I try to be generous on the comments policy on this blog.
But right now my generosity is being abused and the comments space is beginning to look like the absurdity that is Comment is Free.
This wastes my time and effort and right now I am short of time.
So please be on notice that all comments apart from those from those I know and who can be trusted to constructively inform debate will be deleted for a while, probably wholly unread.
When the choice is between running the blog or not because of comments then comments always have to go, and candidly I am utterly bored by much of the neoliberal commentary being offered here right now as I am sure most of my readers are and when that saps my enthusiasm for the blog I always know the time for action has arrived.
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Richard
I don’t think shutting off negative comments would be a good idea.
I think it was Emmanuel Kant, or some Kant anyhow, who said that we needed thesis & then antithesis to produce dialysys, or anaesthetists, or something…
Anyway, it would be easier if you didn’t feel you had to rebutt every comment made on this board. Most of the “anti” comments will get answered by other people that agree with you. Sometimes answered better because they fall in that person’s area of expertise.
Some of the more stupid comments shouldn’t be answered, they should just hang there as a testament to idiocy (I’m thinking, in particular, of Tim Worstall). No-one will claim they have a validity merely for being on your blog.
No, no, no. It’s a waste of space for readers as well as Richard. I never look at Comment Is Free posts – even though there are probably some comments which deserve to be read.
fair enough Richard…you work hard enough keeping what I find an informative and educative blog going. The neo-liberal camp ARE the prevailing culture anyway and don’t need more oxygen with their lies about ‘free’ markets and you often allow posts which challenge what you say as long as it is not blatant dogma. I appreciate what you do,and so do many others who are worried and fearful of corporate fascism, graft, ‘grift’,’shakedown’ and the selling of our communities down the river.
Would agree with William. Most of us have a mixture of views and labelling people
is always inaccurate. People are people.I don’t always agree with RM, but I have been informed and even influenced by his views.
If you’re going to have comments on a blog, you will get comments from everywhere. That’s life.
Therefore, I think you only have 3 options:
1) Devote a lot of time on moderating.
2) Take a more ‘live and let live’ approach, so that the vast majority of comments (as long as they are legal, decent etc) get published.
3) Close down comments completely (perhaps just publishing those who contact you privately by e-mail).
It is your blog — your property to do as you wish. But I’d be sad if you chose option 3 (and I don’t think option 1 benefits anybody — not the least, you).
As some feedback — you do quite often come across as fairly short tempered in your responses. I think this makes you a bit of a target for a ‘wind up’. (Childish, sure, but such people will always be there).
I wonder: if you were a bit more genial and good humoured with those you disagree with, would they soon lose interest?
Why be genial and good humoured with abuse?
When did that change anything?
And no – they won’t lose interest if I am genial
ABuse does not go away because people are nice about it
I’m altogether with Richard (and Carol Wilcox) – it was getting to the point where I couldn’t read through the comments on this blog without setting my Bulls**t Detector to ‘minimum sensitivity’, so that it wouldn’t explode.
Keep the faith, Richard.
Thank you
I’ll see how it goes
The trolls are relatively quiet today
Can’t think why
They’re still knackered from Hallowe’en.
Richard,
Don’t forget that in a debate you should not try to convince the other side as they will never change their view, no matter what evidence is presented to the contrary. Instead you should seek to influence the silent majority who have yet to make up their minds.
Closing down free speech is not the liberal approach but is the aim of the right wing, witness the threats by Cameron to prosecute The Guardian.
By all means weed out the petty and offensive comments, but please leave the genuine ones so that we can all point out the lies, inconsistencies, contradictions and downright absurdity of their arguments.
Good point
My problem is time and on occasion the sheer frustration of having to deal with the nonsense posted
Richard
I think it would be a shame if you were to censor comments, unless of course they are abusive. Just ignore those you feel are of no value and only reply if you feel there are factual errors.
Personally, I find your taxation crusade extremely valuable and informative. I also think that closing loopholes (Google, Starbucks et al) is supported by the whole political spectrum (excluding the few who directly benefit). I find your purely political comments far less useful. As a reader of both the Guardian and the Telegraph, I can find political comments anywhere. The taxation side of your work is fairly unique, please keep up the good work.
Chris
I don’t censor – I edit – and that’s a freedom in its own right
90% of all comments get through
Re political comment – invariably these are the ones best read – just look at this morning’s retweets – it is the non-tax story that is getting the attention
Tax is the focus of my work but it rarely is the main traffic driver
The balance works in that case, I hope
But let’s also be clear – I write economics and not politics per se in the main – and I view tax as part of broader tax /,economics. It is never just about revenue raising
Richard