I recently started reading a book that's been my list for a while. It's Daniel Solove's The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet. Solove talks a lot about blogging, and also about how the internet is a completely new and different forum. His book was published in 2007, but while reading it your brain effortlessly fills in the time gap. He starts off the book by talking about a figure commonly known as "Dog Poop Girl," after she was caught on film ignoring her dog's mess on a Korean subway. The points he makes are often things we know (e.g. once it's out on the internet, it doesn't just go away), but tend to skip over in our everyday behavior.
Frozen Tropics includes a note reminding readers to be nice ("Guys, please be polite. Remember that these people are your neighbors. I ask also that anonymous users leave some kind of tag [e.g. big green cat] for the sake of being able to follow a thread. Be respectful and have fun."), but too often it's ignored. Those are rules guys, not suggestions. If you are just going to be a jerk, and not contribute anything, I'd rather you refrain from posting. I recently deleted a comment for violating this rule. It's rare that I do that, and I don't like doing it, but sometimes I have to delete those. Seriously, if your comment is three words long, and the first two words are "Suck my" you probably aren't contributing much.
Please, let's all just show a little restraint. It's easy to just type a bunch of stuff you would never say to someone's face, and hit post/send. Someone (individual, business owner, employee) is on the other side reading whatever you typed. If you write something mean spirited, and over the top it hurts. Please don't use Frozen Tropics to lash out at people, whether they be leavers of comments, or just coming up for some other reason.
So how about we all resolve to take the extra second to leave a name, or nickname, and to try to be nice. Think before you post. I'm not saying every comment should be positive, just that we don't need to be overly mean, or make slanderous comments (which I will delete). Let's just all try to be slightly better people online in 2010. Happy New Year!
6 comments:
Thank you for all you have done and are doing.
I hope the coming year will be fruitful full of warm memories.
Happy New years. This site is a wonderful avenue for getting to know the neighborhood, and I hope it does continue to be a respectful place where we can come together and share about this great neighborhood we all live in.
Cheers to more positivity in 2010!!
Been a fan of this blog for the past couple years. I rarely post anything, but love reading the stuff posted here. Thanks for keeping it up. Happy 2010!!
My first time posting but long time follower, I thank you for the time and energy you devote to our neighborhood.
I wish you an abundance of all things good in 2010.
happy new year!
suck my... uh... toe? ;-)
SUCK MY SOUL! that's what this blog does to me sometimes. the opinions, commentary, and diatribe often times leave me breathless.
not sure how you rate blogs, but if breathless is a ranking factor, you just earned 5 gold starz.
this blog is truly an invaluable resource for locals, and want-to-be locals.
it's great because one can come in and toss their hat to the ringside, or some such....
i promise to never use the word "suck" in this venue.... unless of course... ah, forget it. i won't use it.
at.all.
so, have a less sucky 2010 than 2009!
the 'y' at the end gives me an out. no?
si!
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