Hello! Just wanted to have another quick word about comments, if that’s okay with you. I’ve been on another comments deleting spree over the past 48 hours, and thought I should have a natter about why some comments have disappeared.
Things that have been going? Well, anything with language like ‘SJW’ or ‘virtue signalling’ for a start. These are terms that, over the past year, have become used as hammers to hit people with as opposed to part of constructive online chat. Enough of them now, please. By all means make your points, but do it in a friendly way, rather than reaching for terms that have, sadly, become weaponised. For the sake of clarity, I’m not accusing people of using them as weapons here necessarily, just that it’s worth drawing the line. Consider it drawn here.
Likewise: people have different opinions? Brilliant. That’s all part of what we’re here for, isn’t it?
Chatting with each other, disagreeing, having constructive debates, cracking the odd gag? Great.
Name-calling, being abusive, trolling? No diddly no no. Not only will your comment be deleted, chances are your account may be locked too.
Perhaps a little more bluntly, anyone posting comments that judge people by whether they would like to have sexual intercourse with them, two things. One, no. Two, bye bye.
Also: do we really have to keep dragging up arguments about previous releases in comments under stories about something entirely different? It’s no banning offence, but it does seem to be the same people having the same debate about the same film in posts that don’t mention it anywhere.
I do hear the argument about curtailing free speech, and if you’re thinking you’re being hard done by, then I do get that. I am happy to recommend web hosting packages where you can set up your own web presence and have all the free speech you want. Here, we ask for courtesies, manners, and just plain treating people nicely, though. I don’t think it’s a big ask, personally.
I’m very much aware that there’s a good, very welcome chunk of our fine readers who would like to comment on websites, and get involved in online discussion, but are wary of being torn apart as a consequence. I am very much on their side. One of the things I’m proudest of about this site is it actually has a caring community, a bunch of people who chat to each other without attacking one another. Where it’s a pretty safe space. It matters enormously to me that it remains such.
One aside too: I’m also aware that people have challenges in real life that affect how they interact with people in our comments. I try as best as possible to take that into account when moderating. It’s not always easy, but I’m also conscious that not everything is as straightforward as it sometimes looks. Conversely, we are a very small team behind the scenes. It’s very tricky to keep on top of things.
Thankfully, even as I write these words, I’m very aware that nothing I’ve written applies to the vast majority of people, who have made this the best community I’ve ever been involved with online. But that makes me doubly determined to protect it. If you have issues when any of what I’ve written though, drop me a note on Twitter, where I’m found at @simonbrew.
Most of all, remember the guiding Bill & Ted ethos we try and operate under here. Be excellent to each other.
Thanks, as always, for your time
Simon Brew
Editor-In-Chief
Den Of Geek UK