November 29, 2004
Notes

Comment Comments

I hadn’t planned on doing much thinking about this blog over Thanksgiving. Because the BAG is a part-time endeavor that keeps demanding more than that, I was looking forward to the rest. In spite of myself, however, I did spent some time thinking about some of the comments here lately.

Frankly, because the site hadn’t been that well known, comments weren’t something I’ve had to worry too much about. But I guess that’s beginning to change.

To be honest, I haven’t spent a lot of time tracking blog protocol and etiquette. Because I following a good number of blogs, however, I understand there’s an ethic in the blogosphere which affords comments the widest possible latitude.

As a blog publisher, there are two ways I get comments. There are the ones that are posted to my entries. There are also ones that are sent to me directly, via email. Since I started this project, I have appreciated receiving thoughtful critique and criticism from the political middle, as well as points further right. Having spent way too long in the clutches of academia, there is nothing I value more than intellectual engagement. The truest and most satisfying form of this exchange (as my oldest friends will attest) does not always come from people with whom you are in lockstep.

That being said, I don’t see why the intellectual and communal goals of this site have to be compromised for the sake of people who are either abusive, unthinking or a combination of the two. I will continue to bend as much as possible in the name of inclusiveness, but I reserve the right (as much as I regret it) to remove comments that don’t reflect/respect the earnestness of those who get together here.

Besides the amount of energy, thought and care that goes into it, I get a great deal of satisfaction conceiving and composing the material on this site. From the beginning, my intention has been to educate, raise consciousness and provide moral support. Along those lines, it’s been my hope that BAGnewsNotes would ultimately evolve from a monologue into a community and a conversation.

It’s my firm commitment to get there.

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Michael Shaw
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