(enable "more in sorrow than in anger" voice)

Anyone who's tried to really run a blog will know that it can be a lot of work, especially if you try to do a lot of posting. The only real reason for doing it is because it's fun. And it can be.

It can also be a pain in the ass.

If comments are enabled, then to some extent it becomes a group activity. But it's my blog, not our blog. You're guests, not partners. You are welcome, but you're not owners. I'm the owner.

If that gives me any privilege at all, at the very least it should permit me to decide what gets talked about. Doesn't that make sense? There are a million interactive web sites available; a thousand places to talk about anything you feel like talking about. If you come here and want to talk, it should be about what you find me posting about.

That's why I close threads which are subject to serious topic drift. It doesn't happen very often, but I'm applying the "broken window" principle here and I pounce on them fast. Because if I don't, soon this will cease to be a web site that I myself feel like visiting. Which, since it's mine, really would be unfortunate.

Case in point: I posted about sunspots. In a startlingly small number of steps, the discussion mutated to be about China and the American trade deficit. Or something. Whatever it was, it wasn't about sunspots. So I closed it.

How do I want people to behave? When you feel like posting a comment, ask yourself if it's something you think I'll be glad to read? If not, please resist the urge. You're a guest here; not a co-proprietor. Please act like one. Don't abuse my hospitality. Don't make me miserable.

China and the American trade deficit are legitimate subjects for discussion. But why do you have to talk about them here, when it's obvious I don't want to participate in such a discussion? Can't you find somewhere else to do it?

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in Site Stuff at 05:41 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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