Abu Muqawama: Post
Abu Muqawama retains its autonomy and the views and beliefs expressed within the blog do not reflect those of CNAS. Abu Muqawama retains the right to delete comments that include words that incite violence; are predatory, hateful, or intended to intimidate or harass; or degrade people on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. In summary, don't be a jerk.
Why We Can't Have Pretty Things
Ugh. This is a sad day for this blog. As many of you know, I am a bit of a fundamentalist when it comes to free speech. I have always supported an open comments policy on the grounds that it is better for ugly and offensive language to be exposed to the light of day than to employ some bound-to-be-arbitrary standard for moderating comments. And that policy worked for over three years. But some of my co-workers have recently complained, with justification, about the comments that were on this post, resulting in us deleting a few comments. Sadly, the comments threads on this blog have featured a lot of offensive, nonsensical language recently. What the heck is wrong with some of you people?
I have come to the conclusion that tasking a few CNAS interns with moderating the comments on this blog will not be too great an offense to the marketplace of ideas. A policy regarding offensive language in the comments is being drafted and will soon be posted. If you want to be ugly and write offensive comments using racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and/or anti-gay language, that's fine -- just do it someplace else. From today on, you will no longer be allowed to write them on this website and expect them to remain published in the comments section.
Again, this really makes me frustrated. We shouldn't have to do this, gang.
Update: Okay, here it is. I hate having to do this.
CNAS retains the right to delete comments that include words that incite violence; are predatory, hateful, or intended to intimidate or harass; or degrade people on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. In summary, don’t be a jerk.
I've always supported your
I've always supported your original policy - and admire it, even. Why should we hide ourselves from the ugliness, or pettiness, or dreariness, or just plain stupid of the world?
However, when it interferes with the general purpose of the blog and keeps people from joining in the conversation....
You are probably correct to do so.
Sounds like a good plan.
Sounds like a good plan.
I think you should re-write
I think you should re-write the official comments policy to:
"CNAS reserves the right to delete any comments it wants to delete, because it's our PRIVATE PROPERTY. Get the concept? Now get off my lawn!"
But what you put up is okay, too.
yay.
yay.
It's about time.
It's about time.
In the past, I've found the
In the past, I've found the comments section quite helpful. A lot of smart people (and some not-so-smart ones) add to your posts and I get a wider view of the issue on which you're posting. But yeah, when people muck it up with nonsense, it just gets in the way of the constructive conversation that usually goes on. Thanks for changing your policy.
Great. I notice imaginary
Great. I notice imaginary quarrels of ninja/pirate, goofs and snarkiness weren't on the exclusion policy.
If you don't mind, I might just continue to goof and snark, in a non-jerk way.
Good. ADTS
Good.
ADTS
Thanks!
Thanks!
Coldstream Guards In
Coldstream Guards In Bibaji:
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/uk/being+watched+on+the+afghan+fro...
As someone who has been
As someone who has been reading this blog like 2 years, I have no problem with this move. None. The comments section went a little downhill in the move from Blue Steel to Magnum. Mo Money Mo Problems?
Thanks! If only you could
Thanks!
If only you could convince youtube to do the same!!!
Elf- you're almost what
Elf- you're almost what could be considered a predatory snarker. I'm sure AM's got an eye on you. :-)
Thanks for the change AM. The racist and homophobic statements have been way over the top lately. My guess is a couple confused red-neck teens came here to vent their latent feeling on the good people of this blog- fer some fun.
Be sure you have CNAS Management buy your Intern's a coffee machine, for these extra duties they will now be undertaking. It's not as bad a burning out-house barrels, but it is a duty that should have a simple reward attached.
About goddamned time, Exum.
About goddamned time, Exum. And you should have listened to your goddamned long-time readers, NOT some people at CNAS for a goddamned change in the policy. It is insulting that change only resulted when some randoms you work with complained, rather than people who have frequented your fucking blog from the start.
The comments are the only
The comments are the only thing worth reading around here anymore!
Finally! Steve
Finally!
Steve
Listen to Deus Ex. His prose
Listen to Deus Ex. His prose features extensive cursing and thus he is super hard.
Well I hope this link
Well I hope this link doesn't get me banned.....
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/15/navys-seriously-sports/
If a young man has spent countless hours bobbing in a pool during water polo matches, he’s more likely to survive the butt-kicking training required to become a Navy SEAL. Same goes if he rock climbs or mountain bikes. And believe it or not, if he plays chess, his odds of passing triple.
Those are some findings from a nearly $500,000 Gallup study commissioned by the Navy.......
YES! We paid $500k to have someone tell us that men who spend years in a pool getting the crap hazed out of them are more likely to become SEALs.
Quants rock! or somethingish.....
oh and maybe the rule to post on your blog AM is to make everyone watch this with the eyetorture freakout device from A Clockwork Orange and if they make it out without becoming a stuttering fool they get the magic wand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8El63Dbz6yY
Wolverines! (actually it's ridiculously good)
good point deus ex
good point deus ex
The Palestinian/Israeli
The Palestinian/Israeli problem is the core of the MidEast Troubles. Without a solution here, there will be no solutions anywhere in the area. Without dwelling
on history, I will go directly to the solution.
First, Jerusalem becomes an International City and the Israeli capital is re-acknowledged as Tel Aviv. The Palestinians name their own capital.
Second, Israel pulls back to the pre-1967 borders.
Thirdly, the area of Jerusalem is physically defined to form many functions :
- The city will become host to most large-scale UN functions.
- Jerusalem will have a local security force and a UN security force of limited scope.
- The borders will be maintained by Israel and Palestine, either in tandem or separately.
- There will be an International airport.
- The area will be large enough to be physically defended and observe adjacent areas.
- The area will control the major highland aquifers, and oversee per capita national allocations.
- The area will allow a transnational journey by either nationality. By passing through Jerusalem, an Israeli transits N/S, and a Palestinian travels E/W. This allows Palestine to have international borders with Jordan and Egypt, but not Syria or Lebanon, respecting current treaties and civilities.
The area will be a duty/tax free area, and the allocated ownership will be dispersed to the “right to return” Palestinians, the displaced Israeli colonists,
and all who have lost their homes. Internal agriculture (because of crowded conditions) will also be “eminent domained”, the owners compensated and they
and the land are included in the allocation.
The Jerusalem area should be as small as possible, hence the agricultural exclusion. The land should be Israeli or Palestinian, as much as possible.
Jerusalem will be a service, marketing and manufacturing zone. Each family unit will be prorated by size, then entered into a lottery for both a plot of residential land and a plot of commercial value. The allocations will be random to negate ghettoes and insularity. The residential and UN infrastructure will be internationally funded and built immediately. The residents will have startup funding of some sort. The residents of Jerusalem will have ownership, equity, involvement, and potential.
They, and the UN personnel, will not abide terrorism, and will self-police effectively. The key to controlling terrorism is to remove the cause and the base. This will do both. This is a step towards World Peace.
If the Israeli/Palestinian situation was settled to both their satisfactions, then the world, in all fairness, could ask Iran why it feels it needs nukes. That is, IF they could get a non-aggression pact out of us.
Then, we could ask, who are they aiming at?
There seems to be a conflict
There seems to be a conflict between AM's summary and the legalese above my sign-in ('CNAS retains the right'). I thought it was only anti-Muslim and anti-gay stuff that is forbidden, and that being anti-Catholic and anti-straight was okay? Oh, and anti-American! Surely that's still permitted?
"We shouldn't have to do
"We shouldn't have to do this, gang."
But of course you need to. Knowing a little (more) history helps you to see this coming--or, rather, the provocations that necessitated the policy.
Back in the '60s, especially in San Francisco, they embraced the countercultural ethos of total freedom, live-and-let-live, no rules or authority. it didn't last long because people abused their freedom and took advantage of others. It was a lesson in the basic brute realities of human nature.
Jerry Garcia put it beautifully: If you want to get rid of rules and authority, "people need to behave themselves."
At another point he put it this way: A bunch of people were standing in a crowded, depressing room, and a door suddenly swung open a crack. A few people saw a beautiful meadow filled with flowers and blue sky and said, "Hey, look at that!" As everyone turned to look, the door slammed shut. "That," said Garcia, "was the sixties."
One of the biggest social effects of the internet, it seems to me, is that it's given all manner of kooks a platform to connect with one another and be heard. What previously you were only exposed to for a few minutes when you stumbled upon some fanatic ranting at the swap meet you now have to deal with every day right in your own home. It is too bad, Ex, but like I said, it's hardly unexpected.
We should get over whatever sadness we feel at having our (unrealistic) hopes dashed and simply deal with it. You can't have a rational conversation when you give the irrational as much say as everyone else. It's unfortunate, but for the good of the community, some people just have to be excluded if they can't be responsible.
Truely a sad day.......what
Truely a sad day.......what are we going to ban next? We have been working on the 2nd since 68. Looks like the 1st is not looking too good these days.
Think most of you folks are academic or journalism types, definitely on the left side of the universe. Don't think that any of my comments fall into the "must delete" catagory. There have been a few done in fun, or to make a point. If you can not have fun in life, not sure what good life is. I find it interesting that folks in Journalism would restrict freedom of speech since they cry about them all the time.
If you cover my six my 2nd rights, I will cover yours on the right to print.
We as people tend to "get rid" of what we do not like. Could be a co-worker that does fit into what we think is "our way" (I have heard that a lot...."just get rid of them" and they disappear in the next layoff). Maybe the pan-handler on the street that offends our sense of "goodness" in the world. Perhaps the graffitti in the "bad" neighborhood that we would not want our friends to see us in. Take a trip on the green line or to bling bling street and that will be source of the next round of "we should get rid of the that". Guess technology is an equalizer and exposes us to all the things that we have managed to get rid of in our lives.
Our children are a reflection of our society. Perhaps it is time that we teach our children that there is responsibility with freedoms.....some of us never get the message.
If we managed our freedoms correctly, we would have more freedoms to enjoy.
Maybe rather than "getting rid" of what we don't like, maybe it is time to help folks become better citizens by helping them realize their responsibilies.
Not sure Dr. Spock ever considered that......it started in the 60's. Any Baby Boomers out there???? We are talking about your children and theirs.
I am always looking for new
I am always looking for new narratives (if you read my posts, now you know I am on my hind legs)....
Short and to the point........and in your words.....
When is diversity.....too much diversity?????
You'all like to see conservatives caught with their pants around their ankles.....todays is your turn in the barrel.
PS...If I had children....they would get their pants spanked for writing four letter words on the Internet.....then we "got rid" of disipline didn't we (do that today and your kid could have your butt in child services for abuse). My wife is a school teacher. For the longest time she has worked ONLY in private schools. Why? Laws changed on what you do with miss-fits. No pension, half the wages, but the miss-fits are sent to public school if the parents don't do something with their kids. Drugs...public school, Four letter words....public school, disrupt the class....public school....the kids learn respect and responsibility fast. Since is it is college prep, the PARENTS learn faster if they want a future for their children.
Yes, the private schools follow the letter of the law and do not mess your kiddie's rights...but if they get out of line.....public school.
I went to both public and private school. Not saying it is right, but in 1966....if I did not get my math correct...I got slapped. I learned to get my times-tables quickly. If I said a bad word, out came the soap...that was a private school. In 1974, I watched in horror as a student who had been doing drugs across the street (off campus and out of boundary for the school to do what they legally could) completely shut down a class until the principal came by fifteen minutes later to pull the miss-fit out of the class room. Same student did the same thing the next day. When ever the student did not "skip", the follies played again. That was about the same era that one of these mis-fits that had been held back too many years picked me up off my feet in a choke-hold until I passed out and saw stars.....that was public school.....and oh yeah....I did not do anything to get darn near choked to death except stand by a girl that this miss-fit liked......I was in his domain.
sigh andrew can you please
sigh
andrew can you please also delete any comment that contains the word 'right', 'left', 'liberal' or 'conservative'
Overdue, indeed, but better
Overdue, indeed, but better late than never. I can't help but notice that there's been a big drop in Soldier No Longer xxx and Col. Gentile's comment frequency around the same time that the rude idiot frequency has been going up. As much as I enjoy the posts here, the civil debates between knowledgeable people in the comments has always been the main value of this blog to me. I hope banishing the yobs will bring back more of that.
andrew....got a better
andrew....got a better idea....
Just shut down the blog.
Really. How much time do
Really. How much time do you put into it and how much do you get out?
Your readership has dropped and the COIN subject is worn out. Most of the people are posting to make themselves feel good. Some academic macho thing.
Stop doing the blog thing and go write a paper.
This is just an echo chamber
Can't Deus Ex and Zak's
Can't Deus Ex and Zak's comments also be considered "jerk"ish? I myself feel a bit harassed by Zak's content and Deus Ex's liberal use of bad words. Please fix this.
I get the feeling that the
I get the feeling that the troll is still here.
Nerds/interns/whoever at CNAS, the same guy(s) posting under numerous and different pseudonyms to give the impression of a majority voice needs to stop. If one guys has 30 names, he needs to either have his same name attached to all that he is posting, or be temporarily banned. In no way would that suffocate his freedom of speech, it just makes trolls more easily identifiable.
And there is nothing wrong with the liberal use of bad words, especially when it's directed to an issue that is pretty insulting. Exum doesn't owe us, his readers, anything. Hell, we've gleaned all the information from him for free. But to openly admit to changing a policy because some randoms in his office complained, rather than listen to what his most ardent readers had to say on the issue? That's some BS.
You know that the only
You know that the only people that will be left in this blog will be the ones that agree with each other.......
Is that what you want?
But I can still make fun of
But I can still make fun of *you*, right?
So long as that's still allowed, cool.
BTW, Kate got the piano on Sunday. Go to my hooch, hear her play, sink into the couch-of-no-return and enjoy.
Bateman of Rome
As one of the "randoms",
As one of the "randoms", Deus Ex, has self-importantly mentioned, I too am offended. But unlike him, I will ban no one or request to ban someone.
Some Dogs have a traumatic
Some Dogs have a traumatic history....
Most Dogs that are shy or fearful can be rehabilitated.
If a Dog is not manifesting any aggression and is simply shy / timid the Dog can lead a healthy life. A healthy life with a sensitive companion.
If a Dog shows aggression, than the rehabilitation process can be more complex.
Some processes could include detention, isolation, changing of diet and loss of freedom of movement
What if the rehabilitation process is unsuccessful? I shutter at what might happen....
You know the song and dance pretty well...... don't you Zak?
.
.
.
Why don't you tell everyone in here what you do for a living?
Look its a fair call that
Look its a fair call that some people post under pseudonyms, they have careers etc that don't allow them the freedom to post under their real names. But when that is used by trolls to randomly spray vitriol and abuse, then that needs to be looked at.
That of late this blog has become a platform for all sorts of invective has been disheartening. IN the same way that I wouldn't choose to associate with homophobes or racists at a park, i don't really want to spend time with them on the net.
So bravo Exum, good call.
Gosh, I hope it wasn't
Gosh, I hope it wasn't something I said.
@ David Sutton, Don't
@ David Sutton,
Don't mistake being anti-homosexual is the same as racism. Many Catholic hispanics, Southern Baptist Blacks and Evangelical Whites are anti-homosexual, or any other forms of sexual deviance. Gay marriage in CA was repealed by Hispanics and Blacks. Hispanics, Blacks, other non-Whites and poor Whites make up your enlisted military force. We don't appreciate being forced to watch the latest Lady Gaga video, while you say this is the new America.
You might think me ignorant, and not associate with me at the park or the Metro for that matter. Or you may think that your PhD automatically makes you more enlightened and cultured than me. But we share this distain for deviant sexuality with the very people we are fighting with and against in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are the majority in the world, so it would behoove you to listen to us.
Deus Ex, With all due
Deus Ex,
With all due respect to this site's longest reader (as you claim to be)... Please get off your high horse, visit a strip joint or something. Lighten up.
I hate falling for the troll
I hate falling for the troll bait, but care to tell me when I ever said I am "the site's longest reader?" I never said such a thing, but I have been reading this blog for something around 3 years now.
So no, you aren't being objective.
I'm sorry. You're self
I'm sorry. You're self important tone was misconstrued. But you do seem to speak as if you're Abu Muqawama's biggest number #1 fan. Which, and I'm just being observant here, is kinda gay. And harassing the CNAS interns doesn't help either, just a hint. Again please lay off the bad words, you're offending us all.
"Don't mistake being
"Don't mistake being anti-homosexual is the same as racism."
A bigot's a bigot.
I have a gay cousin. And we
I have a gay cousin. And we always talk about his homosexuality. We've agreed that it is a preference. But whether it is identity and whether it should be politicized is another issue. I will fight for my gay cousin and his gay lover, but I do not agree with this celebration. Any form of sexuality should be kept private. If you like doing it with your pet dog or with fruits, We don't need to see, much less know about it. Keep it private, that's all we ask. Please respect that and we will respect your choice.
I don't need to see a young Asian male, sitting on an older White guy's lap, making out in a bus stop. I don't need to see men wearing black leather outfits licking on dildos during parades. We don't need to be constantly bombarded by these images. Keep it private. We don't walk around licking pocket pussies in the streets. It's all about respect. I respect my gay cousin, but if he starts giving a hand job to his gay lover in front of my 7 yr old daughter, I have to take some sort of action. But they respect us not to do that in front of us. Respect, without it is utter Chaos.
Awesome I just got a PhD!
Awesome I just got a PhD! Gotta tell Mums. Was way easier than I thought, just a few regular posts at AM!
@Misfit.....huh????? Use to
@Misfit.....huh?????
Use to keep Russian Wolfhounds.
They were very well treated and taken care of. Way better than I have seen some people treat their children in public.
AM.....a suggestion.
If you want to keep this blog academic, stay with an academic format. Some of your random postings seem to draw the most behavior that this string is discussing.
If you're interested in
If you're interested in keeping your good people and getting rid of the bad, a login system would be ideal...kick who you want to get rid of and keep those who play friendly. Easy enough...
Good call on policing the
Good call on policing the site. Every blog with a comment section faces this situation sooner or later. Cracking down now and then is a necessary evil; however, what really keeps a blog's comment section worthwhile is the intolerance of regular readers for trollish or vulgar posts. CNAS has interns who can do some of the editing, but for post bloggers policing the site is a lot of work to do themselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZf39fzu1Q4 (Riding the Bus)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7157QMW9abM (In a Fight)
LOL. Nuff said.
Bring it on, AM. I said
Bring it on, AM.
I said essentially the same thing over at Pat Lang's blog recently. The exact same reasoning applies here.
You don't really have a viable choice, nor does anyone else anymore. Except to simply shut down comments altogether. That's happened to far too many blogs.
It simply does not make sense to refuse to enforce minimal standards of polite discourse. If you do that, the comments become a sewer, and nobody with any sense is going to waste time walking around in a sewer.
It really does get worse than that, if it's allowed to. I've had the "privilege" of combing links to drive-by system compromise exploits out of the comments sections of blogs in past years. What a feast those must have been for their readers.
Good for you.
You just articulated a
You just articulated a commenting policy that basically sets the standard of conduct at what the overwhelming majority of people would regard as the outer threshold of offensive behavior, short of criminal conduct. You preceded it with "I hate having to do this." Why do you hate drawing a line that should never be crossed? That would be like a lawmaker saying, "geez, I hate to have to do this, but we're going to outlaw murder."
Frankly Ex, I've found
Frankly Ex, I've found enough of the comments section offensive, mean-spirited, and destructive that I rarely visit the site more than once a week now, almost never comment any more, and actually preface recommendations to students and others with a disclaimer regarding your flock of trolls.
By all mean censor the comments. Indeed, I would moderate the comments altogether--I don't think anyone who knows you and follows the debates here would worry that you would thereby exclude critical (but reasoned) comment.
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