[Seattle-editorial] creepy comments aimed at authors

[sheelanagig at juno.com]

It is creepy how most of my articles just attract personal slams on me,
about who I am, or am perceived to be, and so rarely is intelligent
comment made with respect to the subject of my articles on your site. On
INfoshop, I get torn apart at times, but the comments are predominantly
intelligent and cause for further discussion on the topic matter. The
discussion on infoshop re the rogue midwifery was brilliant yet the
comment on Seattle IMC is just stupid and mean. Same with the harassment
order one. Useless comments. Flaming. Mean shit. Condescending useless
shit. I loved how someone from the PDA tried to cloud the issues on
comments re free speech at market issue, calling me "high drama" yet
avoiding the entire issue which is - WHERE IS THE FREE SPEECH SPOT?!

I seem to be attracting alot of the same character bashing rather than
actual comments to the articles on Portland IMC too.

I am not sure what to make of that. Part of me wants to not put my
articles in a place where they attract a bunch of mud slinging re my
personal character, i.e., a site or place where either comments are
moderated, or the article is simply presented, and there is no place for
comments. Not that I do not enjoy open discussion of the topics I write
about, but more often than not it seems I am attracting people who are
just putting me down and arguing over things that have nothing to do with
the articles...but instead my personal integrity, when the people talking
do not even know me. 

Is there any way to clean up the nasty commenting that is irrelevant and
regularly occuring? Or is that considered hierarchal authoritarian
behavior to desire to control mudslinging on authors? Simply because I
have the nerve to write my opinions down and publish them, I am not sure
that means my entire life is an open book, I am allowed no privacy, and I
now wear a target sign for any asshole who wants to swing at me online! I
think this rampant bad comment behavior is lowering the integrity of indy
media, honestly. If the comments are predominantly, "pee-you, you stink"
type crap, what is the purpose of comments? It is too laborious to
babysit idiots with keyboards. And if it means no good writers will apply
to IMC's, hmm...it is something to think about.

I am still trying to figure out how much privacy I should be allowed as a
writer. I have suffered some GROSS invasions of privacy in the last month
online. We writers have some human and civil rights too... It may be of
worth for the seattle imc editorial group to talk about ways to make the
site more friendly to writers who write for you...I know you are already
trying to work with writers to make things better, and are overwhelmed
with not enough help, and I applaud your efforts, and know it is a
thankless dirty job, but I have to also say I am pretty much feeling like
when I am posted on Seattle IMC, it often makes me a target for dirty
comments on me personally, and abuse...and nothing more. It makes me sad,
honestly. I know you are trying, as I said. I am trying too...but I am so
sick of people shitting all over me online just for trying to write and
publish a decent article...I guess maybe if you do not want that, you go
to other places to publish, like the Weekly or P-I. I like the idea of
indy media, but not the constant and random abuse the writers seem to
have to endure from the reader comments...On Infoshop, the abusive shit
is taken off pretty quickly by Chuck himself so I am learning to live
with the comments on Infoshop, cuz if they are just belittling me, and
not addressing the article, he takes the comment off and takes no shit
about it, so the comments do not end up living with the article in
archives. 

But the shit slung at me that is irrelevant to the articles on Portland
and Seattle imc's tend to stay on the articles, and it is really hard to
keep wanting to send out an article, knowing I am just going to get
called names, and talked about personally for them. Again, I do not mind
intelligent discussion on the topics, but that is not the bulk of IMC
comments to my articles of late, the bulk are stupid comments, rude
comments, mean comments...I cannot tell if this got exponentially worse
after Ben stole my site and I had to say something, maybe this is him or
his cronies following me and belittling me every article I write on
imc's, but it seems pretty icky, since all I am trying to do is give good
article content, not proclaim to be a saint, a teacher, or anything, just
a story teller and writer! Yet I am feeling lessa nd less inspired to
write for IMC's as a posting is a target sign around my neck in ways...

We will see how it all plays out, I am still hanging in here, but I am
hesitant at best...I may just start publishing a monthly or biweekly zine
with all my articles and people can ask to reprint them, but I will avoid
all the shredding via comments online...
people sending me private hatemail is different than hate mail being
attached to all my articles in the comments sections!

Thinking outloud,
Kirsten Anderberg




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Read Kirsten Anderberg's articles at
www.angelfire.com/la3/kirstenanderberg 
or visit her blog at www.kanderberg.blogspot.com.

The recommended website of the month is www.sniggle.net!


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