Banning the Opposition

I’ve mentioned the subject of blog comments previously. I’m of the notion that comments should be made on topic and reflect the commenters general opinion of the post at hand. This opinion can be good or bad, but shouldn’t be along the lines of “Great post!” or “Good information. I’ll use that” (this one is especially idiotic when posted to an article about, I dunno, children being forced to marry). I believe that bloggers have a right and a duty to police their own comment areas to make sure the conversation stays relevant and civil (”civil” being whatever the blogger considers it to be, of course). I have a hard time when bloggers delete dissenting comments (made in a civil manner) and/or ban the dissenting commenter.

I really should decide between one of these espresso machines before I go blog hopping again, because I’m sure that my mood was dampened by a lack of caffeine. But I was looking through a friend’s blogroll and came across a blog by a Buddhist. I thought she sounded very intelligent and reasonable. As I was looking through her comment section, I realized that she’s not the slightest bit reasonable. At one point, she declared that someone who was disagreeing with her was wrong because she was an “amateur” who hadn’t been online since the Usenet days (as she had been, making her all the more right I guess). When the commenter informed the blogger that, yes, she’d only been online for three years, but she’s got several degrees along with a good deal of experience working with the press (including being interviewed on CNN) the commenter was promptly banned.

I was immediately put off.

I realize that losing an argument because you’ve been called out for being childish is maddening (”I’ve got more time online! Pffftt” is indeed childish), but when the shoe fits… The blogger mentioned that it’s her blog and she can ban whomever she pleases based solely on her mood and I think that’s crap. She didn’t like the fact that the person on whom she was looking down was indeed her equal and did have a valid point. Instead of taking the argument by the horns and backing up her attitude, she just banned the opposition.

That just irritates me. If you have an opinion, state your opinion publicly, and allow comments then you should expect comments and then accept them (as long as they are “civilized” and made in an adult manner). Kicking sand in your opponents face and banning them after you realize they’ve got protection against the sand is cowardly.

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