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Someone has asked me why I don’t permit comments on my blog. I answered that it was because I didn’t want the headache of moderating the comments. I’m only one person and I do have a life apart from this blog, time and energy being in my life, as in your own, a limited quantity. On the other hand, it isn’t as if this blog gets an undue amount of traffic, but it does get a regular if modest amount, so it’s unlikely that I’ll have to spend all that much time trying to get the occasional troll to behave or to just go and play somewhere else.
So . . . I’ve decided to open up the comments. But there will be rules of propriety and if in my fallible estimation a comment should fall outside the bounds of what I consider to be civil commentary, it will be disappeared without mercy or recourse to any appeal. So be nice, and I’ll be nice.
So what are the rules?
A)
Never attack the man or the woman — no matter how clueless he or she may appear to be in your regard, and that applies to me especially, since I often am clueless about a lot of things — but do feel free to attack his or her argument or to correct his or her lapses of ‘fact.’
B)
Try to stay on topic. Take your cue from the subject matter of the post above the comment section in which you will be commenting. If you stray too far or too often, you should expect to be deleted without my having to apologize or justify the annihilations of your lapses into woolgathering.
C)
Back up what you say with sources. Groundless claims or accusations about what someone may have said or done will disappear, never to be heard from again, at least not in these specific parts of the blogosphere.
I can’t think of anything else for the time being, but if you have any suggestions about how comments should be moderated so as to create a pleasant and thought provoking atmosphere, to not intimidate people who would otherwise comment or to not abuse people who may have – please, don’t be shy, serve them up below, and if they are sufficiently compelling, I’ll make them part of this blog’s policy on “comments.”
And keep in mind that I am only one person and, no, I’m not always going to be around to be doing the housekeeping that permitting comments will inevitably entail. Things that will go into “moderation” may not get dealt with as immediately as you would like. So let me apologize for that, right here and right now. I’ll try to get around to it in as timely a manner as I can.
Now I’m going to go and see how I can set up the blog to permit comments and automate some appropriate filters. So please, a bit of patience over the next few days or so, as I try to sort myself out over this. I’m old(er) than I’d like to be and also a lot more obtuse.
Be nice, play nice. Or, as they used to say up north, “fuck off.” (Yes, colorful language is permitted, so long as it’s not nasty or overdone. You know perfectly well what I mean.)
–Norm
P.S. Trolls get one, not two, but only one chance. Merely a whiff of suspicion will be your exile. It’s not that I don’t like games, I do. It’s that I’d rather spend my time learning something than whittling it away trying to be wittier than I actually am, which isn’t “very,” my children and others have often assured me, and would just be, in any case, an exercise in self-embarrassment, if not for you, then for me, and masochism is really not my strong suit.
Norm, as you know, after commenting on the Tube’s blog for three years now, #2 is going to be more than difficult!;-)
Funny, I have been considering doing the exact opposite, and I don’t get that many comments.
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It’s not #2, Sojourner, it’s B).
Okay, you are the only person here, apart from myself, who will have woolgathering privileges.
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See how observant I am? Number B is going to be a problem. There is that better?;-)
Oh yes, and I am allergic to wool! Welcome to the world of re[p]lying to comments!
[Norm’s note: this comment has been edited for a typo. (Just tying on my new role as a blog Administrator. I like the feel of all this new-found power.)]
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No matter how hard I try, I still can’t see a number. So no, it ain’t much better than the first attempt.
Wool? Already you have strayed off topic, and thus abuse your privilege.
You wouldn’t be trolling, by any chance?
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I’m too old and tired to troll, Norm!
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Trolling hath no age. I think you troll, Sir.
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Yay! You can always block me if my daft questions confound you. Yippee!
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If you keep cheering like that, I’m willing to lower the bar for trolling just for you, Mohandeer.
Actually, at this point I think I’m going to allow anyone over the age of 55 unrestrained trolling privileges, because even when people over 55 are not trolling, they come off as though they are. I just have to figure out how to verify the age of anyone who decides to leave a comment. Maybe WordPress already has a filter in place for that, too?
On the other hand, even older folk who may be younger than me need to be forgiven that for which they are not responsible, namely, what the ravages of time have obviously done to their minds and, therefore, to be permitted to have their say as though it really mattered, for they persist in thinking they matter, you know, and yes, it’s true, it needs to be conceded, they do yet remain partly human. Besides, at worst it’s all harmless prattle, and at best it’s funny if no one gets too angry. Yeah . . . Yup . . .
. . . and God knows that you, Mohandeer, will be careening off topic every chance you get, but not because you’ll be doing it on purpose, but because . . . well, because . . . and besides, as you’ve recently admitted, you’re not completely perfect, not by a short shot, but that’s because nobody is, and so it’s not really your fault, and the accretion rate of imperfection does increase exponentially with age, doesn’t it? And who can do anything about that?
So after much deliberation on the matter, I, as the only but nevertheless Executive Administrator of this blog, hereafter and forever exempt you, too, my dear Mohandeer, form rule “B).” Because, well, it will just save me a whole lot of time and bother, now won’t it.
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I see the good opportunities on the new untouched pages yet. I say “thank you Norman.” It is so exciting! New blank pages and look new adventures! I am waiting this for a long time! Just I can say it may be item B can be problem to me, I cannot imagine any subject that I can not tie to the lady dogs and beer! And yes, Migo say that he will keep his first comment for another post, he gave me the priority to the first comment on your blog. Yes, Migo is boring and we know this, you know nobody cannot stand him, if he has not got a friend like mine so handsome, brilliant, sensetive dog friend on the world. While I was talking I remembered two days ago on the beach I saw very beatiful lady dog, but…
Migo call me right now and he says I need to cut short, and he adds if I will go like that, you will ban me as first troll!
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Mmmm. Lady dogs. Beer. A bit of imagination. Throw in a pinch of puppy lust, and you know, WD, if you are not careful, before too long, you might end up having to share your water and food as well as your bed with more than just your lady dog friend. As for banning you for transgressing item “B),” never, and you can tell Migo that I told you so.
Capris and Milou snort two greetings your way and wish you better luck than they in your pursuit of your beachside beauties, something they will unfortunately never know, well, because . . . they long ago lost their balls and there is no beach to be found anywhere in these parts . . . But don’t feel too bad for them, they have each other and me . . .
Give Migo a lick and a tail wag for me.
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Oh no, I know there is big danger on a long-term relationships like illegitimate puppies, a friend of mine had a big problem with 22 illegitimate puppies from 4 lady dogs; big problem! I am on a side more free relationships. Also, you can send Capris and Milou to here, we can start a gang, a super cool gang with together and many walk and adventure on the beach we can live, so exciting! And licking to Migo, it can be a thing I can never want to do. Don’t you know he is a green-grey alien? Yucky, iykkk!
And many thanks for the privilages for item B. 🙂
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Ah, dogs and their standards. I don’t know how they square the idea of “a long-term relationship” with “22 pupies, all illegitimate, from 4 different lady dogs.” If they were extra-terrestrial or human, this would surely raise a few eyebrows. I’ll fly it past Milou and Capris and see how they react. But knowing them, it will be all envy and admiration. Dogs! Luckily for them, they have people to take up the slack where they lack in moral responsibility toward their progeny, that is, the men dogs among them. Good thing Caps and Milou are without their balls. Can you imagine! The neighborhood and then some would be overrun by Toy Poodles and Westies. Oh, I know in your innocence, WD, you don’t really understand my reproof, but then you don’t need to. I can only say that it’s a good thing dogs are man’s best friend, otherwise in some mutual respects they’d both be a whole lot worse off . . .
Green-grey, you say? I had imagined him to be blue and dressed in spandex with a large cone shaped head. Funny how without ever meeting someone, just from what they write, we nevertheless form ‘impressions’ about the “person” without really knowing anything about them. Interesting, that.
As you can see, despite already having flagrantly flouted rule “B),” no one is even thinking of banning anyone. 😉
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You say: “I had imagined him to be blue and dressed in spandex with a large cone shaped head.”
Yes, Migo has been disappointment for all us.:) When I first met with Migo, and he said to me he was an alien, I thought that he has got X-Ray vision or lightsaber or any cool stuff you know, but I learnt he has not got any fancy skill. What a disappointment!
Also I realize I am more free when Migo isn’t here, yahhuu! Thank you Norman, for no ban and no ban thought for me in here. 🙂
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Hi, Norman. Congratulations. I promise to only troll you with wickedly humorous comments.
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Already the invasion has begun . . . But it’s okay, you meet the minimum age requirement to be as silly and off topic as you want to be. (Love to you, Stuart.)
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Fab, Norm! Fab! (Will leave more substantial comments later, but I just spent most of this Sunday sorting Daughter’s 100,000-piece reserves of LEGO blocks by color and I’m physically, spiritually and intellectually drained….!
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Playing with LEGO blocks can be physically, spiritually and intellectually exhausting. I understand perfectly.
I shall therefore take your cue and will append just as soon as I, too, recover the physical, spiritual and intellectual wherewithal to append it, a rule that will henceforth be formally known as rule “D),” or informally known as “StAug’s Rule,” and that was obviously missing from among this blog’s comment policy, let us say formulated roughly as follows:
Many thanks for your input, STAug!
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Highly civilized, N! Almost Star Trekish (c. “The First Generation”, featuring comely Greek Empaths)
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DEMOCRACY & DICTATORSHIP IN KOREA
THE KOREA PROBLEM
This is What Democracy Looks Like
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