A (well-meaning) rant about the current state of the comments section

My grammar is not always correct (I know it) but I still chime in with my small opinions. I realize that my writing ability is not the best (a writer I am not), but I still type my thoughts when I feel the need to. And I usually struggle with getting my comments to sound discerning. I have toned down my comments (I read more now), mainly because I realized a lot of what I was saying was not really adding to the discussion.
But I don’t fear my sentence structures not making the grade. I am what I am. If someone needs to criticize my structure or spelling , I hope it makes them feel better. ;-)

j/k

i do and my spelling and grammar is horrible, if someone says anything to ya, fudge them, i mean some of us did great in school with spelling and grammar and some of us slacked off in school and just worried about sports and girls, hell look at most college athletes grammar on their blogs and tweets, makes me feel better about my grammar every time

It has everything to do with reasonableness, respect, and a refusal to drop into an emotional rant. Vince, I think you do a great job, and you shouldn’t feel embarrassed. I greatly value every comment you make.

Part of the reason the discourse has deteriorated has been my unfortunate but simply unavoidable absence. I have not been doing my job well in here, and I take full responsibility.

I wish I could assure everyone I will do better, but I cannot. My current position makes that utterly impossible. So I will have to depend on older and wiser members to help. I don’t need to point anyone out, you know who you are.

Speaking your mind is fine, but the only thing I ask is that you speak it without rancor, especially toward other members. You may disagree, profoundly, but we all must find a way to communicate without being disagreeable. Otherwise, this site will lose its character.

Perhaps one day I will be able to spend more time on the blog. At the moment, it is all I can do just to keep my head above water. This happens to all bloggers who are not independently wealthy or not in committed relationships, so I’m not the Lone Ranger. I just regret I don’t have more time to spend, like I used to. Unfortunately, blogging simply doesn’t pay the bills around here. :-(

(Told you it was likely to come off poorly) ;-)

First, I think we actually do a pretty good job of the whole “respect” thing – at least as much as anonymous (and non-anonymous) internet heroes can.

Second, grammar and spelling bother people to different degrees, but if you can make yourself understood, I think everyone realizes this is not the Oxford debating society and rules are much more relaxed. Hell, my wife is highly educated and she’d have trouble spelling “cat” if you spotted her the “c” and the “a” – so I can appreciate that not everyone is the greatest speller/grammarian.

But, what I love to see are comments that contribute to the conversation – if you’ve got something funny to say, say it. If you’ve got something insightful to say, say it. If you disagree with something, disagree. If you want to support a prior comment, knock yourself out. But if you’re just typing to hear (read?) yourself type. . . maybe you should back away from the keyboard for a minute. a2d2 hits the nail on the head – just make sure you’re “adding to the discussion,” in whatever manner. It’s like we’re sitting on a giant back porch talking about the ‘Cats – if you wouldn’t make the comment in that setting (because it would get you punched and/or it makes no sense), why do it here?

Thanks for the support from everyone; glad to know I’m not the only one with this view. And apologies to any I unintentionally offended.

You have been around for a long time, and it’s a special treat when you comment.

So right. +1 and re’cd.

We will not be “getting over it” here, though. We just need to be more diligent in promoting proper discourse and discouraging (with appropriate decorum) the tendency toward inflammatory rhetoric.

You are right that the Internet itself presents more opportunity to be “… abrupt, concise and … inflammatory …” than otherwise. Peer pressure, though, can be a powerful thing if applied thoughtfully and consistently.

That way none of us has to get over it. We can work to gently correct it, at least in our little corner of the Internet.

Probably it could be done. But since I am only the custodian, I don’t have that ability.

Perhaps a future release of the platform will allow that kind of functionality. Till then, it is a manual affair.

And, your point is something that I think deserves some serious consideration. If people who once provided good insightful comments are no longer commenting because they get frustrated by the level of discourse that our comments section has become (and yes, I agree that things in the comments section have certainly changed in the last 6-9 months around here, and not necessarily for the better), well, I think that’s a problem. How does a discerning blog community grow in a positive manner if its best and most valuable posters no longer participate?

Comment count is needed in order to get things going, so I would just ask that maybe you could find it in yourself to comment a bit more in order to counter the posts to which you find frustrating. It’s not easy, but it’s up to members like you to make yourself heard, not fade into the background. In a sense, be louder with the reason and understanding that you have always possessed in order to combat all the posts you find inane.

This was a good post, NYYCats. I haven’t really said anything until now, because you are so right, it’s so darn hard to come across sincere and non-elitist on the internet sometimes. You don’t have the benefit of facial expressions or tone of voice to help soften or highlight certain words or get your point across in a gentle manner. Good for you, and keep on posting your thoughts, I say. I think at least getting it all out in the open is a better way to go about it than to let your frustration take over and abandon or lose interest in a community that you love. Let the voice of reason and calm be the loudest and most often heard.

Well, as the preacher said to the cogregation, “Say amen or Oh me.” Afraid I’ll have to say Oh me.

made mastakes on last post…due to quick …nasty

Don’t worry about grammar and spelling in the comments. The grammar police are not welcome in the comments section although I’m happy to have people correct me or Ken politely when we make a grammatical faux pas.

“Letting opinions fly” is never a good idea. Thoughtful comments are much more welcome than off-the-cuff opinions. That’s what makes this place unique.

Let’s try to keep it that way.

I couldn’t type two words on here from my cell. You young whippersnappers have us old timers beat to hell. And there isn’t a spell check on my cell – so no way I would try.

I’m 100% on board with that!

Way mo’ bettah. :-)