Do not feed the trolls....
From Wikipedia: "On the Internet, a TROLL is a person who sows discord by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a forum, chat room, or blog), either accidentally or with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion."
I am fed up of feeding trolls (by publishing their comments and coping with the reactions to them) and trying to cope with Anonymous contributions that are disruptive, insulting or provocative. So please, everybody, take note. If you don't want to give your name, please don't submit anything to me. From now on, your comments will simply get binned.
If you give your name or a pseudonym that you stick to, I may publish your comments if I think they contribute to genuine debate and move a discussion topic forward.......
If all that makes me a megalomaniac, so be it! I prefer to think of it as prudent editorial control.
7 comments:
Excellent step forward.
Hopefully more serious people will feel encouraged to contribute without fearing being sucked into a troll hole.
Alex -- no names being mentioned here, but yes, if I perceive that somebody is acting like a troll, I have adopted a policy of zero tolerance!
Its a good policy Brian, sad that people can't be polite any more. Its amazing what people will come out with when they are safe behind a keyboard!
I was wondering if you went to Castell Mawr at any point to see the excavations there this year? I was one of the students working on the Rhosyfelin/Castell Mawr project (if you look at Chris' photos, the tall brown haired guy wearing the green coat and long trousers!)
Incidentally Chris, top notch photos!
Alex
Good idea Brian
Thanks for your support, guys. This isn't about politeness or rudeness, although I have rejected quite a lot of comments which have been offensive. This is actually about the other things mentioned in the Wikipedia article and in other advice sites for blog owners. Some recommend that trolls should not be fed -- ie that their published comments should not be responded to. Now I have come to think (after a great deal of trial and error) that their comments should not be published in the first place -- makes life easier for everybody, and especially for me....
Thanks Alex.
Were you the guy MPP introduced me to as being an expert in flints?
Expert in flints? Hardly Chris! I certainly don't remember that....if he did then that was extremely nice of him, I do love my lithics but don't pretend to know everything there is about them!
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