Is it:
A. Nessie?
B. Jesus?
C. A boat?
D. It's a boat, stupid.
******
Over at Kiwipolitico they are having a fascinating conversation about blogsite moderation.
I've strong views on the topic. I don't understand why some people think treating an open forum like a sewer makes it more interesting and edgy. Maybe people should just grow up, stop shouting at each other, and start listening.
Libertarians will of course claim freedom of speech must always be paramount. Which is all very well, except than the unrestricted ability to say what one wants inevitably has the effect of stifling the speech of others. Who would be brave enough to post a comment on Kiwiblog, for example? If you do so you should expect to be roundly attacked and personally insulted. So the people with the most noxious opinions and personalities get the most attention.
I don't have any problems with this site, because my traffic is fairly light and I don't usually post anything too polarising (although my seemingly innocuous posts on the Birthers and 911 Truthers got a couple of anonymous loonies frothing). And not being a toady for one of the main political parties means I don't have to play the them-bad-us-good game so beloved of popular sites like Kiwiblog, Red Alert, The Standard and Frog Blog.
If that makes me less edgy, then so be it. If it's a shouting match you want you'll find plenty of them elsewhere.
I post occassionally on Kiwiblog. The trouble is, I pitch my comments to the intended audience.
ReplyDeleteThere is a difference, BTW, between Kiwiblog and The Standard. Kiwiblog is the home of some people who i think may have mild mental health issues. The Standard, whilst occassionally descending into a partisan farce even a partisan hack like me cringes at, is more a rollicking rendition of an old time public meeting than the John Birch society rally that Kiwiblog often becomes.
The tone and style of my comments are quite different on kiwiblog. I frequently just post on Kiwiblog to annoy the sewer and enjoy the show ifd I get one. Some of the stuff I post on my "local" site of biggie.co.nz I wouldn't dream of posting on the bastion of high brow urban political correctness that is Public Address. Similarly, I typically take a lot more time over my posts on kiwipolitico than I do on the Standard.