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Submitted by Sarah on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 9:55am.
Here is my theory. Our world and our lives within it are not always easy. Rough times. Shit happens. Things suck. Life ain't fair. We don't always have ways to vent and debrief and renew communally. Attaining adulthood doesn't automatically mean that we know how to take good care of ourselves and each other. We may not know how to manage our emotions and thoughts. We may be struggling a lot with seemingly little success and much stress. We want solutions and blaming someone or something can feel like a solution. An answer. Life ain't fair and no one or thing is perfect. So we have plenty of opportunities to blame others. OlyBlog is a public container. Sometimes we have tempests in our teapots. Sometimes emotions sweep through our community(ies) and even usually cooler heads get steamed. It happens. Rick as our founder and as our public "main guy" is going to get the brunt of this when it comes Olyblog's way. We docents might get some to a lesser degree. Truly, we aren't perfect. Olyblog isn't perfect. What Olyblog is - is all of us.
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OlyBlog.net OlyBlog is devoted to hyperlocal news and discussion specifically about Olympia, Washington. Contributors to OlyBlog are citizen journalists who care about their community and are tired of corporate media. If you'd like to contribute, please register for an account. Here is a list of local news beats that need to be covered. You can post your news as a personal blog entry, and it will be reviewed (and possibly edited) for promotion to the front page. You can also send news via email. All members of OlyBlog agree to abide by our Social Contract. You should also look at our comment and fair use policies. If you are frustrated about something said in a comment thread, go here. Olyblogger of the Month: Docents are fellow citizen journalists who volunteer to be at your service in order to help with any blog-related issues. They are: Rob RichardsInterests: community building; participatory art, democracy and economics; local politics; citizen journalism. emmettoconnell Interests: City Council, developing a local issues forum. enpen Interests: OlyBlog calendar, Oly street art, local artist interviews, his family, poetry and stuff. Robert Whitlock Interests: peace, justice, nature, nonviolence, media, environment Rick Interests: citizen journalism, hyperlocal media, the knowledge commons. Docent email list Latest Classified Ads Books & Collections ›Blog Local Blog Skool 
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OlyBlog is a site for news and discussion about Olympia, Washington. |
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So true. This is sort of off
Submitted by OperaGirl on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 10:06am.So true.
This is sort of off topic but on topic...I was thinking that perhaps a good rule to abide by when one finds themselves typing out a heated comment is to think "Would I say this to my mother/grandmother/grandfather/whoever?" Or ask youself "Would I say this if this conversation were in person rather than over the internet?"
OperaGirl
Submitted by JstPlnOnry on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 10:13am.While yours are great ideas, unfortunatley it's those very reasons some people feel more inclined to post heated comments! Because they can't say it to their mother, etc & because they wouldn't say it in person when they can hide behind a monitor & keyboard!
I just figure I'm an adult, no matter where you are, you're going to run into somebody who says it like it is whether it's a heated comment or moment or not! I can choose to engage or choose to walk away! Here, I can choose to engage or choose not to respond!
I guess because I am an adult who knows how to make wise choices, deleting posts and banning people from commenting really saddens me. They have a right to their opinion just as much as I have a right to mine! I'm not always going to like their opinions but it doesn't mean I have to silence them over it. And I certainly wouldn't like being silenced for my opinions! (Which is why I call Aaron Mason out for his stupid ban button and criteria so much!)
JstPlnOnry
"Do not mistake for conspiracy and intrigue what can best be explained by stupidity and incompetence." - Unknown
I hear you. And.......
Submitted by Sarah on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 10:29am.........we can agree to disagree on this one. :)
See, I don't believe anything can be everything, nor should it try to be. Meaning that OlyBlog has specific goals and structures in place for doing what it does. It doesn't have to do anything else. For instance, we don't have to provide space for everything all the time, and we don't and can't please everyone all the time.
One way I think of OlyBlog is as a container. Limits, walls, decisions, and choices are not inherently bad. We don't have to do everything, be everything, there are a myriad of other choices and venues available to us.
I believe sometimes comments and posts need to be deleted. I don't fear that I am somehow entirely silencing the person, because there are so many opportunites for them to be heard. It just doesn't have to be necessarily here.
Also, I don't personally believe that moderating posts directly causes people to get hot and emotional. We each are responsible for our own posts. No one reaches in and makes me type at the keyboard. Yes, some things trigger us, yes it is important to pay attention to the results of our actions. Still, I am responsible for my own actions.
I'm speaking as a fellow member here. I appreciate the fact that this is a moderated site.
You've articulated...
Submitted by Rick on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 1:24pm....very well what has been floating through my mind for the last several days. The reason OlyBlog is not like the Olympian comment threads is because we have some structure. People have chafed under our loosely defined system from time to time, but the continued popularity and productivity of the blog attests to the success of this model.
When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion. -C.P. Snow
While yours are great ideas,
Submitted by OperaGirl on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 10:47am.While yours are great ideas, unfortunatley it's those very reasons some people feel more inclined to post heated comments! Because they can't say it to their mother, etc & because they wouldn't say it in person when they can hide behind a monitor & keyboard!
I mostly agree with this. However, I don't think it's always a conscious choice or thought though. So maybe if people were more conscious about their posting in that way it would deter the personal attacks.
Definitely on topic
Submitted by Sarah on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 10:13am.That is a great idea. "Would I say this to a loved one?" "Would I say this to this person if they were standing right in front of me?"
I'm glad that most of the time
Submitted by Guglielmo on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 11:00am.We are truly cool
Submitted by Sarah on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 11:04am.As for buttons, I love that saying that goes something like...."She knows how to push your buttons cause she installed them.".
la la la la la
Submitted by Rob Richards on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 12:43pm.la la la la la
So, how many new members
Submitted by Guglielmo on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 11:09am.Many
Submitted by Sarah on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 11:14am.I can only speak for myself
Submitted by Anonymously Larry on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 11:29am.There is nothing on this blog, nor The Olympian, nor any other chat/blog where I've participated, that truly makes me angry. Some issues and responses will force me to use more defined language to get my point across, but I can safely say that anger is not part of the picture.
This is not a life or death issue.
"There is only one race, the human race" - The Neville Brothers
Good reminder
Submitted by Sarah on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 11:37am.I myself do get emotionally caught up sometimes, but I work on remembering to walk away and take a break.
Communicating by text only can be wild. I don't know that it is necessarily any easier or more difficult than in person, but it sure can be different.
Rick's Vision
Submitted by stevenl on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 11:14pm.OlyBlog is the result of Rick's vision. He was the one who opened it up. He was the one who slyly talked me into joining it over two years ago (and I admit I have had no regrets). He was the one who surrendered control to docents 9 months ago or so. As far as I am concerned, Rick would have every right to shut this whole blog down if he wanted. But he hasn't. And he won't. Because Rick is Rick.
Rick doesn't owe the rest of us one damn thing. He started this, he let go of it. How many founders of anything can you say that about? Show me another local blog with a right-wing slant that is as tolerant and open as OlyBlog?
This is still an experiment. It is not a democracy. It is not anarchism. It is not finished. Hopefully it never will be settled. It is an experiment, a work in progress. A growing thing. As such it will be imperfect. Those who seek the black and white answers, the secure footing, the dogmatic solution, will be disappointed here. But those who want to contribute a positive or critical-minded, alternative, original, or creative dialogue (key word, "dialogue") on local life should always find a home here.
So, as we work together, in this social brainstorm, let us be kind to each other in the process. The tenor set by talk radio or Olympian comments doesn't wash here. OlyBlog is attempting to establish a process, not a product. There will be mistakes, blunders, awkward decisions, wrong turns. There are forces out there that hope we fail and will try to take political advantage of every flaw. And there will be plenty of flaws since the whole darn thing has the guts to experiment in public for all the world to see. I really think we are making some kind of history here with this thing we have in spite of the jabbers. Our efforts are already being recognized. It is much more than just "citizen journalism."
And after all, we are all just pixels on a screen in this unverse anyway. So what's the big deal? As the underground cartoonists used to say, "It's just lines on paper, folks."
I am thrilled to be a part of it and
Submitted by Guglielmo on Wed, 09/05/2007 - 10:02am.I'm pleased
Submitted by cupric oxide on Wed, 09/05/2007 - 9:40am.Welcome aboard.
Submitted by Rick on Wed, 09/05/2007 - 9:43am.When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion. -C.P. Snow
What...
Submitted by vincent_vega on Wed, 09/05/2007 - 2:40pm.I think what he meant was
Submitted by Guglielmo on Wed, 09/05/2007 - 2:51pm.I believe that...
Submitted by Rick on Wed, 09/05/2007 - 3:13pm.SondraK's site is local. Olyblog had the proud honor of being put "in the corner, dumb ass" at this site. That's some indication of the tolerance level -- they couldn't even stand sharing the same town.
When you think of the long and gloomy history of man, you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion. -C.P. Snow
Oh man,
Submitted by Guglielmo on Wed, 09/05/2007 - 3:20pm.Still works
Submitted by Sarah on Sun, 01/20/2008 - 4:13pm.Just remembered that I'd written this awhile back and it still holds true for me.
Maybe someday we won't need scapegoats.