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Saturday, June 04, 2011

A Note to Our Readers and Commenters

I have been forced to dump several comments already this morning.  Usually I wouldn’t care because the comments are typically so blatant that they have to be dumped.  However, this morning I have deleted several comments that were great comments EXCEPT for the language.

I have no desire to be a censor.  Part of what makes SbyNEWS so successful is YOUR participation.  I would suggest that you visit our Comments and Opinion page to see our comment guidelines.  They are pretty straight forward and I don’t want to delete ANY comment unless I have to.

Agree with me.  Disagree.  Criticize us.  Argue your point of view.  Just ask yourself if you would want your daughter to read what you have to say, with your name attached to it.

Thanks,

G. A. Harrison

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

For the love of god people
Use better sense
Just stop using curse words
Abide by the rules please

Daddio said...

I have had some of my comments dumped in the past, simply because I offered constructive criticism about the post. I did not use any bad words, and I also used my google account AND signed my real name to those posts.

But, since those comments debunked the validity of the post in question, the comment never saw the light of day.

So my question here and now is thus:

Are you willing to now post comments that are critical of the content of SBYNEWS, even if the comment effectively disproves your original post?

Joseph Albero said...

Daddio, I cannot personally recall a single time when I saw a comments with your name on it get rejected. Mind you, we have several people that moderate comments and we have all been discussing what we will and won't allow. If you're following the rules, the comment should be published.

Anonymous said...

thank you for keeping the comments "clean".
i was taught early in life; when people resort to crude language they don't have command of the english language...

dan said...

"Just ask yourself if you would want your daughter to read what you have to say, with your name attached to it."

That is the big problem, GA. The most useless, rude comments come from the Anons. You can say what you want when everyone in a dark room.

G. A. Harrison said...

Daddio -

Read our "Comments and Opinions" page. If you have a comment that is dumped and you believe that it was done wrongly, please email me with the comment. If it's OK, I will post it.

First of all, I am not the only person moderating comments. Each one can be trying to abide by the guidelines yet differ with how I would enforce them. Second, a comment can be dumped by mistake.

Again, email me if you think that your comment was dumped wrongly.

Anonymous said...

G.A. Would you ever consider rejecting posts that, in my opinion, cross the line of decency?
There is too much "she's a drunk, he's a liar, he's fat and stupid, he/she is a crook," etc. If you wouldn't want your daughter to read it, how about another question? Would you want these things said about your daughter or son? These people, while you may disagree with everything they say, have parents, spouses, children who, if they want to read your blog, are subjected to this garbage. I would love to see you eliminate all personal references unless someone states the facts to prove their accusation. Liar, drunk, crook,provide the proof. Fat, stupid? Really???? Does that accomplish anything or add to the discussion? Please!

G. A. Harrison said...

Anon 2333 -

You are correct in most everything you say. There are two types of comments you are pointing to here.

"She's a drunk. or ... "He's a crook"

These are probably libelous. As such they have no place under the current policy and I hope that everyone reads it.

"He's fat" or "He's stupid". These are probably not libelous. I try to let them go through because they do not meet the standard for rejection (quite).

As far as the rest of your questions (examples)- it can be difficult. I don't want to delete comments without a very good reason. The point is to encourage conversation.

Anonymous said...

You guys are so full of it... Time and time again. I have posted comments that prove you didn't do your homework on a story or didn't have your facts right. You NEVER publish a comment that makes you look less than grand and most of the community knows it. That, and the fact that the majority of this blog is copied from other sources, is why your readership is down. Publish this...

G. A. Harrison said...

Anon 0753 -

Your point? Not only did I publish this comment, I have even included a mechanism for commenter to appeal a rejection (whether by a moderator or by mistake).

What more would you want?

I would love to be able to have unmoderated comments. Unfortunately, the sheer volume of comments received that include racist comments, the "F" word, etc. simply don't allow for that.

At some point I plan on attempting a system where comments from REGISTERED users can go unmoderated and Anon comments will have to wait for moderation.

I realize that many like to comment anonymously because it's convenient. Other do it because they are cowards. Some like to send in nasty garbage in an attempt to undermine what has been a successful publication.

Anonymous said...

Daddio, same for me. I never use bad language and when I give an opinion that might be the opposite of what's posted, it doesn't get published. It happens ALL the time. I know how you feel. So Mr. Harrison, don't encourage our participation when you won't post our comments.

Anonymous said...

doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. this is your site, your blog and it's you're right to do what you will with the comments. good for you. keep it clean! i'd much rather read intelligent comments than a bunch of garbage!
jillb

Joseph Albero said...

Funny how SOME have come to this post to complain, yet they're not willing to use their real name and or send us a complaint via e-mail.

All I can tell you is, through my early morning conversation with GA just this morning, he is rejecting quite a few comments now understanding what SOME of you are up to.

We've got a handle on you and if you don't like it, don't come back.

I'll share with everyone else, I have stated this for years, we reject hundreds of comments per day, FOR YEARS. These obsessed Anti Albero peoploe are so obsesed, they not only create Websites against me, they come here several times a day and waste their time creating comments they know we'll reject, yet they keep coming back and trying every single day, hundreds of times a day.

God forbid one get through, they actually used to create posts on their sites bragging, I GOT ONE THROUGH, I GOT ONE THROUGH.

It's a childish game, especially for adults. If your comment is rejected, there's a damn good reason for it. Live with our rules or simply never come ba ck. Those complaining about their comments being rejected are those people sending in the hundreds of nasty comments every day.

G. A. Harrison said...

Anon 0848 -

With all due respect, can't you READ? There is not one instance which you can point to where I have rejected a comment that didn't violate our posted policy.

As I noted above, we have even instituted a policy of allowing you to notify me IF your comment was rejected (unfairly in your opinion). To date, only a couple of people have availed themselves of this.

Other than you whining about something, what more do you want?

Anonymous said...

Other than you whining about something, what more do you want?

June 5, 2011 7:08 PM

He wants you to say,'thanks for such a wonderful post. It was such a delight to read such mastery of the english language. We couldn't survive without your insightful opinions and comments.'