Somebody posted an anonymous and insulting comment on Criminally Vulgar's blog. Now, as I posted last week, this young woman, an American living in Britain, posted a negative review of my blogline. I posted a comment about it on her blog, and then I posted here, basically whinging about her criticism of my description of my blog. Poor, poor me. A number of readers reassured me (thank you) and some people posted comments on her post criticizing me. Some of these posts were anonymous, although not much more intemperate than my own reply comment. However, the latest comment on her blog had some mean-spirited and unfair comments. Somehow I feel responsible (big fucking surprise), although the insulting commenter (so much less a pleasant person than the Complimenting Commenter) could be someone completely unconnected to me. CV noted in her response (one of her best thought out and written pieces to date) that the commenter had a U.S. IP address. That could be pretty much anyone (except my lovely U.K., Australian, South African, Belgian, French, German, Canadian, Chilean, Italian, Kenyan, Pakistani, Saudi Arabian, and readers from all other countries save the U.S.), so I shouldn't be so egotistical as to assume a connection with me.
But if there is a connection, I want to state that anyone thinking they are defending or supporting me by being impolite, uncivil, or mean, is mistaken. If you are unsure about civility, here are the rules for if you want to be in Foilwoman's Posse (FP):
(1) You can criticize someone, but:
(i) Identify yourself
(ii) Skip any comments that are irrelevant -- i.e., comment on the post, not the appearance of the poster
(iii) No ad hominen attacks.
(2) When in doubt, come up with a better course of action rather than telling people what they did wrong. My comment to CV is an example of how not to do this.
(3) Don't be sarcastic, unless we want to start a war.
(4) Know that I can defend myself. I can go on the attack. I mostly like people to praise me rather than insult someone else. Actually, I like people to praise me no matter what. So: praise me!
Thank you. I'm sure it's someone unnconnected to this blog who did this uncivil thing. I'm just overreacting. I think I may be unable to respond to things in a low key fashion right now. I wonder why?
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18 comments:
Hopefully it wasn't one of your lot. My little hit counter usually stays between UK and US. However, most of my friends wouldn't touch @Home with a bargepole ;).
Thanks anyway though. Much obliged to ya.
(Depeche Mode is not to be pitied.)
That's why Baskin & Robbins has 31 flavors. The Clash, Dire Straits, the Pretenders, Bruce, Tom Petty, Mission of Burma, and my garage band from college (named at various times The Planet of the Big Feet or The Crimes Against Nature --because that's what one critic said our music sounded like) could whup Depeche Mode's collective asses. Or they probably could, if I knew what Depeche Mode sounded like . . .
I've The Clash on my playlist at the moment... 'I'm so bored with the USA' always makes me laugh. 'YANKEE!'
They could definitely woop them. They're a bit... well... foppish. The whole damned lot.
Have you heard 'Enjoy the Silence?' That was their biggest single in the US. It's pretty good but also mopey. I slap them and Leonard Cohen on when I just want a big ol' glass of whiskey to stare outside with. Thinkin' music.
It's always intriguing to me that people can be such raging idiots on the internet. They think that becuase they can anonymously comment and flee the scenent they are so fantastic.
Let's be honest here folks. If you don't have the intestinal fortitude to stand behind what you say then it's time to remove your hands from the keyboard and go elsewhere. (In other words STFU).
Cowards are cowards and I can't see cowards hanging around cyber-casa Foil. They couldn't take it.
OK I'm done for now.
No, anonymous idiots are not welcome in Casa Foil. Anonymous admirers are always welcome. Anonymous insulters, not so much.
Say what you like, be honest, & if you mean what you say from the heart then don't give a fuck if it offends just post. If you think it might offend someone, & you have this nagging doubt from within, well that's your conscience telling you not to post.
But whatever you do...use your fucking name you spineless bastards!
But don't muck about, Gawblimeyman, please tell us how you feel about this topic.
Just to play devil's advocate here, but aren't we all anon behind our blog names? It's not like you can track me down and beat me up for insulting you with the name Prom.....
How does one not use sarcasm to communicate? I'm afraid I need a lesson on that one before I continue posting ;)
When somebody puts their name to the post, that means that person gathers up a reputation. You can post back at a person who has a blog and commented, but you can't hunt down an anonymous person and do it. That's why I have never allowed anonymous comments on my blog. I want to know the place--even if it's on the net--to go back and say thanks or kick ass if I need to :)
Hey, Innana, I just figured it out. GBM is my evil, identical twin. I'm just a little more identical than he is!* So be nice to him, he's my brother! [Pay no attention to GBM having a good chunder (tossing his cookies, not our Supercookie, of course) behind the curtain upon reading this statement.]
*See the Last Remake of Beau Gest with Michael York and Marty Feldman. To get this, you have to understand that Innana always stops me in mid-rant and says "So, tell me how you really feel?"
Prom & Kira: Notice the "no anonymous posting" here, on this blog. Yes, we're anonymous, but we have personas. Look what happened to Mr. Underhill (a cautionary tale for the Internet reckless), and are, to some extent identifiable. Since over the Internet nothing is really erasable, this can all come back to haunt us anytime.
Since I believe that the stories we tell about ourselves define us as human beings, I think that we owe it to ourselves to acknowledge our own expressions. Unless, of course, liquor was involved. Then we send you to a twelve step program, after liberating any high quality beverages in your possession (nice wine, single malt scotch).
Like a rubbernecker at an accident site, I tried to find the offensive post. Couldn't do it. Where is it, or what did it say? Was it truly crass and obscene or what?
Foilwoman, glad GBM is your brother/also gay. Imagine if the two of you had a love child together!! Foilblimeyman. Aieeee...
First of all, I think I can freely speak for GBM, even though I don't know him and will probably never meet him, but I think Hell will freeze and you and I will do side-by-side triple axels before GBM and I could conceivably be involved in procreation with one another. But if we were to have some sort of bizarre Petri dish accident (and that's the only way it would happen, believe me), and someone could convince me to have another kicker inside me doing an imitation of the creature in Alien to my abdominal muscles, let's me blunt: it would be a girl. I have managed to preserve the female line so far and don't see why I should make any exceptions (even fictional ones) for GBM's spawn, presuming such an outre possibility didn't make everyone simply die laughing.
Innana, the troll post was a comment two or three posts before CVs 100th Post (labelled as such).
Foilwoman,
I appreciate the visit and look forward to hearing from you again. I concur with what you have to say about 'civility.'
Thank you publius. As you can tell from my follow up post on your blog, I disagree with just about everything you've stated. But politely. Welcome, and I've got to dredge up the information on the amount by which illegal aliens help keep social security solvent by buying their fictitious social security cards and paying FICA and Medicare tax that they will never draw back on . . . But that's a post for your blog, not mine.
All I want for Christmas....is a turkey baster!!! ;-)
(Oh, and pay me enough, dear, & I'll sleep with anyone!) ;-)
Not that I've ever been 'lucky' enough to have anyone pay me for sex before, in actual fact I might change my name to Spider, the cobwebs hanging off my dick, when's the last time I had sex... :-(
GBM: You've almost got me feeling sorry for you. Quick, let's compete: whoever can make their life sound more pathetic wins a free trip to Schenectedy. But I don't understand, really, if you're gay, where's the stopping point? Women have to worry about men thinking badly of them. Men have to worry about women wanting to have sex (because once the woman does, well, she's a trollop). What do men worry about that stops them from having sex if its not how to get a woman into bed? Men are cheap and men are easy, all you have to do is wear a short skirt and a lot of lipstick . . . oh, I'm seeing the problem now. Never mind.
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