Two-Way Ticket To Palookaville

March 19th, 2007 at 06:21am Michael Conniff 2

Now the truth can be told.

The best thing about Aspen Post as it rounds the corner toward its second year is not the snot of unsubstantiated personal opinion or the occasional railing against the snot-nosed richer than thou. The best thing about Aspen Post, without a doubt, is that we have been able to keep the tone on the level of civil discourse, to borrow a phrase from the Aspen Institute.

All but all of us who have written or commented on or about the blog you now hold in your hands have managed to get in our two cents without descending to the level of he-sucks/she-sucks. That's not just an achievement--that's a miracle, and not a small one.

Even so, there have been moments when we the people have descended into hell. Just this weekend I had to perform a takedown--I had to delete two comments from a blogger who was getting personal about the campaign for Mayor. This is big news for me, because I can count on two hands the total number of comments I have deleted from the site in its entire history. I want this to be an open forum, and it takes something particularly harsh and nasty to make me take pre-emptive action.

It takes getting personal.

If you read through Aspen Post carefully, you will find that there are those who have become personal with me by gum so as to impugn my motives, my integrity, and other characteristics even less interesting. It's not that I like being told I suck--I don't--but what I really don't like is being told I suck (or you suck) without a reason to back it up.

That's just not good enough for Aspen Post or any other community blog that hopes to have a shelf life that can be counted in years instead of days. So if you get personal on Aspen Post or Snowmass Post or Skiing Post or Fractional Post, you're gonzo.

Why? Because personal comments--you're fat and ugly--are conversation-killers. There's no way to to get anywhere from there, and nothing left to say save that you're neither fat nor ugly. Personal comments are literally the end of any meaningful discussion.

So have your say any day you want on Aspen Post, but don't flatter yourself into thinking your nasty and typically anonymous comments about the content of a person's character will find a home here. If you want to criticize others without any hope for a true exchange, there is a place called Palookaville that will be happy to accomodate you.

Entry Filed under: Politics, Basalt, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, Media, Aspen, El Jebel, Colorado, Pitkin County, Garfield County, Emma, Gypsum, Race For Mayor 2007, Parachute, Missouri Heights

3 Comments Add your own

1. Mitch.Mulhall | March 20th, 2007 at 8:51 pm

[So if you get personal on Aspen Post or Snowmass Post or Skiing Post or Fractional Post, you're gonzo...]

I'm surprised no one has commented on this post. I'm even more surprised that it's taken this long for you to declare this policy. (By "gonzo" I take it you mean "gone," and not, as the term more commonly connotes, "crazy," "weird," or "eccentric"... but who can say for sure?)

Were I in your shoes, compelled to forge a policy about comments, I'd take my lead from any number of bloggers. After all, there are many who have serious mileage in this realm, so why reinvent the wheel?

To wit, adapting what I've seen written by others in the blogosphere, here are some general rules to follow:

1) I [Michael Coniff] am the benevolent dictator. I pay for the hosting, so I make the rules.

2) Avoid ad hominem fallacy. Do not offend or insult the blogger. Were I to get into specifics, this policy would never end. Just use common sense. Don’t imply or state that someone is stupid, for example. Don’t call someone a puppet or mouthpiece of this or that agenda. If you must characterize an argument as stupid, explain why it is so.

Attack the argument, or the position, not the person.

3) You have no First Amendment rights on this blog. My right to free speech is protected on this site, not yours.

(Mini-civics lesson: The First Amendment restricts government, not private citizens, from infringing on your right to free speech. On this blog, your speech is a privilege. On your blog, your speech is a right. Learn the distinction.)

3) No profanity or quasi-profanity.

4) Stay on-topic. While I won’t delete off-topic comments, I prefer they be relevant to the post. If you have an off-topic question or issue, e-mail me.

5) I [Michael Coniff] reserve the right to edit or delete any comment for any reason. If I edit your comment, most of the time I’ll add a notation, such as “Edited by the Admin.”

6) You get one warning before you are banned, although there are exceptions (If I really like you, you’ll get three warnings.). Being banned from my domain means your IP is blocked from accessing the entire site.

7) I prefer real names, but if you are anonymous or use an alias for privacy, that’s OK (As if I’d know anyway, right?).

...

I borrowed this very generously from a blogger I admire. As one who comments, I find it helpful to revisit these and similar rules from time to time...

Cheers,
2. B Jon Traylor | March 21st, 2007 at 9:06 pm

Well said. I agree. -- J
3. B Jon Traylor | March 21st, 2007 at 9:11 pm

Very, very good, Mitch. Perhaps you have editorial material in you. That was actually exceptional. I agree. And I especially agree with giving your real name, not a pseudo-name. Lay it out there. Isn't that really what this is all about? (Michael... remember those comments last week?) -- J