Take a glance sometime at the Critical Badger, Something Verbose, Miles Per Gallentine, The Hippie Perspective, or any of the blogs on campus and you'll see intelligent people trying to provide perspective on the issues facing campus and our greater community today.
Take a look at the comments, especially the anonymous ones, and you'll find something entirely different. Whether it's five people repeatedly posting under random aliases, the blogging community just posting on each other's pages, or genuinely different people taking an interest in campus politics is still up for discussion, but there's something dispicable going on when anonymous comments that trash individuals are allowed to make their way onto these blogs. I'm all for free speech, and I think that blogs are a great place for people to air their views and resurrect something of intelligent discourse in this rapidly moving world. What concerns me is the abuse of free speech, and the libel that can have serious consequences for the people it so quickly attacks.
People should be allowed to say their piece, they should be allowed to criticize the decisions of others, but if they do so in a way that demeans a person they should have to put their name by their comment. If you want to post anonymously, I can understand the need for that too. Some issues are sensitive and are tough to stick your neck out on, but if you're going to stay anonymous you can't go around attacking people.
I don't pretend to control the content of the blogosphere, nor do I think that this humble blog has much influence as the more widely-read publications, but as the final word on the comments posted here I'm announcing a little change in policy.
No more anonymous comments that attack people without merit. Rule #1: Own your shit.
Forward.
-Oliver
Take a look at the comments, especially the anonymous ones, and you'll find something entirely different. Whether it's five people repeatedly posting under random aliases, the blogging community just posting on each other's pages, or genuinely different people taking an interest in campus politics is still up for discussion, but there's something dispicable going on when anonymous comments that trash individuals are allowed to make their way onto these blogs. I'm all for free speech, and I think that blogs are a great place for people to air their views and resurrect something of intelligent discourse in this rapidly moving world. What concerns me is the abuse of free speech, and the libel that can have serious consequences for the people it so quickly attacks.
People should be allowed to say their piece, they should be allowed to criticize the decisions of others, but if they do so in a way that demeans a person they should have to put their name by their comment. If you want to post anonymously, I can understand the need for that too. Some issues are sensitive and are tough to stick your neck out on, but if you're going to stay anonymous you can't go around attacking people.
I don't pretend to control the content of the blogosphere, nor do I think that this humble blog has much influence as the more widely-read publications, but as the final word on the comments posted here I'm announcing a little change in policy.
No more anonymous comments that attack people without merit. Rule #1: Own your shit.
Forward.
-Oliver
6 Comments:
The Badger Herald comments seem to have the same problem. For example, I was labeled a hippie for a letter to the editor of mine from a while back. And let me be clear: I shower regularly and resist all inclination toward wearing tie-dye.
This post has been removed by the author.
does it still work?
I wrote the above, because I misread (it is 3something AM) this. I thought you were banning all anon. commenting, which is really important.
It's a good policy, however, isn't this the status quo for the CDM blog? I don't understand why it got its own post.
you're right, c.b.
it has been cdems blog policy, but after looking over some posts on other blogs recently i decided a reiteration wouldn't hurt. also, the policy has kind of been an internal one for the contributors here. we've taken it out in the open.
interesting use of the final quote in the post...
Anyway, I was hoping you could reiterate the platform of the Democratic party on Iraq for me, while you're on the topic of reiteration... heh heh
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