Friday, June 22, 2007

Friends, Romans, Countrymen: A Comment Primer

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In the morning, I'm driving down the 5 to San Diego. Before I leave for the weekend, I want to pull back the curtains for a minute and help you understand what makes a comment printable.

Aurora, Chess Novice and Jason play different roles, but they are all a major help in bringing the posts in the Valley alive. So, first, a personal thanks. And keep up the great comments.

For the rest of the audience, what do I look for in comments?

1) Relevance -- In Star Wars (the original), one of the Rebel fighters is worried about the Gun turrets on The Death Star. His squad leader reminds him, "Stay on target," If the post is about Iraqi as Pillar in American Foreign Policy, focus on that. If the comments turn from Iraqi as Pillar to Iranian nuclear capabilities, go with the tide, but try to relate to the original post.

2) Pick a side -- I don't care if you are Republican, Democrat or Independent. I don't care if you like the sauce more than the cheese on your pizza. The Blogosphere is the new Speaker's Corner. In debates, it's good to have allies and opponents. Aurora is a great ally to have; Jason is an opponent who can give as good as he takes; Chess Novice brings the facts. I would be more than happy to sit down over a beer with any one of them. Picking a side is important, but don't forget a lost rule of debate: If you can't sit down afterword after the debate/argument, you have lost far more then you won.

3) Be Accessible -- Except for a few friends at work and at home who don't want to be noticed that much, I rarely publish anonymous comments. Those I do let through, I rebut and ask where is their link? I am a partisan, nor do I hide that fact. If I throw down and be Pro-something or Anti-something else, why can't you?

A) I read your site and it is a "9/11 Truther" or a continuous attack on Israel -- Sorry, shoe scum has more say then conspiracy theorists. You walk down that path, and soon you are walking into the Jedi temple with troops and a light saber. I've interned on Capitol Hill and have political and policy friends at different levels and different parties; Conspiracies only exist in the mind of the weak.

B) Your comment disparages the United States -- My country, it is flawed in many ways, but I love it all the same. I respect people who don't run to another country when their candidate loses an election. Four years later, wow, a new election. Two years, a new battle for Congress, and in between, your town and cities battle it out for control. If you find fascism in the United States, then please explain Venezuela.

Thanks for reading. And thank you for enjoying the Valley.

3 comments:

  1. You needed an explanation on Venezuela? Venezuela has a terrible fascist stranglehold on its people's freedom. The United States is fastidiously working to DEVELOP a terrible fascist stranglehold on its people's freedoms. This isn't conspiracy; it's simply entropy. Great blog, incidentally.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JSF, thanks again for the linkage and kind words. When we get together I've got a line on something better than beer to drink. This isn't a plug, but I know people who are importing the highest quality rum you've ever tasted from the Caribbean. Once it's bottled and ready for sale it'll be all over my blog, but in the meantime I'll be sure to have a bottle of 100 proof (which won't be for sale anywhere) kicking around.

    As for conspiracies, are you saying that there is no such thing? I realize that many conspiracy theories out there are in the realm of insanity, but there are plenty that hold water. Take JFK for example. There's simply no way that the official story is true, and a coverup of that proportion can't be done by just one person. If more than one person is involved in something shady, that is the definition of conspiracy. I think that the multitude of ridiculous theories out there manage to bury the more reasonable ones. I've been told that that in itself is a conspiracy by "the man" to hide the true theories in a sea of bullshit ones, but I don't buy that for a second. I've lived long enough and listened to enough Howard Stern to know that there are a lot of crazy people out there.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous5:05 PM PDT

    keep the blogging alive, dude!

    ReplyDelete

Welcome to the Valley! Please comment about the post and keep to the subject.

There is only one person (JSF) keeping track of comments, so as long as what you write is civil and close to the purpose of the post, you will see it.

Keep this in mind: Politics should not be Personal; then you have a place here.

Write! History will remember your words!

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