BANNED!

By: Mr. Wilson on November 3, 2010
So apparently a lot of people are under the unfortunate impression that I ban commenters here at Lincolnite. Put simply, I don't. My memory may be failing me, but I'm relatively certain I have never banned anybody on this site. Well, nobody who wasn't obviously a spammer. Frankly I've never had the need. Sure we've had some spirited discussions over the years, and a few folks have been certifiable buttheads, but buttheadedness alone isn't enough to justify banning someone. Not in my opinion anyway. On occasion I do delete or edit comments. Deleting comments is an act so rare I can't recall the last time I did it. If I delete a comment it is because the commenter has clearly gone over the top. Typically that means the commenter issued an extremely inappropriate threat or insult toward somebody else. If necessary I will delete an entire branch of a comment tree, such as when two commenters find it necessary to engage in a vicious back-and-forth. Again, that's very rare. As for editing comments, sometimes folks get just a wee bit carried away and use a word or phrase that doesn't reflect the standards I like to uphold around here. When that happens I'll do a quick edit and leave a note indicating such. I do not do "stealth" edits to others' comments where I don't identify that a comment has been altered. You may wonder just what is (or is not) allowed in the comments here at Lincolnite. There is no list of "bad" words or things you oughtn't say or do. Blanket bans aren't worthwhile, in my opinion. I merely ask that you be civil and that you use your words in contextually appropriate ways. It's like when I referee soccer: an f-bomb may be a perfectly appropriate reaction after some guy slashes your calf with his cleats, but if you tell the guy who committed a simple foul and who now is trying to help you up what you plan to do to his sister and mother later that evening, don't expect that to go over as well with me. There are no bad words or phrases, only sloppy or inappropriate uses of them. Long story short, if you think you've been banned or you think your comment was unjustly blocked or deleted, chances are very (very!) high that you're experiencing a bug in the system rather than a vindictive system administrator. I was a baseball umpire for a third of my life; I've been a soccer referee for over half of my life; and now I'm living with a kid whose language and behaviors would make R. Lee Ermey blush. I have thick skin. If you've raised my wrath, it won't come as a surprise to you. I hope that clears up some things. If you have any questions just holler via a comment, or feel free to email me directly at mrwilson at [this domain].

Comments

See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.

Jeff R
November 3, 2010 at 6:25PM

Here’s what I think, Mr. Know It All!  First off [this comment has been edited].


😉  Just kidding.  Keep up the good fight, and thanks for all the hard work.

Fletch
November 4, 2010 at 1:53PM

At least I know now that I am not certifiable…

Moses
November 4, 2010 at 8:11PM

Certifiable what?

nudge..nudge..wink..wink

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