as any other:
A recent post on this site has provoked a larger than usual amount of nitwits. It seems a good time to reiterate some things...
Ever since the start of this blog more than twenty years ago, I have welcomed vigorous discussion and debate in the comments sections of the posts. I have also allowed for anonymous comments to be made. My policies about that have been more liberal than a lot of sites on the Intertubes.
Last month, as a result of some people abusing the rules of polite society when commenting, I turned on moderation of comments. It is now set to publish a comment only after I approve of it.
Many of the comments that had been made were laden with profanity and obscenity. They were not the writings of civilized people. It would be an insult to young people if I said that the comments were "childish". They were more like adolescents enraged with the onset of hormones. The comparison I've made of them to manic eighth graders is an apt one.
They refused to behave. So I turned on moderation.
The nitwits cried out that this is a violation of freedom of speech. They demanded that I make this place one rife with abuse again.
It's very, very simple. Anyone and everyone is free to make a comment. And I do indeed allow for a wide range of opinions and perspectives. I like it when this blog can be a place of vigorous debate and discussion.
But there is expectation also: that people commenting do so in a polite and dignified manner. Which means NO hard profanity, NO crude sexual references, NO petty insults, NOTHING that you would be too ashamed to show your mother.
(Some of the people I'm talking about come across as having no shame at all. Who knows, maybe their parents didn't love them enough. Maybe they've never known any better than to not act like @$$holes, but I digress.)
I have told the people screaming for open comments about this many times by now. Have laid out the instructions so clearly that a young child could grasp it. The nitwits still don't understand. Their minds seem as dark as their souls.
I see this place as an arena of ideas. Some people want it to be a no-holds-barred battle royale with flying chairs and hidden weapons. They just don't seem capable of being decent human beings.
So I'm saying again, as crystal clear as I know to say it: be nice and your comment will be allowed, and I believe that over the years I have demonstrated appreciating a remarkable latitude of opinions here.
If you cannot stop acting like wild naked savages dancing in blood however, you will not be allowed to enter the discussion.
If a person has something legitimate to say, they certainly can do so and I will definitely hit the publish button for it. Regardless of viewpoint. But if they can't do that without acting like a total bastitch, it will not be published.
And now I'll wait for the rabid jackals who have been abusing the comments to come again to cry foul. I can practically hear them even now.
1 comments:
Your terms are acceptable. This is your media outlet and not even major television networks allow anyone to dominate their bandwidth. I saw the messages left on the first post about Geek Hub and couldn't believe that you were tolerating them. I see why though. Those people have a sickness of their souls.
Post a Comment