Deleting comments
I've deleted more comments than usual lately on this blog and on Debatables, primarily because anonymous people make abusive and profane comments. It's a mystery to me why they do it. Does it make them feel good? Do they think they're being clever? If you're anonymous, how do you get credit? Odd.
Anyway, commenters have a big playing field, and we give them latitude to take the conversation off point, and to use grammatical constructions and misspellings that would make a dyslexic scream in horror. We don't count off for the irrational or just plain head-shaking silly. We figure the audience can tell what has value.
But we draw the line at abusing other commenters, at using profanity and racial and sexual epithets, and at making personal attacks. Those comments contribute nothing, and there's no reason to permit them. Yet, some people don't understand that. So I kill the comment -- no warning, no -- and leave a note explaining why. Frankly, it's fun to read the next outraged posting from the commenter.
While it's a matter of debate which comments deserves deletion and which are reasonable opinion, I do have an arbitrary latitude scale to help me sort through it:
Sign your real name and real e-mail address: 80% degree of latitude.
Use a pseudonymn but be a regular with a track record: 50%.
A drop-in anonymous comment: 20%
A drop-in anonymous comment with a silly sign-on: 10%
Not scientific, but it helps.
Comments (7)
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I think that your assessment is correct. Correspondents who sign off with their own names tend to be more civil in their posts even with the folks that they tend to disagree with.
I have found that some anonymous posts have provided interesting insights about a topic being discussed. However, many of the anonymous posts do degenerate into insults and name-calling (and almost mindless snarking).
However, I do think that those folks who use the same pseudonyms on a regular basis do add a positive ingredient (for the most part) to the threads.
Posted on December 12, 2007 8:12 PM
Wendell Sawyer said, "I think that your assessment is correct. Correspondents who sign off with their own names tend to be more civil in their posts even with the folks that they tend to disagree with."
That is with the exception of myself who is subject to say exactly what I think and not be necessairly polite in topic, tone or the words I choose (Depends on how long until my next dose of Prozac.) But hey, I'm not a coward who's scared to let people know who I am.
I suspect MOST anonymous commenters fit in one of two categories: 1. Outright cowards or 2. Lazy cowards who are afraid their bosses will catch them commenting on company time. But there are some exceptions.
I've never thought of a math formula as to which comments stay or go but I do delete the occasional comment when people cross certain lines. But disagreeing with me is not one of those lines.
John said, "Does it make them feel good? Do they think they're being clever? If you're anonymous, how do you get credit? Odd."
I think those commenters lead lives feeling as if they have no control over their lives and are simply looking for a place to lash out much like the way some people cut themselves because they are able to control the pain but can control nothing else. But hey, I'm no shrink and could probably use a good shrink so what do I know?
Posted on December 12, 2007 8:54 PM
We all could use a good shrink, Billy.
Especially when it comes to believing JR's tripe about blogging being a way to mainstream stories that wouldn't otherwise get told.
But JR is re-writing history a bit with this post. I've been there when JR/others did not draw any of the lines that he talks about here. In fact, I expect he enjoyed watching.
I trust I'll get that 80% lattitude now.
Posted on December 13, 2007 9:09 AM
I like blogging as meblogin...only problem is most everyone knows who I am.....drat...
Posted on December 13, 2007 8:37 PM
Well, Mr. Robinson, I guess it's fair that I only rate a 50% "survivability rate" since I probably agree with you less than 50% of the time.
Posted on December 15, 2007 8:17 AM
Interesting. Last I heard, jaycee, you had stopped reading me.
Posted on December 15, 2007 8:42 AM
I started again after you let me out of "detention hall." :)
Posted on December 15, 2007 9:29 AM