[Seattle-editorial] creepy comments aimed at authors

[Laury]

I'm non-active, but I'm ready to activate.  Tell me when, where, how.

On Mar 15, 2004, at 11:05 PM, Joseph Eisenschmidt wrote:

> 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
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