New Approach To Moderation
| April 7th, 2006I’ve added the following to the moderation policy:
I don’t want the discussions on “Alas” dominated by anti-feminists or MRAs. Although I like have a small number of well-written opposing views on “Alas” for spice, it’s my intention that most of the discussions here be dominated by feminist and lefty views. For that reason, brand-new MRA and anti-feminist posters might not be approved to post even if as individuals they are perfectly reasonable and polite.
In other words, when I decide whether or not to let a new poster through, I decide that based not only on the quality of the individual poster but also on a desire to maintain a certain balance to the comments on “Alas” as a whole.
As of April 8th, nearly all of my (Ampersand’s) posts will be cross-posted on the blog “Creative Destruction”. The comments at “Creative Destruction” are open to anyone who remains civil. So right-wing, anti-feminist, and MRA folks may be better off posting comments over there rather than here at “Alas.”
I consider the moderation policy an ongoing experiment, at this point. We’ll try this for a while and see how things go. Of course, all your comments and thoughts are welcome.
April 7th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
Oh great…send us the women-are-teh-suxor crowd. Bastard.
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April 7th, 2006 at 4:53 pm
yaaaaayyyy!!!!!!!!!
This comment was written by lucky.Report this comment to the moderators
April 8th, 2006 at 4:04 am
by anti-feminists or MRAs. Although I like have a small number of well-written opposing views on “Alas” for spice, it’s my intention that most of the discussions here be dominated by feminist and lefty views. For that reason, brand-new MRA [...]Continue reading at Alas, a blog … posted 5:54 pm at Alas, a blog
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April 8th, 2006 at 10:28 am
Ha ha… No, Robert. He’s sending “the women-are-teh-suxor crowd” to us. Whatever to get readers, I say.
Good for both blogs, I think.
This comment was written by Tuomas.Report this comment to the moderators
April 8th, 2006 at 10:29 am
Speaking of which.
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April 8th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Ach, I misread it as send us to…
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April 8th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
And I would expect nothing less……
This comment was written by CaptDMO.Congratulations on cementing yourself and your approved posters a secure nitch in the blogosphere.
Bon voyage
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April 8th, 2006 at 9:22 pm
I don’t know what’s happened to your main page, but I’m using Firefox and it’s waaaaay off.
This comment was written by Bonnie.Report this comment to the moderators
April 9th, 2006 at 9:11 am
One thing I’ve sort of casually started doing is examing new right wingers in comment mod. for entertainment value. If someone starts off a post about feminists wanting to squelch his free speech, I immediately deny entrance. Passive aggression right off the bat doesn’t bode well for the comment threads.
This comment was written by Amanda Marcotte.Report this comment to the moderators
April 9th, 2006 at 9:52 am
Amanda -
Yeah, I’ve been doing the same thing for a few months now. Everyone once in a while someone fools me by doing an initially reasonable post and then uncovering their passive-aggressive glory once I’ve let them in. Darn annoying. :-p
This comment was written by Ampersand.Report this comment to the moderators
April 10th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Amp - As usual, I’m confused.
Does this mean that you are going to categorize most posts as “feminist only”, leaving us non-feminists to wander on over to Creative Destruction, or does it mean you are going to categorize posts as usual, but be much more selective on who you let comment (in particular who “new” you are going to let comment)? The above policy seems to indicate the latter but recent posts seem to lean toward the former.
I guess I’m basically asking, should I remove Alas from my favorites and replace it with Creative Destruction, or will life go on as usual here at Alas for at least some non-feminists with the added bonus that we get to comment on even restricted topics, albeit over at CD?
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April 10th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Gengwall: For long-time posters such as yourself, things won’t change much, except that you can now comment on the “Creative Destruction” posts if you want. I’ll continue to categorize most posts about intra-feminist debates and about rape and sexual abuse as “feminist only,” but most posts on other subjects will be open to comments from all.
For new posters, I’m going to feel freer not to let new right-wing and/or anti-feminist posters through, if I feel that there’s already enough of that view represented on “Alas” at the moment. However, those posters will have the option of commenting on “Creative Destruction.”
Of course, there’s also the matter of posts on “Alas” that aren’t written by me. However, those posts are mostly cross-posted on other blogs, as well, so the individual bloggers can decide for themselves if they want to follow a policy similar to mine or not.
And, finally, I’d suggest adding “Creative Discussion” to your blogroll even if “Alas” is already there. Especially since Mythago just signed up as a blogger there. :-)
This comment was written by Ampersand.Report this comment to the moderators
April 10th, 2006 at 3:02 pm
However, those posters will have the option of commenting on “Creative Destruction.”
As long as they follow the rules.
(Said menacingly, smacking truncheon into palm.)
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April 10th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Mythago is a woman?!?!
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April 10th, 2006 at 9:45 pm
Bean:
This comment was written by Brandon Berg.“What the hell?” Why do you find that so outrageous? Must every group blog have a woman in its first month of operation?
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April 10th, 2006 at 10:25 pm
I think Bean has a point. I did make sure that some female bloggers had been invited before I accepted my invitation (I was the second blogger to join the group), but none of those bloggers have accepted the invite, so far.
My intention with “Creative Destruction” was to be posting in an area where most readers wouldn’t be feminists, so I’d be speaking to someone other than the converted. For better or worse, if I’m going to do that - and I think it’s worth doing - then I can’t expect them to act the same way that feminists would act.
This comment was written by Ampersand.Report this comment to the moderators
April 10th, 2006 at 10:28 pm
Ha, and now I’ve subverted your plan by inviting another feminist in. Soon we will have you re-segregated…
Of course, she’s one of those dreaded pro-life Christian feminists, so maybe that doesn’t count. ;P
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April 11th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
Nor do I mean to downplay the Herculean effort of bloggers to patrol and clean up some of their more skin-headed contributors. I don’t even mean to judge the validity of comment sections; the more the better in my, as in OxBlog’s, view, althoughthis amended policy, from the otherwise absorbing Alas, was disappointing for its overbearingness (the overbearing being exactly what so much of Alas is devoted to deconstructing). I’d have them on this site if I could only figure out the technicalities (along with a
This comment was written by Pierre Tristam: Blog Comments and Straw Men/Candide's Notebooks.Report this comment to the moderators