Sunday, March 25, 2012

Sunday Housekeeping Volume 6

Thank you all for contributing to whatever success this modest little blog enjoys.  The comments section remain the most interesting part of the blog and I freely admit it.
Let's keep it exciting and interesting.

These last weeks have seen  a couple of post which received more than 200 comments (thank you) and while it is most gratifying, it brought up an interesting issue that I was not aware of.

After a certain amount of comments, either 200 or so, or maybe based on total bits or bytes, BLOGGER only displays so many and in order to view more comments you have to hit the;

 LOAD MORE COMMENTS

button on the bottom of the comments section.

Frustrating if you don't realize this. (Thanks Michel, for the heads up)

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Now I'd like to review a couple of things and make clear the policy of this blog.

First of all, there is no question about the fact that comments in French are happily solicited.
I know it is an issue for unilingual anglos, but on balance to keep the conversation lively, I've made the decision to embrace French comments.
Those who comment in French are important members of the community and have nothing to defend or apologize for.
I hope this ends that debate.

If you need a translation, try Google Translate, even if it is a bit crappy. If you want a translation you can ask for one under the French comment and I'll try to oblige, but I can't translate all of them as a matter of course, it is to time-consuming.

Please no calling people out for French comments or for spelling or grammatical mistakes as well.
This is a blog about competing ideas, nothing else.
Some of us use little keyboards on smartphones and fautes des frappes are normal as well autocowreck autocorrect disasters that can sometimes cause havoc.

Let's argue about issues, not stupid spelling, please.

HOWEVER,  if you see a grammatical mistake or spelling error in the main post, PLEASE let me know via email so that I can correct it for future readers.

The following applies to ALL comments English or French.

Sometimes, just sometimes,  we comment when we're angry or tired, or ....er.. under the influence..
If you want something removed, send me an email.

If you want to re-write a post that's full of mistakes, post anew with the note at the end addressed to the editor advising me that this new post replaces one written a certain time. Include the particulars of the offending post, I can't go fishing.

Any post using someone else's real name, no matter how humorous will not be posted.

Adopt your own screen name and please stick to it.
I know it is fun to play around using different variations, but resist the temptation. People need to reply to you directly and the joke is not always evident.

It is easy to adopt a screen identity, under the comment box that you are filling out, there is a drop down box that allows you to enter a screen name. Please use it.
IT WILL NOT COMPROMISE YOUR IDENTITY!

I do have software that tells me where readers are coming from (city/town) and what post brought them to this blog, but I DO NOT have the capability to identify IP addresses and even of I did I would never compromise reader's anonymity.  Do not fear!

Now, as to the touchy issue of content.
“I shall not today attempt further to define [obscenity]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it….”

That famous statement, uttered by the late Justice Potter Stewart in 1973 when faced with a case involving obscenity, illustrates the difficulty of trying to determine what constitutes obscene or pornographic content.
I use the same criteria in defining what is to be published or not. I always lean on the side of letting things be published, but there are limits, which I will define as follows.

I will not publish;
Cruel or gratuitous comments that add nothing to the debate.
Comments that are made with the sole intention of disrupting or denigrating this blog.
Personal attacks on individuals without any redeeming arguments.
Any comment that is overtly racist, sexist or cruel.
Any comment that promotes hate.
Anything commercial.

That being said, ranting and raging is permitted.

I don't have any problem with commenters promoting their own blog as long as it is non-commercial and is somehow relevant to what we discuss here.

Finally a special thanks to those readers who take the time to comment on a frequent basis. You remain the backbone of the comments section.

I encourage a fair exchange of ideas and will never censor anything based on point of view.

By the way,  BLOGGER works best with any modern browser EXCEPT WINDOWS EXPLORER.
It is easy to down load another browser (CHROME, OPERA, FIREFOX, etc. etc.) and the process takes less than five minutes. You also don't have to abandon WINDOWS, you can run both, even at the same time

Lastly, if have a tip or you come across a story or a link that might be of interest to other readers please email me at;

anglomontreal@gmail.com

THANKS FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION!


5 comments:

  1. I had no idea of the extent of the problem until I found your blog.

    It makes me angry that a few militants would be disrupting our country so much! Why can't we all live together without all the animosity?

    In some areas of our province there is little English spoken and other languages on signs without the benefit of a law - and I don't see that changing anytime soon. It doesn't bother me either.

    Why does there have to be a law about signs and such anyway? Seems petty to me and somehow suggests that the language that the law is about(French) is inferior because it needs a law to exist.

    I was quite happy to coexist with the french language but now that I see the evil in the intent, I am not so sure. I am also less apt to feel any sort of empathy either.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I find that comments are no being posted. I've been using Safari.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just switched to Opera, and it worked. Okay, problem solved.

      Delete
  3. Editor,

    I will not publish;
    Cruel or gratuitous comments that add nothing to the debate.
    Comments that are made with the sole intention of disrupting or denigrating this blog.
    Personal attacks on individuals without any redeeming arguments.

    Any comment that is overtly racist, sexist or cruel.
    Any comment that promotes hate.
    Anything commercial.


    I really do hope that you are consistent with these terms. I would think that you will not tolerate the donut comments or the meaningless one-liners. I thank you in advance for your effort.

    On a lighter note, the Canadiens are officially eliminated last night. The good thing is we can rest easy, knowing that there will be no hockey riot this year.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Editor,

    My silly nitpick:

    By the way, BLOGGER works best with any modern browser EXCEPT WINDOWS.
    It is easy to down load another browser (CHROME, OPERA, FIREFOX, etc. etc.) and the process takes less than five minutes. You also don't have to abandon WINDOWS, you can run both, even at the same time


    Did you mean Internet Explorer browser? MS Windows is not a browser, it is the operating system.

    ReplyDelete