So this entry is inspired by Lev Grossman from the TIME July 21, 2008, issue. His headline, after the subject above, is "The Web needs commenters. But are they ruining the Net faster than they can save it?"
As I have posted in this journal multiple times, one of the things that I truly enjoy is the positive nature of our J-Land community that we have established here on AOL Journals. While there are always exceptions, and at times, this nastiness drives away fellow J-Land friends, all in all, I would say that our community is fairly positive.
Can I say that I have never blocked/deleted unwanted visitors - absolutely not, I have blocked unwanted visitors. Can I say that this is the exception - ABSOLUTELY [in my best ground hog voice :o)], I have only blocked a few unwanted and unwelcome visitors!!!
The premise of the TIME article was that some people were shocked when they received negative feedback that their comments were "negative". Give me a break, almost wherever you go, there are much more negative comments than positive on any site that allows comments.
So, I must ask, is this an indictment of our society in general, or just the voice of the vocal few??? I have to admit, I have not formed an opinion on this issue. The TIME article goes on to say, "the Web collects comments the way a whale collects barnacles." :o)
The thing that I have come to appreciate about our little AOL J-Land community is that we post pictures, thoughts, feelings, compassion, empathy, etc, and that we do not strive for any sort of anonymity.
So, thank you friends, Beth and I are always here for you - and if you are one of the iniquitous posters/commenters - I say Bug Off :o) If you are positive, caring, sharing, genuine, et. al., I say - Welcome to our Internet Home, take off your coat, put your feet up, have something refreshing, and let's chat :o)
7 comments:
It hasn't quite driven me away. I've got my boxing gloves on. D
Love this entry. I've been fortunate not have any bad comments in my journal but then I'm fairly new and don't have a lot to say...lol. I love J-Land and all the wonderful people I've encountered.
Hugs, Joyce
I try to leave positive comments but I also try to be honest with mine .. I feel that op count and I take mine in consideration when left for me becaue I need all the help I can get ..
hugs
Sherry
...it is an indicment of society ... we are soft, and overly sensitive without the temperment needed to push on in spite of negative reactions ... we not only want our cake, we want it sliced and made to our specific desires ... IMO people aren't willing to deal with critcism ...
Hi, thanks for stopping by my journal. I thought I'd return the compliment.
I haven't encountered any nastiness myself but I've heard there's some about. Personally, I don't mind any kind of comment so long as it isn't just plain abuse.
By and large I think the vast majority of bloggers - and commenters - are okay. As usual, it's just sick few who try to spoil things for those of us who enjoy being here.
These people are best ignored if you ask me. They're after a response - any response, so the best thing to do is to delete their spiteful comments and forget all about it and them.
B.
I think that internet commentors, at least as it refers to those who post on AOL news stories, CNN, etc, are - with exceptions of course - on the low end of the IQ chart.
As I'm going to mention in a future post, I don't think mankind is any dumber, smaarter, nicer, meaner, pure, sexual, mean or nice then at any other point in history. The internet and TV simply provide a means of bringing the idiocy front and center much faster than newspapers and carrier pigeons.
As for JLand, I had one commentor this week that I had to delete and ban. A disgruntled employee used the journal to p*** and moan about work, and as you know I don't talk about work on the blog. It was innappropriate and mean spirited and I didn't appreciate it.
Other than that (and the occasional spam porn comment) it's been primarily positive.
Dan
ps - I wish *my* site could pick up comments like barnacles on a whale lol
Okay, by now you know that I can be a bit contrary (maybe a lot contrary). I like honesty and sometimes honesty is negative. I don't leave comments on a lot of journals but the ones that I do comment on get my candid opinion about the entry. I expect the same from folks who read me. I don't believe in being mean but if someone writes expressing a point of view that I just can't cotton to (a southern expression) then I'm likely to leave a comment stating why I disagree. I do think that some comments are mean and stupid, and those I don't tolerate. I can take mean, but stupid really ticks me off.--Sheria
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