Bravo, Mark
Bravo, Mark, for not engaging with the tempest-in-a-teacup that's brewing over at Grand Text Auto, and for telling us why a thoughtful response on one's *own* blog is better than leaving a comment that will inevitably start a flame war. Yes, comments aggregate content to one's own site, and focus the discourse on your venue but the integrity of the community has to come first, sometimes. Conventional academic discourse is tendentious enough; there's no need to replicate the worst of it in blog comments. Well done, Mark.
posted by Diane at 10:40 AM
2 Comments:
Hmmm. I can't help but thinking this comment resistance is a bit exaggerated by some?
Comments aren't "good" or "bad" - perhaps it is unhealthy to see this a black and white issue? It's what we say that matters, and sometimes, biting your tongue is better than speaking out. If Mark bit his tongue, cudos to him, but if instead of biting his tongue posted on his blog rather than in the space where the discussion was happening, then I don't seen why this is any better: A thoughtful response is appreciated regardless of the space. A less thoughtful response is just as difficult to read no matter if it is in your comments or in someone else's blog. I actually prefer to see them in my comments where it is in the right context rather than on someone's blog.
Making a choice to write something nasty or something thoughtful is up to us, weather it is on our blog, or in someone's comments. It's not the comments that's the problem, but the writer. Condemning comments just isn't right, and I don't understand what the purpose of that discussion is. Integrity is writing respectfully regardless where you are.
Oh, well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the comment debate is just a tad confusing to me. What's the point about arguing over comments? We're all free to choose. Some have them, some don't. Some find incredible support in their comments, some find a troll. But that's hardly the end of the world?
And comments can be fun! Just look at the Livejournal community - the comments creates and nurishes the community. Without comments, I doubt these journals would be so popular. People can be incredible supportive through their comments. It's a sign of respect, and also a way of expressing friendship. Friends visit each other in real life - why not on their blogs? And I must say that I've felt quite honored whenever you've left a comment for me on my blog (thank you, Diane:-), and I've always wished I could leave one for you at yours:-)
This is the first time I get to leave a comment on your site (hurray!) - so I'll end with saying I'm so excited to read about Russia and your experiences there! Hope you enjoy your stay and keep the posts coming!
Elin
Thanks for stopping by, Elin! I think what's operative here, maybe, are different ideas about what constitutes a "docuverse," and competing pictures of what the Web should look like. Comments impose a hierarchy of types of things said on the Web, and conflict with the "flatter" docuverse that I hold in my own imagination as an ideal.
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