Personal Injury Law

Comments on Blogs - the good, bad and ugly

By Bill Marler, Esq.

Comments on my blog, and other sites I am sure, tend to be made by people who disagree with a point made.  My bet is that you seldom hear from people who agree with you (although it has been known to happen).  On my blog, I have tried to have a policy of allowing all comments, although I must admit, I have deleted some that I thought were over the top as a personal attack against me or another person who had commented.

A person who I have edited out in the past on occasion sent me an email this morning suggesting that I have been selective as to who I cut and who I do not.  He may well have a point.  He did point me to the website Grist's (disclosure - I am a Grist donor) posting rules that I think make sense and I will adopt in full:

1.  Don't be a jerk. Nobody likes jerks.

2.  Don't use profanity. The English language is vast and magnificent.

3.  Don't be a troll. (Troll: Commenter who makes outrageous or provocative statements purely in order to derail discussion.) You know who you are.

4.  No spam, no solicitation, no links to porn, no internet detritus of similar ilk. Sell us on your point of view, not your Super-Slanket!

5.  No personal attacks at the author or fellow commenter. Substance, people. Substance.

6.  Seriously, don't be a jerk.

I am going to see how this works before I delete a comment or try a different policy.  Hopefully, we all can take it down a notch - and that goes for my posts.

Full post as published by Marler Blog on February 16, 2011 (boomark / email).