The Author's Nest

I had not even thought to mention this last night, as turning off comments was the very last thing I had done before bed.

Now, I understand people enjoy leaving comments, and I'm actually happy when I see people leaving polite comments...in those very rare instances. The problem is, this is the internet. It's an open platform (and should stay that way), allowing people to express themselves freely. However, that freedom is abused quite heavily in this day and age.

I've seen so many online lynch mobs at this point that it scares me, and on more than a couple of occasions, I've been subjected to them thanks to sites like Reddit and HackerNews. People took what I said, twisted the words in their mind, and launched attacks so quickly that I couldn't reply in time.

It's not a good feeling to be attacked like that. In fact, many people have had their lives outright ruined by the actions of these lynch mobs, especially on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit, and HackerNews (though the latter is a little better behaved than the others).

Spam is also something I don't want to deal with. Social Networks and blog comment systems have far too much spam now, especially with how open everything is. I've seen an entire social network, the English version of Hatena Haiku, so riddled with phishing and advertising links that no one could hold a conversation. It's a mess, and something all of us need to start paying attention to, by denying them the ability to post.

My blog is mine, and while I can't control what happens outside of it, I can control what happens within it. I don't like leaving myself open to the hateful masses, so I subscribe to the idea that, if someone wants to leave a comment, they can email me, and I can deal with it in private. Twitter is fine as well in some cases, but as rarely as I use it, it may take some time to get back to people.

This eliminates two very big annoyances for me: spam, and lynch mobs (on my own site). My time is limited each day. I want to work, not deal with annoyances. I'll gladly deal with polite emails containing comments, though. Those are something to cherish.