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The comments were turned off over at the Messenger for a bit but apparently have been turned back on but, before you run over there and leave a pithy comment, understand that you have been given a stern tongue lashing by the new owner here.He's definitely "old school" believing that the majority of the public is a cautious, deliberate, and a slow to anger body who believes in intellectual debate. Yeah, riiiiiiiight. That's also why I post pics of scantily clad women every morning. A friend of mine (who currently hates me), once referred to those who comment on Liberally Lean as "a band of monkeys." You know, that's kind of true. It's a freakin' circus of idiots, geniuses, racists, tree huggers, Ticket listeners, public officials, pro-lifers, pro-choicers, moms, dads, kids,
An Internet comment board is nothing more than a high tech bathroom wall. Things people would never say in public will readily be scribbled in the privacy of four walls -- secure in their veil of anonymity. It's human nature. I accept that. I embrace that. That being said, I haven't really set forth my very loose rules for comments on Liberally Lean. I easily approve 90% of all comments - maybe more. And by "approve", I mean I push a button that says "publish". It doesn't mean, obviously, I endorse a particular view. So what will I not publish? Get your popcorn ready:
- Don't drop an F Bomb
- But what if you drop an F Bomb but hide one, two or three of the letters with a "&;" or "#"? You know, I change my mind on that on a daily basis.
- I hate potty humor and don't allow it simply because I think it's stupid. Really stupid.
- S bombs? Sheesh. I've let them through if someone writes a smart and passionate comment and then drops it in because he's so mad. But, generally, I'll block that.
- Even I think it's silly that I have the rules on the F bomb and S bomb.
- Derogatory statements about named individuals other than me? If they are private individuals, I think they should be off limits. If they are a public official/public figure and it's a comment of opinion, I'll let it go.
- I'll let you criticize Wordkyle, MzChief, and Jarhead because they can take care of themselves. But I sometimes feel uneasy about that.
- An exception to public official criticism: Leave prosecutors and judges in the county alone because if they get mad at me, I'll have to get a real job. If they get mad at me, my life becomes much harder. This exception is based on personal, good old fashioned American greed. "Greed, is good."
- But even with public officials, I'll avoid statements of fact that I don't know to be true. I won't publish "School Board member Joe Blow committed an illegal act by stealing from the seminar training fund." But "Joe Blow is an idiot" would probably go through. It's a tough call sometimes.
- Sexual comments? Sheesh. If it's profane, I'll kill it. If it's a little creative and subtle and funny, I'll let it go.
- Racist comments? For years, I've let those go through because that's been a pet peeve of mine. All members of the "white club" walk around saying "there is no racism in this country" when I know just the opposite is true. So I'll let the n-word go through to the comments just to let people know that racism is alive and well. But even I've grown tired of those comments.
- Do I break these rules sometimes because I'm too lazy to read every word of every comment or I make a mistake? Oh, yeah.
