[Seattle-editorial] creepy comments aimed at authors

[Joseph Eisenschmidt]

Ben,

Can we do a role call of active members of the Editorial WG and 
their intent?

Joseph

Quoting BFGalbraith <bfgalbraith at yahoo.com>:

> Kirsten Anderberg,
> 
> I understand your concerns here.  They are extremely
> valid.  There is no question that the negetive
> comments made about you online, in my mind at least,
> on our site, should be deleted.
> 
> At the editorial meeting before last, 4 people showed
> up.  At the last editorial meeting, 3 people showed
> up.  I know of one tech person that is keeping the
> website going on the "backside" of the site.  That
> means there's about 4 people who are even involved in
> the conversation about keeping the Seattle IMC website
> going.
> 
> It's not like we have 3 people times 40 hours per week
> to deal with this situation.  It's more like 3 times 3
> or four hours a week to deal with this.  It's largely
> a question of weather or not we even have the manpower
> to wage a successful battle against the trolls, even
> just a small one to protect your latest article.
> 
> 
> Let me ask you all, editorial team, what alternatives
> do we have for dealing with this level of abuse to our
> best writers?
> 
> 
> > 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
> 
> 
> =====
> -Benjamin 
> 
> "BFGalbraith"- bfgalbraith at users.sourceforge.net 
> (H&S Project Manager- http://hack-and-slash.sourceforge.net)
> Galbraith Games Website- http://www.squawkrpg.net/news
> Why I am looking for another e-mail service:
> 
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Joseph