The Blog's New Comment Policy: No Jerks Allowed
I’ve never had a formal comments policy on my blog.
But since launching the blog just over a year ago, I’ve received numerous off-topic, nasty and profane comments, and have wrestled with the best way to manage comments.
On one hand, I believe in free speech and don’t like being a censor. On the other hand, I want this blog to retain a civility that too many other blogs lack.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. It was a tough piece, but it was intended to focus on his shortcomings as a media communicator – not to serve as a personal attack or a referendum on the Obama Administration. But after my post received coverage on several conservative blogs, some readers used it as an excuse to write some obnoxious or ugly stuff.
Here’s a sample:
“He also looks like a weasel…”
“…you’re talking about the same pap Barry has been regurgitating for the last 2 1/2 years.” (from a reader referring to President Obama using a pejorative term)
“It is delightful to watch someone less competent than Dear Leader trying to explain Dear Leaders’s mistakes…” (another reader speaking about Obama using a pejorative term)
These comments are only the latest. Here are a few others that have appeared on the blog over the past year:
“so let me understand your org Media training is teaching people to spin?? YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM! You Know that this is just not right yet you don’t care!!”
“You sir, are a spin doctor and assertions to the contrary are fooling no one but yourself. The misconception is yours. Denial of obvious facts only damage your credibility, so why not just embrace it? Hey, at least he didn’t say your were Minister of Propaganda, for which Media Training Consultant is just a frilly euphemism.”
“If you’re going to give advice as media ‘experts’, shouldn’t you at least provide your videos with decent audio? Sounds like you are recording off the camera microphone. That’s unprofessional.”
Those are just the ones I’ve posted. I’ve also received much more profane comments that I’ve chosen not to post. Those brave comments typically come from anonymous posters.
But until now, I’ve never had a specific policy regarding comments on the blog. As I’ve wrestled with what my policy would be, I kept coming back to this thought:
There are a lot of jerks in the world, and I don’t need to pay for the privilege of giving them yet another platform to spread their angry rants.
So here’s the new blog commenting policy:
NO JERKS ALLOWED.
I will gladly accept comments from people who disagree with my perspective, challenge my facts, and rip apart my conclusions. I will take comments from people who think media training is a dishonest profession, from people who think I’m not qualified to make certain judgments, and from people who accuse me of bias.
But I’m done posting ad hominem attacks, off-topic comments, comments that refer to elected officials (or others) in pejorative terms, comments that are unnecessarily antagonistic, comments that don’t relate to the topic of the article, and other comments that come across with more hostility than substance.
I’ll continue to post anonymous comments, as long as they meet the above standards. And I retain the right to violate my own rules if posting a nasty comment casts some sunlight on an ugly point-of-view.
There is no shortage of websites and news channels that profit from hostile and angry debate. No matter how many times I’m accused of censorship, I’m not going to allow this blog to join their ranks.
No jerks allowed.
What do you think? How have you managed nasty comments on your own blog? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Related: 12 Things I Learned In My First Year As a Blogger
Related: My 10 Favorite Blog Posts Of All Time
Share this article
- Share on Facebook
- Share on Twitter
- Share on LinkedIn
- Share on Email
Brad,
It’s too bad, but also a fact of life, that blogging and other forms of social media give voice to those who probably shouldn’t have one. And while there are those who want decry your your new policy as “censoring the conversation,” I agree with you and your decision to moderate your blog’s comments.
It’s becoming an unfortunate requirement for bloggers and other social media managers to moderate their online conversation. Without a policy such as yours, the jerks cloud the issues, detract from the quality of the discussion, and IMHO drive away followers who simply want to discuss issues, not scream vitriolic dogma and half-truths.
One would have hoped that such access to a free, and relatively unfettered, platform for speaking one’s mind would encourage folks to speak with thought and meaning. Perhaps my pessimism is showing, but I’m not seeing it that much, which is a shame.
It is interesting, however, that the general discourse these days appears to have devolved into polarized screaming from opposite ends of an issue — sort of a online, verbal steel-cage death match. The only thing both sides seem to agree upon is that communication and media specialists are evil, horrible spin doctors. Unless of course we are helping their cause, then it’s disseminating accurate, clear information … oh wait, did I just spin? 🙂
John – Thanks for your comment. Have you experienced any similar moderating challenges on the Vox Optima blog (at http://www.VoxOptima.com, for readers not familiar with it)?
Brad,
I’m a lurker but it’s time for me to speak up. I totally agree with your policy. Some of the comments, especially those around the post on Obama’s press secretary (NOT Obama), have been especially shocking to me. You tried valiantly to get the jerks to understand why they were being jerks but I guess that’s the nature of jerks.
As far as I’m concerned, EVERYTHING, you’ve posted has been absolutely right on. (I’ve been in the biz for 20+ years). I always look forward to your posts. (Please keep them coming.) If I had any budget, I would hire you in a nano second.
Ann
Ann – I’m so glad you came out of the shadows to comment – it’s great to meet you and know you’re out there!
Thank you for your support. It was a strange feeling to be demonized on my own blog for requesting civility. In such a polarized political world, it’s sadly become impossible for many people to believe I’m (trying to) offer a nonpartisan analysis. But one person in particular was right in the comments section: He asked why his comment hadn’t been posted and whether I had a policy. Now he knows. He was being a jerk.
Thanks again!
Brad
Thank you. The world needs more civility and fewer jerks.
Brad, I’m sorry to hear your blog is getting hammered with negative, off-color and off-topic comments. Fortunately mine does not. But I’m dealing with a rogue blogger right now who’s bashing one of brands. Censoring comments that add no value to a conversation is fine. It won’t stop me from reading.
Rodger and Laurie – thanks for your kind words. My favorite recent comment (anonymous, of course) was the one that attacked me for having a fake smile. Anyone that knows me knows I smile all the time – but I guess those of us in this line of work are a bit of a Rorschach Test for other people – they’ll see in us what they want to see.
Thanks!
Brad
Somehow I had missed the item on Carney … reading the comments I can certainly understand your frustration. It is an unfortunate fact of online life that any post with a political connection can draw the partisan trolls.
Look forward to a well moderated, jerk free discussion Brad. Good call.
Thanks, Kim! So far, no “jerky” comments to delete today. The political stories tend to bring them out…
I was talking to a friend who works in the web analytics field, and he said that most web editors want to ban jerks from commenting on their blogs.
But, a lot of them don’t take those steps because they don’t want to lose the page views. Even though they are nasty, they do help increase the page views (and thus the ad rates) for a lot of websites. Partisan trolls can inflame a lot of passion, and commenters with passion tend to keep coming back to the post to comment.
Glad to see that you decided to get rid of them. Keep up the great work.
Thomas – Thanks for the comment. I can understand why people would purposefully encourage these types of negative comments to help spike traffic. Fortunately, my site doesn’t allow advertising, so I’m willing to sacrifice traffic for quality (hopefully!). Thanks for your nice words and the support!
Best wishes,
Brad
Brad —
Sorry to be late answering your question. So far the biggest challenge I’m finding in moderating comments for our blog is weeding out all the spammy stuff and European pornography comments.
Early on we decided that we welcome any and all agreeing/disagreeing, civil comments relevant to the discussion at hand. We moderate comments that are an overt ad trying to sell stuff (like porn), and they will most likely be on the cutting room floor. I should qualify that by saying we don’t mind the relevant reference back to another website, blog post, or other content. It just needs to be tasteful, relevant and not for low-cost Viagra.
I consider myself still very much the learner and constantly trying to find new, better and interesting ways to build and manage our blog. And due to my perfectionist character flaws and work schedule, it will never be good enough.
There’s nothing wrong with moderating comments. As long as you are interested in vigorous debate, go for it. Hate speech is idiotic. Also, mind if I copy?
Hi, thanks for your comment. I’m not sure what you’re asking to copy – can you please contact me by email (Contact at MrMediaTraining.com) and tell me what you’d like to do?
Thanks!
Brad
It’s a good policy Brad, similar to my own. I don’t get many attacks or overtly hostile comments but then I don’t tackle very polarizing topics like politics or what’s wrong with the BCS. 😉 I don’t consider blocking or deleting spam as moderation or censorship, it’s just part of blogging. My next update may be to formally block SEO names but then, those are almost always junk comments anyway.
Back to the jerks, like you I welcome debate. Think I’m full of it, fine .. just tell me why, offer some constructive criticism or suggestions as you call me a moron. Better yet, keep it professional and don’t call me – or any other poster – any names; discuss, debate, disagree with our comments instead. It’s not that I’ll ban ALL jerks. Like I said I haven’t had many but if you are my kind of jerk and have something worth reading to share, if it genuinely adds to a post and brings it forward, I’ll leave it in. FWIW.
Davina,
Seems like we’re in total synch here! Funny, I thought my post might be controversial, since the ethos of the web is open communication. Seems like we’re much more along the lines of the “norm” than I previously thought. And I love that last line in your article, about commenters who are “my kind of jerk.” I should add that sentiment to my policy. 🙂
Thanks,
Brad
Keep it up! I completely agree with your policy. The rhetoric these days– on just about every topic– has spiraled out of control, and civility left the building years ago. Call me old fashioned, but I was taught that I should treat people as I wished to be treated (and for 50 years that mantra has served me pretty well). There’s no reason you should have to tolerate all the jerks who have nothing worthwhile to contribute (which is why they rant, yes?) … let them take their senseless jabber some where else. Thanks! Deb in Denver
And now you probably see why some blogs have specific comment policies. 🙂
Nothing wrong with what you’re doing here, of course. It’s like filtering what people get to say in your house or any of your establishments, right?
In fact, some blog owners also specifically state above the comment box “No spam, keep civil, etc.” plus a link to their comment policy or similar. That way, people know what to expect even if they still accuse you of censorship or whatever.
With a blog like yours, Brad, this is bound to happen. Better tackle it now rather than later. 😉
If allowed, the “jerks” would take over the comments section as they have done on so many news reporting sites. It stifles the input of folks who have something positive to say, or offer another point of view. I’m feeling much more confident about posting on this site knowing I won’t be attacked which is much different than some one offering an opposing view.
Thanks,
No jerks allowed seems fair enough.
It’s really no different than asking someone that’s behaving badly at a party to leave. If you can’t be a courteous guest, then you quickly wear out your welcome.
Hope it’s working out for you..
Heather,
So far, so good. I’ve refused to post a few comments, but 90% of the comments to the blog (fortunately!) have met with the new policy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the political stuff tends to be the most difficult to moderate.
Thank for reading and posting!
Brad
You have Cain in the wrong position try just a hair above Bachman. He did NOT defend his bogus 9 9 9 plan written for him by probably Ryan or some other member of the Republican establishment. He is on the way down after tonites debate. and he is a career politician. His shell has been cracked and if he sticks to 9 9 9 its Humty Dumty all over again.
Perry will benefit from tonite, he has learned alot in one debate.
You conservatives. Punch up Romney 2004 ect on gun control and roe wade….than tell me he is one of you.
Maybe we need a jerks blacklist! People who continually make ridiculous comments get on a list. Just like they do for spammers.