It’s My Blog and I Can Write if I Want To
I pay $7.95 a month for hosting a blog because I enjoy writing. I don’t profess to be a professional of any sort, much less a technical writer. I enjoy writing though so I take the time out from my busy/hectic work/school/home schedule to write about the new things I learn about Linux. Why Linux? Because it’s the operating system I’ve been using on my desktop for the past 6 years. I don’t always get everything right (after all, I AM NOT A TECHNICAL WRITER), but I like to think that I at least help some people ease the transition between Linux and Windows. I don’t write for system administrators but for the common public. With this in mind, I try to make things as easy as possible to understand. That may mean skipping over some technical details, but that’s ok. The new user doesn’t need to become a system administrator to run Linux on their desktop.
I have found during my writing experience though that a LOT of the Linux community is very rude and whiny. System administrators read my posts and critique them as if they were school assignments, usually with little respect shown towards the time and research it took to write them.
If I was really writing for the Linux community and not myself, I would quit just because the community obviously does not appreciate my input (or anyone’s input for that matter except their own). This isn’t just a trend I’ve noticed on my blog but on other people’s blogs as well. We bloggers just can’t please the Linux community unless we happen to be programmers, system administrators, technical writers, or the like.
The number one problem I see in Linux being adopted more on the desktop is the attitude of the community. When I first started with Linux 6 years ago the community was a lot different. People were helpful, friendly, respectful, and they didn’t treat me like I was a moron. Now I find the community is mostly filled with complainers and criticizers. There are times I ponder whether I should even bother answering comments or not. Or shut comments down completely.
Show some respect when you comment on someone’s blog. Remember they’re not doing it for you, and they’re not getting paid by you to do it. If the layout isn’t what you prefer so what? It’s not your blog. If they don’t say what you think they should say so what? Again, it’s not your blog. That’s not to say that suggestions are not welcome but it is to say those suggestions should be made respectfully and don’t be surprised/angry if your suggestions are taken with a grain of salt.
To those who do not like what I have to say, that’s fine. To those who do not like my layout, that’s fine too. Go spend the money to host your own blog and do whatever you like with it. Everyone is entitled to their own creative outlets. Stop trying to live through me.
xjonquilx | Mepis, Ubuntu, Fedora, Linux, Oh My!
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“We are all born mad. Some remain so.” 
Now, How am I supposed to leave a smart comment NOW? I like my Windows bugs, and I’ll keep them, lol. THIS IS MY BLOG. IT’S MINE AND YOU CAN’T HAVE IT!
AND last but not least, you ARE a professional writer, don’t sell yourself short. You make the occasional dollar? Professional. 😉 Me too, for that matter, one day, it’s going to be a career.
C’mon, you wanted it, now you got it and stop whining. Ask yourself the question: “why do I want to be read”. I’ll tell you as a fellow blogger: it is a vanity thing. You think your opinion is so important, it has to be read. Since it is an opinion some won’t agree with you and a minority of those will find a reason to react. Add to that the trolls and idiots and you got your comment crowd. But since it is your blog, you can erase them. Small tip: define a policy and live by it. Bottom line is: if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen. http://thebeezspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/01/of-ripples-in-pond.html
Seems like you ave 2 solutions…
1. Allow no comments – spare you from trolls and idiots
2. Approve comments and publish those that you agree with.
After all, it is your blog and you pay for it.
I abhor censorship, so deleting the comments I don’t like doesn’t really seem like a solution. However, like I said, disallowing comments may just be the solution to this. The only problem with that is there are people I do want to correspond with that give helpful advice.
I think I’m just going to start selectively responding to comments. That seems like the most logical and fair solution.
I wrote this though because I really want people to take a look at how they comment on other’s blogs. Are your comments useful/helpful/encouraging or are they trollish? There just seems to be no point in making a trollish comment on someone’s blog.
Also, this is supposed to be a community. There should be some sort of standards set in how a community communicates.
Do you want some salsa to go with that big chip on your shoulder?
I’m not bitter, are you?
The moment you publish an entry, it becomes open to anyone else’s opinion and criticism. You called this a creative outlet; well sure, but that doesn’t mean you have to open it to the public. The moment it’s in the wild, every random dude that pass by it will have an opinion they are entited to about what they see or read. Making comments permissible invites people to express these thoughts, negative or not. If a blogger cannot handle criticism or overlook snide comments, they should write in a private journal or something.
It’s not a matter of not being able to handle it. It’s a matter of wondering WHY?
Well, I’m moderating comments now. Someone was cruel and apathetic enough to criticize me for not being able to make the rent this month and asking my friends for help.
I live in a small town. Things are tight for everyone, especially the small homegrown businesses I cater to. That does not make me less credible; it just makes me broke. There’s no shame in that.
I deleted those comments as well. So much for non-censorship… I’ve been forced in to it because some people can’t act like adults.
You’re so right!
Whatever THEY say, this is YOUR blog. They can read your posts, they can skip them. If you don’t like something, don’t use it.
I have quite a few critics on my site who sometime just troll… Ignore them, if they really disturb you – delete comments. As you said, this is YOUR blog, YOUR territory, YOUR part of Linux world. Fight for it and don’ let enemies to impact what YOU are doing. What THEY are doing is much less then YOU!
You bring Linux to masses who like and read. They only try to stop you… Don’t stop!
DarkDuck, I may not always like what you have to say to me but you really hit the nail on this one. Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. It means a lot to me. Right now I’m doing a lot of thinking on how I want to do this. I have to admit some of the comments here that I deleted got me down. But I’m not the type to give up easily, and I will work this out somehow in that brain of mine so that it computes nicely.
We are in the same boat… to some extent!
😎
I use Linux.
I like to whine.
Hey, you suck. (kidding)
Oh, there I go being rude again.
Never mind. Thank youz.
As Garrison Keillor says, “It’s all material.”
That is, material for your next post or writing project. In my experience, any comment that contains the phrase “stop whining” has been written by an idiot. But as you know, idiots write wildly stupid things that can be satirized.
I had one person (anonymously of course) leave a complaint on a personal, non-profit, for-fun blog I do that my posts were too short, and that he was going elsewhere. I replied that his refund was already in the mail. D’Oh!
I wrote a fairly funny post on an expat site about my experience getting a passport. One comment said “Stop whining, it ain’t that bad”. And other things.
After fuming for a few days I was able to incorporate that into an updated (and much funnier) version that I put on my own blog.
So, thanks to the fool who made my work better. My work is now better and he’s still a fool.
Do what works for you but don’t let the bastards get you down.
Well, why should you comment every comment? If you said all there’s been said, there is no need to. And trolls, I usually warn them when they’re not staying on track and then delete their comments. Still, you need to set guidelines IMHO.
I think if a smartass “critiques” one of your posts, just take it as constructively as possible, i.e. is there any merit in what they are trying to add. Usually there will be (because TMTOWTDI – theres more than one way to do it). Worst case – I suppose there must be a minority of snotty or abrasive followers, but it will only be that – a minority. The Linux folk I’ve met have been nice people.