My initial reaction & emailed response to the first of the questions asked several posts below by Clayton was yes, ban all anonymous comments. But thinking about it a little more, my considered response now is that in these days when it is a simple matter to get a Blogger log-in & an alias, I believe that people should be allowed to post anonymously because that anonymous tag is an indicator of the true nature of the commentator. (Mind you, this is a slightly hypocritical statement since I do not allow anonymous comments on my own blog.)
That said, my response to Clayton's second question remains the same. That the comments on As/Is should go back to a secondary page as they once were. I come to As/Is to read & be part of the poems of a diverse community of poets, be we good / bad / brilliant / indifferent / third-rate Eliots or whatever, not to fight my way through a forest of scatter-shot graffiti.
I'm there with Chris saying Fuck Off very loudly. We have been stung by mosquitoes, & reacted. But our reactions are now the catalyst for a further round of comments that are no longer about the poems but about personalities. They are insulting, & they are injurious. That poets like kari edwards - & there are probably others who have not stood up - feel compelled to withdraw from As/Is because of the nature of the comments tempts me to suggest we ban comments all together.
But I won't go as far as that. Just ask that the visibility be taken away. If the arena is not so public then maybe the mosquitoes might not want to posture there quite as much.
kari edwards quitting as/is?
damn those hecklers!
I recognize the importance of applying energy where it will do the most good. The kind of negativity you actively battle is on behalf of what is best in all of us.
Here in this small sector of the world called As/Is we're faced with comparatively modest forms of negativity (in specks symptomatic of the unfortunate trend of greed and scarcity/fear). Oddly enough, these small bits seem even more exasperating when one labors daily and even hourly just to maintain.
I respect your decision, and I appreciate your efforts all around.
I, too, respect your decision to leave these pages to concentrate on the bigger battles which in this time of escalating conservatism & bigotry are growing bigger; but let me just say that I shall miss your presence here, shall miss the opportunity to be able to post alongside you.
Thank you for every word that you have ever posted here.
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