The first image I came up with to illustrate this didn’t work. So here are some more…
A few days ago, I received a comment that mildly violated my civility policies, but raised a point worth addressing. The reader was complaining about a comment from someone else that was off the subject of the post. It referred to that other comment as “ranting.”
After it sat there awhile, I went ahead and approved it, just so I could respond to it thusly (which I’m now editing a bit to make my point clearer):
Well, you present an interesting dilemma…
I WANT people to always address the subject of the post, and to address it in a civil manner, refraining from trying to tear down the other folks involved in the discussion.
But I’ve always been fairly tolerant of folks wanting to address something else. I generally just post such comments and then ignore them, hoping someone else will help us get back on track.
Maybe I’ll change that. In fact, I’ll engage in an experiment: From now on, I will expect everyone to address the subject of the post, and to do so in a polite, civilized way. Those comments that fail to follow those simple rules will not be approved.
With one exception: You can bring up your own topic, as long as you follow the civility rules, on posts that are labeled “Open thread” in the headline.
We can watch and see how that words. Or rather, I’ll watch and see how that works. Because as much as the fact seems to offend some, this is my blog. If you don’t like my approach, there are millions of other places where you can say whatever you like. Here, you can only say MOST things…
This will remain in effect until I decide it’s not working. Yeah, there’s that first-person singular pronoun again. That’s just the way it is…
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You’d have a much more civil space if people were required to identify themselves.
Anonymity breeds false bravado and uncivil discourse.
But you knew that all along when approving comments from the trolls who lack the guts to stand behind their words.
Having everyone identify themselves would contribute to a more civil space. But, alas, I have learned that it doesn’t guarantee civility. You have taught me that, Doug.
Still, I thank you again for not hiding. Self-identification is an important start. It’s just not the whole ballgame…