by Steve White (moderator, call sign AoS)
There's been a bit of a kerfluffle the last couple of days about images of [ gasp! ] scantily clad wimmin in the comment thread of the Bloid. Yesterday it degenerated into some name calling. I'm not going to point fingers at individuals, but I am here to settle it.
As someone astutely noted, this is Fred's blog. Fred asks us mods to help out, and that's what we do. All of us, Fred and the mods, talk behind the curtain to ensure that the Burg continues to work. We've been doing that over this issue.
Allow me to make a few points:
One -- one of the quicker ways to get banned from the Burg is to tell a moderator to fuck off. It not only offends that mod, it offends me. I'm not personally aware of how Ace handles the AoSHQ in that regard, or how the Powerline folks handle it on their blog.
But I can guess. So can you. Don't do it.
Two -- Mods may disappear a post when it is a duplicate or obviously inappropriate. Occasionally we screw up and delete one by accident. I did that myself earlier in the week (danged iPad), and posted an apology the next day.
If we delete a post for any other reason, we'll post a moderator note to explain why.
Three -- some folks don't mind cheesecake (or beefcake). Some do. Fred has a style for the Bloid women. I have mine which is a little different. It helps make the Bloid a little more interesting, and that's the point.
I appreciate that GB has been posting pics. Entertaining enough and, I had thought, harmless.
However.
I am reminded that Rantburg punches above its weight. We have readers in places that appreciate what Fred does, readers who otherwise might not see the unfiltered press from trouble spots. That is the focus of the Burg. That's why we're here.
If people who might consider visiting the Burg decide that they can't because it might cause problems with their employer (oh, you know, the Federal government as one example), then the cheesecake is detracting from our mission. Whether one is personally offended or not is beside the point.
I like Angie Harmon as much as anyone, and more than most, but I don't come to the Burg for pics of Angie Harmon. I can get that elsewhere. So can all of us.
Therefore, we're going to limit the pics in the Bloid comment thread. An occasional pic or two is fine, preferably SFW. More than that is a distraction from our core mission. I personally am going to tone down my selections for the Bloid wimmin.
This is something that we figure out as we go along. Sometimes things go on for a while before we realize that hmmm, this might not be what we want for the Burg. This is one of those times.
Again, GB, thanks, and keep the good stuff about our troops coming. I appreciate those a great deal.
Four -- We want the Burg to meet its mission. We want it to be a place where sharp commentary, intelligent discussion, grade A snark and news you won't find elsewhere is aggregated into one community. Well, that and the occasional story about idiots, seedy politicians and stupid animal tricks. That's the core. Anything that detracts from the core sooner or later gets pitched.
We thank our readers, regular and occasional. We hope you like what we do. |