After the fiasco at MCB I vowed privately (although I guess as of now it’s public) to never again close another thread or block another commenter on any blog I ran. I also vowed to only ever run my own blog.
If, like me, you have made a stupid vow to yourself along the same lines, I would encourage you to NOT post about Cl.. A.k.n or J.n & K.te plus * EVER, unless you want a lot of people who have never ever read your blog before to come and fill your comment sections with useless comments.
I say they are useless comments because they say those things that have no purpose that beginning Internet commenters say. Shall we make a list? Yes! Let’s! Lists which mock others can be fun. Ask VH1, who has made an entire business model out of it. (40 Greatest Internet Superstars? Without the Hamster Dance?)
1. If you don’t like it, turn off the TV or change the channel.
2. What about Hitler?
3. And you call yourself a Christian.
4. You obviously don’t know enough about this particular subject which obsesses me to make a judgement call about it so don’t even bother holding an opinion.
5. You have no right to an opinion if it differs from mine.
[Note: numbers 4 and 5 are a sort of amalgam of several different comments]
6. Yeah, you act so smart but you still misspelled that word up there so everything you say is suspect!
7. What about Hitler?
8. Who cares what you say on a stupid blog that nobody reads?
9 If you were half as good as the subject at hand you would be out feeding orphaned kittens and building houses in New Orleans instead of writing something about the subject at hand on a stupid blog.
10. What about Hitler?
Oh, Hitler. I’m really starting to hate that guy.
Ha.
Sorry. I hope that came across as the funny I was aiming for.
I have my comments set to close automatically after 30 days. That effectively kills runaway comment threads (not that I’ve had any last that long), without it being the “mean ol’ moderator” trying to “censor” anyone.
Of course, on my own blog I don’t restrict myself from NOT being the mean ol’ moderator, though thus far I’ve not found the need to be.
Wow, you really gathered some winning comments on the Cl** Ai*** post. I figured this post was hyperbole, but then I read the comments on that one….yikes.
Purpose of this comment: edification and support of Kat.
Change the channel on Hitler, I say. Stop watching the
HitlerHistory Channel and you won’t write such wrongheaded posts that disagree with me on this blog no one reads.Wow, sorry I came to this post late. When you all were going through this at MCB, I couldn’t help but to see a very common growing pain. I concluded a very long time ago what you have concluded through that experience. Never ban users or turn off a thread or censor people. The community will do a good enough job despite the handwringing and perception of out of control drama. It a natural evolution of conversation and community. The only line you need to hold is tha tyou will not tolerate illegal activity (libel, slander, defamation, pornography, etc…). It works, and sadly you can never teach that to other moderators. They all only learn through exprience and making big mistakes, and that why I also agree with you on only running your own site. Peers just don’t want to hear how everything will work out. They always want to use their power to do what they think is right… and when they find out it wasn’t right afterall, the public embarassement causes them to flame out, give up, fold shop and disappear. The only way to avoid that is to get out of the way of people’s conversation and simply make sure everyone has enough to eat and drink.
They always want to use their power to do what they think is right… and when they find out it wasn’t right afterall, the public embarassement causes them to flame out, give up, fold shop and disappear. The only way to avoid that is to get out of the way of people’s conversation and simply make sure everyone has enough to eat and drink.
What are you talking about, Christian? That is not what happened with MCB. The reason MCB folded was simply a matter of the Editors having full-time jobs and lives that precluded them from devoting the time and energy necessary to keep the site afloat.
Plain and simple. It had nothing to do with comment moderation or troll control.