Some of them are crazy things happening in the World, which I like to highlight because they get swept under the carpet to more important issues like who's dating Jennifer Aniston. Others are things I think about which build up until I have to write it down. All of them are tempered with humor and wit.
When I started this Blog, I did something that many would say is a bad idea--I turned the comments off. Although some would definitely spin that fact into me not being able to handle the heat, the truth is actually a lot simpler.
I have avoided partaking in the more popular aspects of the internet for a long time. I didn't blog when blogging was the new big thing. I didn't join Myspace until it was already yesterday's news, then I realized how useless it was and I dumped it. I don't have a Facebook page, and I'm still trying to figure out why I should care about Twitter.
When I came to the realization that I wanted to write, and that no one in their right mind would ever let me write articles in a newspaper, I decided blogging was for me. When I started going through my thought process and planning my Blog, I made two major decisions:
The first decision, was that I would remain anonymous as long as I could. I don't need death threats or general pathetic drama because I'm expressing myself on the internet. I'm not afraid of the quote "Cyberbullies", I just don't have that kind of time. I suppose it's kind of ridiculous and doesn't matter, but whatever. It gave me the option to not post my real name, and I took it.
The second decision, was that I would turn off the comments. My posts are genuine articles. The subject matter is my opinion. When they're posted, that is the final word. When you read an article in the newspaper, you don't get to write your opinion of their opinion down on a blank spot underneath the article and then redistribute it for everyone to read. You get to write a letter to the columnist and tell him what a twit he is. This is why my e-mail address is in the top right corner of this blog.
I don't know who made this picture, but trust me, I give them full credit.I have been on the internet since its inception. If there's one thing I know about, it's how easy it is for someone to hijack a blog, post forum, or any website which allows for posted comments.
Do I value your opinion? If you write me an e-mail, whether in agreement or disagreement, maintaining civility and restraint (no expletives), then the answer is yes. If you give me a garbled, incoherent, expletive-laden brain-flush, then the answer is no.
If required, I have all the time in the World to reply to your mail. However, I do not have time to get into a big internet drama where I get 4200 comments to one of my post and then spend the next week rebutting every comment. I don't have that kind of time or energy; I have another article to write and post.
Some people would consider this to be the coward's way out. I consider this to be the subject of this article.
Young Nathan and a few others have a blog called St. Eutychus. Nathan decided to post a blog entry entitled "Five things that would make atheists seem nicer". PZ Myers didn't like Nathan's post and decided to make his own blog entry "Advice for atheists?", and that's when the circus came to town.
Approximately two hundred comments from angry Atheists flaming Nathan ensued. This is my rough estimate, because some of the two hundred and twenty-two comments made were rebuttals from Nathan. Due to the influx in both comments and traffic, the blog was killed for nine hours until Nathan and his fellow bloggers could find a new host.
There are moments when we think we have good ideas. Then events happen which make us realize those good ideas were actually great ideas. As I'm standing in that moment, I would like to impart some wisdom to someone who is not.
Dear Nathan,
1. Turn the comments off.
2. Next time, and we all know there will be a next time, entitle your blog entry: Five things that would make me care what an Atheist thinks.
Then leave the entry blank.
