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Better late than never…

So here I go… It is not that I was fired up or anything, I just know that I have thought about this one too. Let me start by addressing comment moderation then post moderation/removal. Now, don’t I sound all formal and such. Cough cough. Hardly!  
It started when I made the selection about publishing comments with or without moderation. I chose publish. EVEN anonymous people. Aren’t I brave. I have never been trolled on my comments {email and spam, well that’s a different story}but I would always reserve the right to delete it if I was. There is no place on my blog for rudeness or personal attacks. Discussion I can manage. It is like Mia from Mamamia says, her comment box is like a dinner party. Express yourself but be respectful. I say, ditto that. If only the Mamamia readers adhered to that. Gosh it can get ugly over there at times!
Now post moderation, I think it is your blog you can do with it whatever you please. I have seen some of my favourite bloggers edit posts or remove them entirely because at some stage they found them just too personal to publish, someone malicious had gotten hold of them or they had a negative repercussion. And I don’t blame them. We are blogging, not playing for sheep stations. Why wreck yourself over something you have complete control over. 
And sometimes, we make mistakes, we speak before we know all the facts. WE praise someone who isn’t necessarily praiseworthy even though we were genuinely touched by their words. We are uplifted by the human spirit but broken just as quickly when we learn the truth. And in the process we get torn to shreds for it. We get attacked with ugliness and venom. That sort of disillusioning event would have no place on my blog either,  my friend. 
And as far as bloggers standing by what they say, well I’m not even sure I agree with that. Sometimes, when I’m upset I have the biggest urge to rant about a whole range of things with severity and ugliness. And would you blame me if in the harsh morning light I was embarrassed by myself and my rant. That I felt it was so far from who I know myself to be. And in that moment I wanted to delete. Maybe you would. Maybe you would know me as more human with that in place. But I think that I should have the ultimate choice to decide.   
Anyway, that is my say. Discuss. Or pop on over to Fat Mum Slim and have your say there.

Suger

9 responses to “Better late than never…”

  1. Rianna Avatar
    Rianna

    You know my experience with this. It's made me vigilant of responses to posts and I've ceased to post about my personal life/anything too close to home for me, as I remain unconvinced of the medium that is blogging…I enjoy having a visual journal, yes, but I keep my emotional life to myself now. I think some people take the democracy of commenting on another person's blog for granted. I feel that (perhaps because they have a larger number of followers on their blog) that they consider their opinion is a form of validation for the owner of whatever blog they are commenting on, and can therefore say what they please. Ummm no.I've got no problem with anyone deleting a post if they feel they don't want it there anymore. I don't believe that this makes their writing in-authentic. From a readers point of view – I just stop following a blog/or visiting if it stops resonating with me, and would completely respect someone elses decision to do the same with my blog. This isnt peaceful settlement of the Gaza strip here; blogging is meant to be fun, and being attacked by 'blogging bossy-boots' aint fun.xo

    Reply
  2. Chantelle {fat mum slim} Avatar
    Chantelle {fat mum slim}

    Thanks for sharing you input Melissa. I'm not sure if Rianna is referring to me as the 'blogging bossy boots' but that certainly wasn't my intention. I wanted to just open up a discussion about blogging and censoring.I think we can go back and delete archives… as a clean up. It's like throwing away old magazines.But my opinion is {and that's the beauty with opinions – everyone is entitled to them} that if a blogger writes something they should think about what they've written before they hit the publish button. They should think about the aftermath that might come with it. Sometimes we can't predict what might happen… but it has to be at least considered.Of course there are no hard and fast rules with blogging. Each blogger can do as they please. But once that publish button has been pushed the blog is out there… and it still remains {if only in people's minds} even if it's deleted from the blog.

    Reply
  3. Melissa@Suger Coat It Avatar
    Melissa@Suger Coat It

    No Chantelle, {I think} she was refering to an incident on her blog a little while ago.

    Reply
  4. Rianna Avatar
    Rianna

    I wasnt referring to you at all Chantelle… however, that is illustrative of the point the the printed word can be taken out of context and misunderstood.I acknowledge that some blogs deal with contentious issues, and my way of keeping the content of my blog in check before hitting 'Publish' means that I don't share much personal information on my blog. Which may change overtime. I question the medium because it means that you and I have met, not in person as two women, but through an online misunderstanding… I question the legitimacy of this, as real communication is hampered, and I feel upset that I may have accidently offended you. So…Hi Chantelle! My name is Rianna. I'm 27 years old and I live in Brisbane. I like to dance and write about fashion, photography, art and jewels. Pleased to meet you! There, that's much nicer :)

    Reply
  5. Kamarine Avatar
    Kamarine

    What you said makes a lot of sense. If you say something stupid, people eventually forget.You post it in harsh text and it can stay there forever. Nothing wrong with deleting something you said that you don't agree with now.

    Reply
  6. PinkPatentMaryJanes Avatar
    PinkPatentMaryJanes

    I rarely make a controversial statement, however I'd be happy to delete it if I did. I also allow all comments, but that could change if things ever got nasty. So far my worst is some guy creepily commenting on a few of my more vintage burlesque shots – a bit euwww, but nothing we can't deal with.This is what I love about blogging – it's individual – therefore we all have the right to post, edit, re-post, remove and review as we see fit.

    Reply
  7. Megan Leslianne Avatar
    Megan Leslianne

    I moderate my comments before they're published only because I've noticed that if unmoderated, you're not alerted to the fact that you have new comments, and on which posts!

    Reply
  8. Krystal Avatar
    Krystal

    huh….blog drama eh? i always say…it's your blog, do what you want :)

    Reply
  9. Chantelle {fat mum slim} Avatar
    Chantelle {fat mum slim}

    @Rianna: Hi! :) Not offended at all at the misunderstanding… just wanted to clarify, just in case. Great example of the printed word being confused. Thanks for continuing the discussion Melissa. I'm enjoying reading the perspectives. x

    Reply

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