I spend about 2 or 3 hours a day on this blog, between researching posts, writing them, reading and moderating comments, and other miscellaneous tasks. I’ve been at it for about 16 years now- yep this blog is nearly 16 years old.
Up until this point, I have had one rule for comments- no personal attacks, and no spam. The last time I had to post on this was just a month ago. Apparently, people can’t handle the freedom of not having many rules. I had someone today compare me to Hitler for daring to be a part of a profession that obeyed the law. No one calls a gun dealer Hitler when they refuse to sell a gun to someone that fails a NICS check.
I have tried closing comments or not allowing comments on certain posts, but people try to circumvent it by commenting on other posts and referencing the one that is closed.
I am tired of having to remind people about personal attacks. I am tired of moderating comments. Some of the more outrageous comments come from first time commenters, or from people who are trying to get around the rules by using a VPN and not using the same name each time they comment. It gets tedious.
Comment moderation is active. I hate to have an echo chamber, but this is really taking a toll on me. There is a strong possibility that I will require (free) registration with a valid email address in order to comment. It will make things easier on me.
20 Comments
Diggers With Gratitude · May 18, 2023 at 1:54 pm
Turn them off after a certain timed out period.
I appreciate your commitment to free speech and know that is a strength and not a weakness.
The free exchange of ideas is how we will work our way out of this hot mess and it is a morale booster to see others that are sharing their opinions on the Great Leap Potato.
Thank You and don’t let the dullards drag you down to their spiteful mutant level.
Divemedic · May 18, 2023 at 2:08 pm
Comments close on posts after 14 days.
oldvet50 · May 18, 2023 at 2:01 pm
Please do require registration. I hope it will make your posting easier. I really enjoy reading the subjects you post and do not want you to give it up due to frustrations with some a-holes.
Thanks for taking the time!
wojtek · May 18, 2023 at 2:07 pm
Sorry if I caused any aggravation. But, opposed to oldvet50, I hope you do not mandate registration – I just found this blog and I like it the way it is 🙂
Divemedic · May 18, 2023 at 2:11 pm
No. I appreciate disagreement and debate. What I don’t like is when someone with a weak argument resorts to personal attacks. The issue here is that the ones who attack are usually first time posters, or they repeatedly violate, even after being warned specifically to cut it out. Most people are well behaved. I have only banned a few people in the 16 years of this blog. Less than 5, I believe.
E M Johnson · May 18, 2023 at 2:08 pm
I would not be bothered to have a log in if it helps you out. I value the site and the comments that I see are usually good but there is no fixing stupid. Just try to avoid it
Elrod · May 18, 2023 at 2:27 pm
I’ll agree with EMJ (above) RE: logins.
Maybe a hard, inflexible rule of “cross the line once, get banned for life.” Which would not solve the VPN/IP addy/fake name issue.
I’ve noticed the sites that require logins to comment have much fewer comments, which is probably not that important – “dedicated” commenters will opt to get a login, “casual ” commenters – like me – won’t bother. I do enjoy the comments, I’ve learned a lot from them.
But, it’s your blog, your rules, your workload, so solve the problem however you think best.
Jonesy · May 18, 2023 at 3:34 pm
I appreciate what you do here, and whether you keep it as is or do a simple free registration it would be fine.
I used to post alot over at gunfreezone, and when they wanted money for it, I stopped going there. I don’t begrudge them their decision, but it was not worth it for me. The fact that you have kept this site free (despite the assholes) is commendable.
Do what you gotta do….
TJ · May 19, 2023 at 8:30 am
I’ll second that. I appreciate the time and effort you put in for this site and do not want to see you over-burdened by the stupid people. Register to comment is not too much to ask.
Danny · May 18, 2023 at 4:01 pm
I would consider the registering of a valid email address to be reasonable. Personally, I think your blog rules are lenient – I’ve been “warned” on other forums for “violating” the rules – rules which are strict and somewhat unrealistic.
And the “trolling” — honestly I don’t understand it. Are there that many fools with nothing better to do? Unfortunately there are selfish, clueless, ignorant people out there and I’m sure some of the stuff you have to deal with is practically intolerable.
Craig · May 18, 2023 at 4:18 pm
I enjoy your blog and the comments as well. I’ll gladly register if need be.
Robert · May 18, 2023 at 4:32 pm
We have nice things because we take care of them.
Implement a registration system and use the ban hammer to remove the most obnoxious pests. I am sorry that it comes to that, but it is what it is.
I have enjoyed your blog and the posted comments. Thanks for all your work over the years.
Old Guy · May 18, 2023 at 4:41 pm
16 years, and I just found this site a week or so ago. Much appreciate what you do, hoping you never stop. What you do is SO important. You had a great post recently about developing useful skills, something I seriously lack. 30+ years sitting at a desk has left me woefully unprepared to do anything actually useful, I have a lot of learning to do and not a lot of time, I fear. Thanks again for what you do.
chiefjaybob · May 18, 2023 at 6:00 pm
I’m going to add my feeble voice to those that agree a free registration is a completely acceptable way for you to ease the burden of moderating the comments.
I really enjoy reading your thoughts, even though I don’t comment much; I check in every day.
It's just Boris · May 18, 2023 at 7:48 pm
Your house (okay, blog), your rules; so I have no cause nor case to complain about how you choose to manage it. That said …
For what it’s worth, I very much value your thoughts, opinions and research, and I find perusing the peanut gallery is very often as interesting as the posts themselves.
Please do what you need to do to reduce your aggravation / stress / annoyance re Area Ocho. If that’s a registration approach, certainly no objection on my part. Just, you know, encrypt the list. 🙂
Unknownsailor · May 19, 2023 at 12:23 am
Having to ride herd on comment sections have caused many bloggers to hang up the spurs, or disable comments entirely. This was a thing 20 years ago during the height of the blogosphere.
Kim Du Toit requires registration to comment at his place, and you will probably have to go there eventually. Some people just won’t listen.
Mike Hendrix · May 19, 2023 at 5:56 am
If you do go with user registration (which I recommend, I did it years ago) and you’re using WordPress, you ABSOLUTELY will want this plugin:
https://cleantalk.org/my/?utm_source=wp-backend&utm_medium=dashboard_widget&cp_mode=antispam
There’s a free trial, and then a one-year subscription costs 12 bucks, which I happily paid after three days of the trial. Last week it filtered out over 3,000 attempted spam registrations for me, the overwhelming majority of them from China. Between that and another useful plugin, New User Approve, I’ve now got pretty much total control over who can register as a user. Just that much less petty hassle I have to deal with day to day, which is neverr a bad thing.
Himself · May 19, 2023 at 8:35 am
Mike beat me to it.
I don’t have enough traffic on my humble blog to bother with this, and I’ve also given up on ranting at the idiocy. It’s what it is.
I don’t mind registering and logging in. My browser keeps the creds, it’s only one extra step. And I’ve registered on one or two blogs that had the new user approve feature. Prove you aren’t a dickhead and you get to play with the cool kids.
Moderation and stewardship makes the blog more enjoyable. I run into enough caustic retards during my day and don’t need to see them on my favorite blogs.
BobF · May 19, 2023 at 6:58 am
Only 2 or 3 hours? Given the variety of topics and the information provided I’d have thought you were spending a LOT more time on it than that. Heh. There have been times when you were employed that I wondered if you were UNemployed!
I’d prefer you enjoy the blogging process, first, and second, spend the majority of the time actually doing so, not chasing idiots who can’t follow simple and most generous rules. I have no problem with registration.
Steve · May 19, 2023 at 11:31 am
“I had someone today compare me to Hitler for daring to be a part of a profession that obeyed the law.”
Yeah, that’s way out of bounds.
It’s not even reasonable to try to compare medical to other fields like engineering. As a PE, I can and do refuse jobs when I’m not comfortable that I KNOW with absolute certainty I have the correct answer. In the medical profession, you can’t do that. You can’t say, “I don’t trust the CDC’s infomercial on that, so you are on your own, Mr. Jones. Best of luck!”
Comments are closed.