moderation in all things - including comments
Well, the winter of love is over: now is the summer of our discontent. It appears that even comment moderation and a pleasant demeanour combined are not enough to keep people's vitriol at bay. If there is vitriol it will out; I just hadn't thought this was the kind of site that would attract it. However, I suppose success - however modest - has a price, and the price in this instance is a boring housekeeping post.
The Baroque comments policy, outrageous as it may be actually to have to spell it out, is:
1.The purpose of this blog is to inform, amuse, and even delight, with opportunities for thought and reflection along the way. I have set it up pretty much the way I have set up my home. If you want to cause ructions, splash your ego around the place and make a fuss, you had best go and do it elsewhere. This site has not really been set up as a nexus of controversy.
2. Rational comments that contribute something to or, even more delightfully, add new dimensions to the discussion at hand will be published.
3. Amusing comments, as long as it is not that obnoxious kind of humour that makes other people feel bad, will be published.
4. Even boring comments will be published, as long as they are not obnoxious.
5. Obnoxious comments will not be published, except in rare instances where they are too funny not to publish and are not at the expense of anyone except maybe Ms Baroque or the commenter.
6. It is fine to disagree with what either another commenter or Ms Baroque might say, as long as the disagreement is couched in the terms of reasonable discourse.
7. Insults, ad hominem remarks and/or abusive language will not be published. It is taken as read that a commenter cannot with any authority pronounce on the character or habits of another commenter, unless they know that person in person. And even if they did, the need for such comments would be unlikely to arise in polite conversation.
8. Random, generalised remarks against the perceived lifestyle or way of life of the author or her friends will not be published.
9. This blog has no obligation to give everybody who reads it their say. Ms Baroque will decide on every occasion whether she feels like publishing any given comment, and that will be that.
10. If you don't like me, don't read me.
12 comments:
Oh how bum, how absolutely bum. Nothing worse than opening your comments box to find that some twonk has moved in. It seems there is a lot of it about lately - maybe it's the heat?
Unfortunate news, Ms B. Hope the silly sod effs orf in due course. I agree with minx above - there seems to be more and more of this about by the day.
I'd definitely slice out the boring ones. I'm considering a policy of rewriting dull comments on my blog so they come up to scratch ;-)
Quink, if I could figure out how to edit comments I wouldn't need a bloomin' policy, now would I! I'd just change the name of the person being insulted and publish away!
Good thinking though. And I have tried. I'll try never to leave a tedious comment on your blog.
Minx and Miss H, well, these things happen. Anyway the blog is a year old, so it may as well have a policy. Think of it as potty training. And it's probably all a misunderstanding.
Not sure how any of my comments get published given your strict criteria - or have you fallen that easily for my natural charm?
P-Ump, of course! That and your erudition and wit. That, and you always bring the wine.
*blushes* I'm into Lebannese wine at the moment, made with the help of a couple of French experts, but for the more Baroque experience you might have to go for Château Talbot which someone was kind enough to buy for me the other day ...
The indiscretion was mine, and I've apologised. Miss Baroque was right in the action she took. One should attack arguments, not people.
Robert, thank you for your very handsome apology.
I'm glad you've been feeling bad. (No, no no - scrap that!)
I hope we are all better now, and can all play nicely in the Baroque flea - I mean sand - pit. I too regret the tempers and mood swings of yesterday.*
I think both you and P-Ump should remember that policy rule no. 5 will sometimes be your best one - but then, between that and no. 3 you have something amounting to tautological freedom. (That's where no. 9 comes in...)
* Where are the snows of yesteryear?
I don't have any vitriolic or unpleasant things to say, Ms Baroque, but I will mention that I enjoyed your poems on nthposition this month. Oh, and well done on getting a first collection deal with Salt: I only found out given your biog note (I'm assuming you haven't mentioned it in a post, or else I've been being terribly inattentive...) I look forward to reading it.
If I were as handsome as my apology I'd be dead by now.
The trouble is I've grown up among poor examples; all our prime ministers have been bogans.
Thanks Ben! You've rumbled me. I haven't managed the drip of information very well...
Robert, no worries. At least you're not prime minister, that's got to go in your favour!
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