Something interesting happened this past week: I received my first hate mail as a result of my blog postings. It seems that my 4 part series on atheism raised a few eyebrows. I received two comments to my postings.
As an aside, I have chosen to moderate my comments, but only for the purpose of censoring offensive content. I don’t believe in censoring thought, but I also don’t see any place for purely offensive statements that contain no relevant or coherent arguments.
So, I posted one comment and I deleted one comment. The deleted comment was nothing more than a sentence filled with swear words. The one word that could have been posted was the word “ignorant”. So, if the person that attempted to post that comment on my site is reading, well, rest easy because now I’ve shared your comment that you thought I was ignorant.
I dislike conflict, and thus, I was at first taken aback by the hostile nature of the two comments I received. But, upon further review, I was relieved to know that my blog is reaching some people. Right or wrong, I’m trying to share my thoughts. And, it’s perfectly fine to agree or disagree. I have no problem with respectful dialogue. But I don’t think it is fair to have to tolerate an abusive situation.
So, if you have comments, by all means share them. But, if you’re just going to be rude and vulgar, then don’t expect your comment to be approved on my site. If you have something valid to say, then I’ll post it, regardless of whether I agree with your statements or not.
Todd Dow
Todd H Dow 