- Leave your real name with your comment.
- If I don't recognize your name, and if you don't provide a hyperlink to a profile or other identifying information, I delete the comment.
- If you have something to say but are unwilling to say it publicly, send your info privately, and we can talk.
- Don't like it? Get your own blog. It's easy, it's free.
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--earlier comment moderation policy, repealed 2009.05.01--
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The Madville Times does not moderate comments. If you submit a comment—pro, con, or neutral—it will appear (barring gremlins) uncensored. The Madville Times reserves the right to delete comments at whim, but will use that right sparingly. The Madville Times assumes no responsibility for illegal content (e.g., libel); commenters retain sole legal responsibility for the content of their submitted material.--earlier comment moderation policy, repealed 2009.05.01--
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Cuss words are generally unnecessary.
On anonymous comments: The Madville Times recognizes that some citizens want to participate in public discourse but are afraid that other citizens may retaliate in some fashion against them for expressing unpopular views. The Madville Times does not share such fears and urges all citizens to exercise their First Amendment rights respectfully yet fearlessly.
Nonetheless, recognizing that a call to fearless speech is more easily said than done, the Madville Times is currently willing to tolerate anonymous comments. Please note that this policy runs counter to established practice for most social institutions:
- The Madison Daily Leader, as well as nearly all newspapers, will not publish anonymous letters to the editor and requires verifiable contact information with every letter.
- The school districts I have worked for will not act on anonymous complaints.
- The legal system permits witnesses to testify anonymously only in the most extreme cases where a clear threat to the witnesses' safety can be demonstrated.
- People who show up at public meetings wearing masks are generally viewed with suspicion.
- Would you be willing to say these same words in a face-to-face conversation with the person to whom you are directing your comment?
- Would you be willing to say these same words in person with other people listening?
Would you consider comments with a pseudonym rather than a real name? Such as I do with "Nonnie."
ReplyDeleteI enjoy blogging but feel more free to comment when it's not my real name. And yes, I would repeat my comments face to face with someone. But I still prefer a nom de plume when it comes to blogging.
I would prefer that all anonymous posters at least identify themselves with a pseudonym to keep the anonymous posters separate.
Just my opinion. Thanks.
Pseudonyms are certainly helpful for distinguishing commenters. Mrs. Madville Times has frustratedly slogged through nearly incomprehensible exchanges on other blogs among multiple anonymouses (anonymi? :-) ). Such lists of comments hardly qualify as "exchanges," especially when respondents start referring to each other by the time they posted (Anonymous 9:32 and Anonymous 8:44 need to read Anonymous 7:23 and apologize... ugh! Sounds like THX 1138 reads John 3:16.)
ReplyDeleteObviously my posts and comments are labeled "coralhei," the online nom de plume I've enjoyed using since my first introduction to this new-fangled Internet thingermajigger back in the 1990s. But that nickname is associated with my real identity all over the Internet. I have no anonymity, and I still manage to speak my mind more than some people would recommend.
If I may ask, Nonnie, what would change if you used your real name here? Would you write less (not a desirable outcome!)? Would you avoid certain issues? Would your wife/husband/German shepherd throw you out of the house/apartment/yurt? You don't need to answer here if the answers would compromise your anonymity. You could call me at home, send a private e-mail, or (hold on -- a novel concept!) come visit! Blogging is fun for exchanging views in a broader forum, but the best form of communication is still head to head, face to face, heart to heart.
And no, I won't try to trick any commenter into revealing him/herself. I'd prefer people speak non-anonymously (nymously?), but I'm not going to charge around outing those who prefer to keep their identities to themselves.
With name or without, keep the opinions coming! Thanks!
Don't you really know who anonymouus posters are on your blog? I thought our e-mail address or something would identify us so at least the blog "owner" would know us. Probably nothing would change if I used my real name. Most people don't know me anyhoo. And my dog and cats certainly don't care what I do as long as they are fed and housed and petted! Hubby just considers this my hobby. If my kids were at home, they would probably say I would embarrass them, but that's normal with kids, even grown ones. Anyway, thanks for the blog and giving us a venue for venting, learning, and having fun.
ReplyDeleteNonnie, you are "venting, learning, and having fun"? Hooray! It sounds like the Madville Times is meeting its objectives. You are very welcome. And what do your kids have to be embarrassed about? People should be embarrassed for not participating in civil discourse.
ReplyDeleteI really don't know, Nonnie, who the anonymous commenters are. "Anonymous," on this blog at least, means "Anonymous." When your comments come to me via Blogger, the return address is the Blogger server, not your e-mail. Unless you leave me clues (and my wife and I do entertain ourselves trying to guess who might be saying what), you remain anonymous. You are in control of your identity.
Full disclosure: I do get some information about recent visitors from my SiteMeter stats. The little multi-colored square icon below everything else on my sidebar links to the SiteMeter site. Among other fun little 'Net trivia, SiteMeter tells me when people enter and exit the Madville Times, so between that and the comment times, I can at least distinguish one commenter from another. Here is what I can divine from my SiteMeter data about you individual anonymous commenters:
--First 3 numbers of your IP address;
--Name and location of your internet service provider (which, in my case, since I have Sioux Valley Wireless, tells me I'm in Colman);
--What time you entered and exited the site, how long you had the Madville Times open, and which pages you started and ended on;
--What webpage referred you to my site for this visit, if any, and even what search terms you use on Google or another search engine to get to the Madville Times.
--Some tech info about your computer: language, operating system, browser, even monitor resolution and color -- info real web honchos use to optimize the performance of their websites on users' computers.
Now that may sound like a lot, but keep in mind that your computer sends that information out every time it connects to another server or computer by loading a web page. And none of the above tells me who you really are. Neither Blogger nor SiteMeter give me your name, e-mail address, street address, phone number, Social Security number, or any other vital personally identifiable information.