So, getting more experience with this blogging thing, I’ve had to delete a couple of very nasty comments in the last day or so, one of which my moderation filter caught, but the other was out there for a bit before I caught it. Gratefully, it was on an old post that no one else had commented on, so I don’t think anyone saw it. (I apologize if you did.)
However, this has made me rethink my WordPress settings, and I’ve changed the commenting policy to require that comment authors have at least one approved comment. Most of my fellow WordPress bloggers wisely left this default setting in. One of my reasons for starting a blog was to get away from heavy handed moderation, and this probably led me to be a bit too lenient.
So, if you haven’t had a comment go to moderation here before, expect it on one comment. It should be the only one unless you post a lot of links.
I very much enjoy the discussion and debate of my regular visitors and this will hopefully keep the environment enjoyable.
Update: Well, it looks like either anyone who has commented before, or perhaps anyone who is authenticated, is grandfathered in by WordPress, which is great! It means I probably could’ve skipped this post, but I do very much appreciate the support. Thank you!
SelfAwarePatterns 
I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of ugly comments, and I leave my blog open too.
Perhaps it’s that short skirt you’re wearing.
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LOLS! I’ve actually been very impressed with the quality of virtually all of the comments, particularly in comparison to some of the HuffPost and Disqus threads I’ve been on. Someone with a lot more traffic linked to me last week, and I got a surge in traffic (brief and fading) and a few trolls appeared to have followed them in.
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I’m not going to lie, I think the opposite. Nasty comments are just a part of the bigger picture of what open speech entails. However, I was not aware of that option within the settings. I just checked, and was surprised to find that I had that option on. I personally am turning it off, as I believe in facilitating conversation of most kinds on my website. I’m not telling you to change your settings, or to adhere to my beliefs. Just thanking you for the information.
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Thanks. I agree, to an extent. As I said, I’m not a fan of heavy moderation. I would never delete a comment just for disagreeing with me. (I’d rather have the debate.)
However, I doubt many of my visitors really want to deal with profanity infused gibberish, misogynistic rants, race baiting, or obvious unconstructive trollery. My plan is to quietly delete those kinds of comments, without argument or discussion.
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That is something that is your choice. It’s a legitimate view, and one that I will not really call out on. I guess I’m just more extreme, as I find those types of comments to be an interesting part of what has become discussion on the internet. Oscar Wilde is famously quoted with “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” This just feels like a natural extension of humanity when it comes to the semi-anonymous nature of the internet.
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I respect that. I hope it provides the insights you seek.
And of course, your views are always welcome here.
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The blog I was at previously had strange beings known as trolls.
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They’re no fun. None so far have been WordPress or otherwise authenticated users.
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I suppose that’s a sign that you’ve reached some new level of internet fame, I suppose – congratulations? You’ve made it? Sigh, so sorry you have some unpleasant nonsense to deal with.
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Thanks. That’s the positive way to look at it. Most of it came when a popular blog linked to me, and my traffic spiked 300% for a couple of days. A small portion has stuck around, which I’m grateful for, but I guess you have to accept that comes with some nastier elements. Nothing too worrisome though. It’s only 3 bad comments out of hundreds so far.
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Trolls, sad but true, comes with the territory I suppose. Your strategy outlined in a reply above sounds like a good one – ignore and eliminate.
More positively, I think you may find something of interest at:
‘Centre for Human Evolution, Cognition, and Culture’
http://www.hecc.ubc.ca/
Thanks to Connor Wood at ‘patheos’s ‘Science on Religion’ I’ve been sidetracked from Damasio’s ‘Self Comes To Mind’ and now I find myself over 50 pages into Emma Cohen’s ‘The Mind Possessed’. Oh well, c’est la vie(stuff happens 🙂 Damasio will wait.
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Excellent. Thanks!
I’ve seen Wood’s post on possession for the last day or so, but your comment just poked me into reading. Very interesting, and your comment there was extremely informative (Wood upvoted it, and I did as well.).
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Thanks, I’ll let you know if I learn anything substantial.
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