Tuesday, December 19, 2017

The Rules

(Source)
Lest ye think me to be some ancient fuddy-duddy who cannot abide forthright language...

So the other day, on Juvat's Monday post (for those keeping score at home), I removed a comment, didn't delete it, but removed it so that the lack of a comment is readily apparent. If I delete a comment, it's gone for good, all trace is removed. (FWIW, readers can delete their own comments and trace elements of that comment will remain. Until I tidy up. I wish Blogger would provide an "edit" feature for comments, but sadly it does not. So if you don't like your comment, you can delete it and re-post it. The old one will get removed permanently when I go through the "books" at the end of the day. I don't like leaving deleted comments lying about, cluttering up the landscape AND the statistics.)

Huh? What are you talking about Sarge?

A removed comment looks like this -
I do this to give the person who left the comment the opportunity to come back and repair his or her "transgression," I pass no judgement on the commenter, there are just certain things that I will not, cannot, allow.

After having mentioned that on Juvat's post, it struck me, just what are the rules here at The Chant about commenting? I've never really codified those other than the "Just be polite" bit which I added after my mentor Buck's untimely demise, now going on three years ago as of Monday instant. (Really, three years? Man, I miss that guy.)

So here are "The Commenting Rules" here at The Chant, they are very simple and very clear.
  1. No racial epithets, slurs, insults, anecdotes, and the like. You're all grown ups (I assume, not being a grown up myself) you know the words I'm referring to.
  2. No personal insults.
  3. Try to use language that you would be comfortable using around your mother. Better yet, your spouse's mother. (A rule I have "sort of" violated at times. Sometimes I will use a "bad" word for emphasis, or, in my occasional forays into fiction, words that a soldier might use in the heat of battle. I will not use a racial epithet even if a fictional character might. Color me squeamish about that sort of thing. In the Air Force we were all "blue," there were no blacks, whites, browns, or yellows. Had that beat into me (figuratively of course) from day one.)
Just be polite... that's all I ask.

And that's pretty much it.

While going "off topic" in a comment isn't frowned upon, it will sometimes irk me. We put a lot of effort (for varying definitions of "effort") into writing these posts, so when we spend a hundred words talking about Topic A and casually mention Topic B in passing, don't go wild commenting on Topic B, try to stay focused on the topic at hand.

Like I said irksome, and then only sometimes. (When the main topic is the Nimitz Museum in Texas, going off on the alleged racism of someone photographed at the Museum is annoying. But, it's history, for better or for worse, alleged or proven. And please, don't throw long Wikipedia sections at me, that's my job.)

Most of the "off topic" comments are very interesting and will often cause me to think, sometimes a post will come out of it. But be judicious with the "off topic" comments. Often interesting but...

Okay, I'll put the shovel down and get off my soapbox.

(Though, obviously, I reserve the right to mix metaphors. Especially if they make no sense.)


Like I mentioned above, my dear friend Buck Pennington passed away three years ago Monday. I had this to say about that, a day or so after his boys released that sad fact.

Buck was a fun guy, taught me a lot about blogging, corrected my comma placement often (okay, all the time) and was quick to point out other grammatical errors when I made them. (Which was, and still is, far too often for my own tastes. But hey, I write like I talk. Which is sometimes a good thing, sometimes a bad thing.)

Buck's picture is at the top of the header, on the right (for those who didn't know it). Right next to Lex, the guy who inspired this here blog.

Miss them both I do.

That is all, carry on...



Note: I can be a cranky, er, cantankerous old fart at times. I am, to quote Lex, "an incipient curmudgeon." (Can't say cranky, Joe gets touchy if I use it... The big poopy head.)

32 comments:

  1. Good to know what the out-of-bounds lines are and it is your blog...... mind civilization on the Interwebs I don't, to quote Yoda.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, if I'm gonna claim to have rules, I should at least publish them.

      ;)

      Delete
    2. I've not had any problems in my 1½ year(s) of blogging, so I've never had to delete or remove any comments yet.
      ...'course, the only comments I ever get are from you and Juvat...cat folk.

      I like your Law Books up there. Think I'll lift 'em.
      (Snort!)

      Delete
    3. Have at it. (Though they're not really mine.)

      Juvat and I are on our best behavior at your place BC.

      ;)

      Delete
    4. Ha! I run a tight ship!
      I get "Naughty" sometimes, but never vulgar..NEVER!!

      Delete
    5. Vulgar is so common.

      Naughty can be nice, if done well.

      Delete
  2. But I thought the Rules de Blogosphere were nebulous & transitory. No? Okay, I have rules, too. I don't get as many visitors, so I'm rarely required to enforce the rules ... but it's been done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As mine were somewhat nebulous, transitory, and even arbitrary, I felt the need to semi-codify things. Sort of like how the Feds operate at times, under certain administrations. (I won't name one, you can fill in your own preference on that.)

      I've only removed a couple of "offending" comments in my five plus years of this, only ever banned one troll. (Who at least had the decency to use an actual name in his comment. Tough to ban Any Mouse.)

      Delete
  3. I had to turn on comment monitor as some (one) commentor only poked in to voice his sarcastic political view on posts which were not political in nature, also twisting my words and intent to stir an argument or discussion I did not want. Just the appearance of his comments annoyed me so now I delete all his comments as spam without even reading them and have told him as much. Eventually he will get the idea. I would like blogger to allow me to block some people from even reading my posts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, some people's kids...

      It's also "why we can't have nice things."

      You know Joe, there's a chance he'll never get it.

      Delete
  4. I only have the one rule.
    Thus far it has been most effective.

    Buck was a special man.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that sometimes in the "heat" of commenting, some folks go a little too far, I don't think it's malicious.

      He was.

      Delete
  5. Rules? We don't need no steenking rules! (Or do racial stereotypes fall into that category? If so, blame John Ford, not me!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, crud! It was John Huston! Imagine my embarrassment!

      Delete
    2. Nah, you're thinking of badges, steenking badges.

      Delete
    3. I probably use the "We don' need no steenking...." several times a day. Does that make me a Baaa'd person?

      Delete
    4. ...

      (I was imagining your embarrassment. Kinda fun really.)

      Delete
    5. Again, Juvat sneaks a comment in while I'm typing. I mean dude, what are you a fighter pilot or something?

      Oh, wait...

      Delete
    6. Always circling high in the sun, waiting to swoop down on the unsuspecting.....commenter and steal their thunder!

      Delete
  6. I will toss out the occasional dadgummit in my posts, but rarely do I need to call you or Juvat @#$%^ &*\$#s in the comments. I'm on my best behavior this time of year anyway since Santa is coming and I am hoping for that big Chant corporate bonus!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Amen on the Buck part, sportsfans. To those of you who didn't have the pleasure of corresponding with him before his untimely demise his (to borrow the title of another ex-bloggers blog) "Feisty Repartee" was always a joy to participate in..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, can't believe it's been nearly six years for Lex, three for Buck.

      Those were the days.

      Delete
    2. "Those were the days my friends we thought they'd never end" (Mary Hopkin-1968)

      SO very, very, true..

      Delete
  8. Buck was a regular commenter over at my place, and I always enjoyed what he had to say even if we disagreed. He had the knack of disagreeing without being disagreeable. Fine man. I sometimes re-read my older stuff - I'm an egotistical old dufus - and whenever I come across a comment by Buck, it first brings a smile and then a twinge of regret from knowing that he isn't around to either needle me and keep me on my toes OR give me the fulsome praise I treasured from someone like him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here Suldog, same here.

      Gets damn dusty some days.

      Delete

Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

NOTE: Comments on posts over 5 days old go into moderation, automatically.