We have a tie vote in the house. My daughter Heather and associate Heather believe that all posts should be published; the good with the bad. My daughter Theresa and myself are not convinced it is conducive to civilized debate.
When I am called names and insulted, my inclination is to give as good as I get. I do not claim to be a paragon of virtue but I like who I am and where I am at.
The written word is more powerful than that spoken. The impact of nastiness and absence of logic is magnified when read. It strikes a discordant note and brings down the tone.
When I started the Blog I hoped people would participate and benefit from considering differing thoughts and opinions. It happened and I relish the freedom to post my perspective on anything and everything. Never did I dream I would have this opportunity.
Once I made my friend Ron Wallace, Former Editor of The Aurora Banner angry when I wrote a satirical letter to Santa yearning for my own newspaper. He was certain I was being critical.
I always swithered about which activity gave me greatest satisfaction; being involved in the decision-making process or relaying the word about town business. Now I am doing both.
But letting people abuse me in my own space is not contributing to the Blog. It adds nothing . It takes away. I am cutting it off.
People wishing to engage are more than welcome. Contributors are free to express themselves however they choose, so long as there is respect. You would not come into my home and insult me. If your hostility knows no bounds, then be a good guest and stay out of my space.
I was not comfortable when I posted the hate letter. I took it out after I posted it. Heather Sisman thought it had been lost and re-posted it.But it really was a disgusting piece of work. I think the resident flighty wrote it. It's too much effort to go back and remove all the nasties. But from now on abusive comments will be rejected unless there's a smidgen of logic contained therein.
I also wish for the sake of balance,there were more positive things to write about. Posting gaps occur because I am conscious of the negative. But I have no control over how council functions. I must write about stuff you need to know or not write. I have no options. Polly Anna I am not.
Pollyanna didn't have pink hair, I bet!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of banning the anonymous comments. If people have something to say they should be able to say it to your face, and if they said it to your face you'd know who they are. BUT - you get so much feedback anonymously that I think you'd lose a lot of satisfaction if the comments stopped.
I agree that people should be 'nice' - but sometimes people get so heated up by the topic at hand that you have to communicate back and forth with them a couple of times before they calm down and can have a civil discussion.
But - someone commented on the Aurora Citizen that on your blog you only show your views on things...that's the beauty of this - it's YOURS. You go girl!
While comment and discussion may certainly become heated, there's no need for nasty attacks.
ReplyDeleteCouncillor Buck and I were at odds over the merits of supporting Tim Jones' election but it never got personal.
If people want to have their views expressed on this blog then do it respectfully. Evelyn is a fair person she does post comments, should she have to post abusive comments, I don't think so! I think she's right if your not brave enough to put your name to your heap of abusive,then you don't get to comment. Any comments I have seen coming from Evelyn have always had her name attached. Thats the part people don't get if she doesn't agree with it she lets you know and always has a good argument to back her up. Ya gotta respect someone who lets you know where she stands. She doesn't speak out off both sides of her mouth. She says it the way she sees it. Think about it people, Evelyn is only one who has been on the side of defeat, has felt the power of victory, she has nothing to lose. She is here for the citizens of the Town and I think she has put her name forward often enough and been elected often enough to have earned respectful comments. Who else is letting you know whats going on at the Town Hall?
ReplyDeleteFour women in one household, wow. Where are the men?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 2:18 am asked "Four women in one household, wow. Where are the men?"
ReplyDeleteWe ate them for supper. Bwahwahah.
Heather, perhaps you are contributing to the low level of discourse on this site:)
ReplyDeleteNah, I'm just always amazed with some of the comments. "Where are the men?". The other Heather was going to post this morning that at one point the house held 6 males and three females - so I suppose Evelyn notices a difference in the household's dynamics - but I don't know why anyone else would question it.
ReplyDeleteWomen don't need men to survive. Nor do men need women.
Oh my goodness, at one time there were six males and now absolutely none, but four females... It just leaves the readers wondering what happened to all those males. I know people in town have asked for a long time, where is Mr. Buck?
ReplyDeleteDid he get eaten for supper?
How did something so silly and flippant enrage so many people? Is it anyone's business who's in your house? Methinks not.
ReplyDeleteTo Heather S - keep smiling, I'll vote for you! :)