I had to ban one of my early readers about a week or two ago. He was an okay guy when he wasn’t in one of his cycles. When he was on a cycle three was no reasoning with him. I tried to tolerate him for months and eventually had to end it. It’s times like these that blogging comments sort of suck.

(Okay, yes...I’m sort of buttering up all the judge type people. It helps to make freinds with those that can influence the outcome of things.)

I understand exactly what you’re talking about.  I’m glad that I don’t have that many readers who make ugly comments, but when I do I just delete them.

I just saw that another blogger has someone who began with comments and is now calling him at work and at home, stalking him. 

That stuff is really uncalled for and unfortunate.

I’ve been lucky.  I’ve had to delete one comment for a personal attack (against my girlfriend, I promise that is going to go unpunished).  The worst I get is people making fools of themselves with “CAPTIALZISM IS EEEVIL” comments.

As for stalking… everyone who registers a domain should use a service to protect themselves.  I use protectfly.com to keep my phone number and address from showing up on my WHOIS.

I actually think I have more commenters who disagree with me than agree with me.

I’ve only ever deleted a handful of comments that weren’t spam (all of them were racist and added nothing to the post or conversation, one was a death threat to me).  Things get pretty wild over at my place at times but I’m not much inclined to start banning people.  When some of these idiots get going I honestly think they do a better job of proving my points than I do.  And I’m pretty easy going about stuff to, most of the time.  If being condescending toward me makes them feel better, so be it.  I could care less.

And I guess I’ve never been that worried about my name being on the internet.  As one who knows, that stuff is easy enough for any reasonably intelligent person to pull up regardless of the precautions you talk.  And stalkers are of little concern to me.

Its awfully hard to stalk a stalker.  Plus they have to come clear the hell out to the middle of the frozen tundra to do it.  Not very likely.

I definitely don’t want my comment threads to be full of ‘groupthink’.  I like opposing ideas to help solidify (or evolve) my own ideas.

If everything appears to be in black and white, then you’ve obviously set the contrast too high!

I’ve only deleted the comments from one user, except for the occasional attempt to spam via my blog.  Although this user was attempting to be a gadfly, criticising everything I said, the real reason I deleted his comments and his account is that we have a long personal history that goes back over 20 years, and I just got tired of him.  In addition to deleting his account, and comments, I also informed him that I’d be glad to go the rest of my life and never have to lay eyes on him again.

I get few comments on my blog.  It’s weird.  Several of my posts have generated over 1000 reads, and very few if any comments.

I’ve seen some blogs use comment games.  Comment here, go there, comment there, and so on type of things.  It’s really strange.  Those things don’t interest me at all.  My blog is for posting my own interests and opinions.  What is it about comment games that can work with that?

Of course, I read a dozen blogs or more each day, and comment 1-3 times per week.  Maybe I’m to blame

Well, I’ll tell you what I do know!  If you want comments, then just write a post about comments (like this one). 

If you write it...they will come.

Gotta call B.S. on this one.

The man said 1.3 per post and five of you crawl out of the woodwork to “me too”? I say B.S. Nobody will admit to watching Jerry Springer, but someone has to watch it for the ratings it draws. Genteel is boring, and boring doesn’t draw in eyeballs.

I bet y’all didn’t watch the O.J. chase either, right?

Never slowed down when passing a car wreck?

Do you read Playboy for the “articles”?

Watched even one Fear Factor?

One episode of Cops?

The numbers don’t lie, and the Yale/Milgram study show 65% of us would harm another human being just because someone said to do it. Face up to it, folks - The Romans didn’t go to the Coliseum for stimulating conversation. It is what and who we are, and show me someone who denies it and I will show you an expert at denying reality.

If you want to live in a fantasy world where everyone is prim, proper and oh so sophisticated then be my guest. Meanwhile, the rest of us are going to be out here in the real world slugging it out in real life with all the unpleasantness that goes with it. So do forgive my tracking up the lily-white carpeting of your ivory towers with all that nasty, inconvenient honesty.

I now return you to the regularly scheduled boredom.

What exactly is your point, Buster?  The King did this post as explanation for his new comment policy.  He doesn’t like brawling in the comments.  That’s understandable.  Its his party and he can invite who he wants to.

And read his policies.  These are just common sense things.  Basically they amount to an expectation of intellectual honesty and mutual respect.  What’s so wrong about that?

A few of us chimed in with our own comment experience.  I don’t see where that’s support for a “prim and proper” world.  Heck, if you want brawling head on over to my blog.

I think you need to lighten up a bit, bud.