Zathras' Great Machine

A slight change in policy

No, I am not returning to regularly scheduled blogging yet, but after finding yet another comment in my blog this morning from a rude person (which I have just deleted), I have decided to implement a new policy. But first, a bit of background.

As everyone knows, courtesy, politeness, and good manners have become increasingly rare over the years, and the trend shows no signs of abating -- it is reasonably safe to assume that our "society" is going to continue to become ever more rude as time goes on. I am under no illusion that I, alone, would have the power to slow or reverse this trend, and as I become increasingly cynical about the human race in general, I find myself less and less inclined to make the effort (there was a time when I felt differently).

However, as the old saying goes, "A man's home is his castle". If, for example, I have you over to my apartment as a guest for dinner or hanging out or whatever, and you call my girlfriend a whore, I am going to ask you to leave, and if you do not do so, I will call the police and charge you with trespassing. It is my right, as the leaseholder on this apartment, to admit, or deny admission, to anyone I choose, for whatever reason I choose. In my own case, my decision in that area is based, as it is with so many other hosts, on the guest's level of courtesy; that is to say, I expect my guests to exhibit good manners, and if they do not do so, they are no longer welcome.

Some have occasionally objected to such a policy on the grounds that it is a violation of my guest's right to free speech, under the First Amendment, if I choose to deny admission to anyone who calls my girlfriend a whore (to revert to the previous example). Such an objection is based on a flawed understanding of constitutional principles. Private property rights override constitutional protections -- in my own home, for example, I can say, "No Bibles allowed," and that's the end of it. Anyone attempting to claim a First Amendment right to bring a Bible into my home, under such circumstances, would be laughed out of court.

This principle, for me, extends to the Internet as well. I consider this blog, like my apartment, to be my home. It is private property, and when you post comments here, you are, in my view, acting in the same capacity as if you were a guest in my apartment. I expect people who post on my blog to conduct themselves properly. In the past, I have approached this problem -- the problem of guests in my 'Net home behaving poorly -- with attempts to try to show such people that their behavior is wrong, and that they need to change it. I will not do this anymore -- I have learned that virtually all such people are quite ineducable, besides which, I am not anyone's father, and I have better things to do with my time in any event.

Therefore, effective immediately: if you post rude comments to my blog, you may expect your comment to be deleted and your IP to be blocked, which is the Internet equivalent of my ejecting you from my home. If you want to be rude, you are perfectly free to do so someplace else, but this is my home, and I expect courtesy here. I also expect courtesy toward my other guests; e.g., if you call Matt an asshole, you may expect me to respond the same way I'd respond if you called me the same thing.

Please note that this is not an attempt to prevent anyone from making posts disagreeing with me about anything. For example, I support gay marriage; if I say so in a blog entry, and you disagree with my position, you are perfectly free to post a response saying why you think gay marriage is a bad idea. However, I expect you to do so in a civil manner.

I have spoken.

Posted by Zathras at February 7, 2004 01:11 PM