Monday, April 16, 2007

Incivility discussed

Rocky editorial writer Linda Seebach has an interesting column on how the paper curbs "incivility" in comments at its internet Commentary section--and, by extension, how some are attempting this on blogs. Read whole thing, but one quotoid here:

We're concerned about vulgar language, not because we're unfamiliar with those words - it's a newsroom, after all - but because readers are put off by vulgarity. (And besides, I tend to think that people who can't talk without being vulgar are unlikely to have anything valuable to say, unless I have personal evidence to the contrary.)

After we admonished one commenter he (or she) replied, "Hey, Editor, did someone pee in your corn flakes this morning?"--

Stop. I can't stand it. After the cruel things that have been said about your darling Drunkablog (l., er, r.) the last couple of days on a certain Ward Churchill-laving site (here's PB commenter Laurie's precis of comments), to have a jolly heckler inquire as to whether person or persons unknown had micturated in my breakfast cereal this a.m. would be like--a sunny day!

Update: Ten whacks on the noggin with a steel-heeled patent-leather shoe for the first person who comes up with the movie that still came from.

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