Comments Have Been Reopened

Some months ago, I made a post here announcing that comments at this blog would be turned off until further notice. Much or most of it had to do with self-assessment and plain old distractions. You can read about it here.

It's been a good time. Very quiet. And I think I've demonstrated to myself that which I sought to demonstrate, namely my motives for publishing what I publish. Well, after something like four months I'm still here posting things and I actually still have readers. And I'm thankful for that.

So, I think the time has come to reopen comments. At least temporarily. I'm not sure it'll make much difference; historically I've received relatively few comments on most of what I've posted and that's ok. But if you are like me, a blog that is "read only" is sometimes frustrating.

Of course, this means that I'll be reopening the doors to those who are, well, less than mature in expressing their views. And there are those who want to troll and strut their stuff in a thread. Of course, having been around the block a few times I have gotten to the point where it isn't too hard to smell the stench. Well, let's just say that everyone is free to submit a comment but I'm free to moderate comments.

Then, of course, are those who argue that "if you don't allow all comments ("mine"), then you shouldn't allow any comments". Or, "It's not fair that you only post comments that are positive and not negative" (which has been said to me but is not true). Immaturity has many permutations. Suffice it to say I won't feed it.

Others want to "discuss" things but already have their minds made up and no evidence is ever worthy of thought. I'm open to honest discussion but frankly my time is worth more than spending it trying to convince the unconvincable.

Another childish kind of comment that will never be posted is the old reliable "See? You didn't answer my objection in X number of seconds or minutes so that proves that you can't deal with what I said". No, it only proves that I a) didn't read it yet or b) don't have time to deal with it in your time frame or c) will let someone else mess with it if they care to. Due to the nature of my work (I work for myself), I am in and out a lot. And, the time I spend away from work involves other things that are important as well. But some (with too much time to sit in front of a computer waiting for five minute responses) have way too much time on their hands. Besides, the kind of comment that I just mentioned at the start of this paragraph just proves the immaturity of the commenter and I'll probably just end it right there. And then, of course, I may not respond because d) you haven't said anything I haven't said a ton of times before. Such as "You say the Bible states in Isaiah 40 that the earth is a sphere but the word to describe the "vault of the earth" doesn't mean "sphere", it means circle. . .so see? You're all wet. . .Nah nah nah nah nah nahhhhh!". A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing; the Hebrew language doesn't have a word for "sphere" but I doubt very much if they thought spherical objects were flat. Get over it. I'm tired of wasting my time over it.

Then also there are those who submit a post that is three miles long and object when I focus on one point. "You are ignoring what I have to say". What I am doing is focusing in on what I see as relevant. And I am, after all, the blog moderator. That means it is my right to control the direction of a discussion.

You get the point. Been there, done that. It's a waste of time and grade school behavior is something I won't feed.

Then again, you never know. . .I can always publish it under "Trolls Say The Darndest Things".

So, comment away! Let it fly! (And, of course, a few kind words once in a while wouldn't hurt, either!). I'll be adding a "blog rules list" in a day or so.

Thanks for visiting!