A few days ago I left a comment on the NZEDGE website. Though subsequent comments have been posted mine has not. I cross posted it here The interesting thing to me is the question of what one allows to be posted on one's website after inviting visitors to comment.
Here is my policy. You comment and I post. I moderate the comments on the following basis:
Read.
Check for vileness (bad language, spam, ...that's pretty much it.)
Why, after all, would I invite you to speak, then shut you down?
A shame really. Perhaps the Edge sight seems more interested in spin than participation in the conversation.
Bottom line: ideas don't expand when you feel the need to control them. I would say that if you promote ideas then promote diversity, not homogeneity.
Leave a comment.
Better than even chance it will be published.
Here is my policy. You comment and I post. I moderate the comments on the following basis:
Read.
Check for vileness (bad language, spam, ...that's pretty much it.)
Why, after all, would I invite you to speak, then shut you down?
A shame really. Perhaps the Edge sight seems more interested in spin than participation in the conversation.
Bottom line: ideas don't expand when you feel the need to control them. I would say that if you promote ideas then promote diversity, not homogeneity.
Leave a comment.
Better than even chance it will be published.
Blog censorship (other than for the obvious reasons you mention) is bad, However are you sure this is a case of censorship and not some little technical glitch in the wonderverse that is the internet.
ReplyDeleteNZEdge takes a valid space and, despite it being a very positive front for Vesty/Roberts, that doesn't make it any less valid.
Thoughtspurs is a good move for David Macgregor but equally a valid forum for discussion and communication.
Or maybe I'm being a little too much of an apologist?????
Bang on. They would do better just shutting off comments.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ben. Please don't get me wrong. I like The Edge. I have a permanent link to it on this blog - (and KR's). I sometimes find it stimulating. It is an initiative that matters. We both know how important it is for NZ to promote itself in the world. Messrs Sweeney and Roberts are sensational ambassadors and I hold each in the highest regard (though I have never met either). They also promote the creative economy - either specifically or de facto .
ReplyDeleteYour comment reminds me of The Four Agreements: Number 3: Don't make assumptions
Mr Sweeney replied by email:
David, I have not seen your comment, perhaps there was a posting error, I could have missed it but unlikely, I have read your cross post and think it's a terrific comment, none of the issues you raise in your follow-up comment apply here or are accurate. I've just boarded a plane from the US to NZ so will pick this up again in LA. cheers Brian
(Unedited)
So, ...busy man.
Good for him for replying.
As for being an 'apologist'. What's wrong with apologising? It's always more more sociallly useful than denial and has a more comfortable relationship with the truth.
I like your neologism: wonderverse.
thanks David - just saw your reply to my reply to your post so thought i'd reply again - really it's a Multi-ply. Anyway - as you mention Brian is a busy man - he's got less spare time to waste blogging than myself methinks! Keep up the good work and stay in touch - symbiosis, commonality of vision and creativity can go a huge way to dragging NZ out of it's low OECD quagmire!
ReplyDelete