Our bloggers are complaining that certain commentators are beginning to make the site a free blog site of their own.
In future comments on blogs are to be limited to 150 words, and apart from single line replies to other commentators, no more than two comments totalling 200 words. Comments going over these limits will be taken down
Your co-operation is appreciated
Thank you
The Editor
In my view, Editor Harris is doing an excellent job under highly conflicting pressures.
My respect to him.
And I apologise to Editor Harris and to the wider SR community for the displeasure I have caused over recent months by way of long comments which others have judged to be self-indulgent on my part.
Such a heartfelt apology. I think I’m going to cry.
Better to save your tears, while keeping your heart open.
And devise and deploy methods by which we can save ourselves from the Big State and its many constituent apparatus.
Are apologies to our betters the answer? It’s been tried before. An example:
https://allthatsinteresting.com/cultural-revolution#18
Advice to Commentators
Commentators v. Commenters ?
Discuss (in less than 151 words)
Is it something I said ? Is a punctuation mark equivalent to a word under this new policy ?
I think the editor’s salvo is more in the manner of a warning shot. But is it not just a matter of manners? Have your say and then let others have theirs. Comment sections get very tedious when they turn into private conversations and/or abusive slanging matches. The best blog comments over the years on this site have been better than the blogs themselves because they have been lucid and concise. Thinking of which, maybe a committee of grammatical public safety would serve better as a filter. Boorish comments would automatically fall foul.
‘Concision in style, precision in thought, decision in life’ (Victor Hugo)
Karen Dusek, much of what you say makes sense, but as you know, the Public Safety Committee experiment was tried in the early 1790s. How did that work out?
Have I exceeded the new 150 word limitation? I flunked arithmetic in Grade 2 and am slightly dyslectic to boot.
Nature abhors a vacuum. What has happened to Michael McManus?
I actually like the idea of “regulars” more power to their elbow I would say. Most complaints are from behind net curtains.
Nature abhors a vacuum.
I’d never heard that before, but I’ve never read Heidegger. My cleaning lady said something like it once. In Polish.
Is this a business opportunity? Set up a subsidiary ‘Salisbury Soap Box’ – subscription fee £x p.a, only subscribers allowed to post. Profits to support the SR.
Good idea. Who has the smarts, resources and time to set it up?
Now there’s a thought: lockdown as a cure for verbal diarrhoea. Hope it works.
It’s alright.
I take this as a message from God to spend my time elsewhere, with the implication it will be time better spent.
All best wishes to the blogger-complainants -Harry.
There is some small hope in No-Longer-England – see the articles by Rod Liddle, Douglas Murray, Taki, Toby Young and Lionel Shriver in “The Spectator” weekly, though its print-blog, i.e. correspondence page, takes first prize for banality.
For how long? Elected US Presidents can now now banned on dishonest pretexts from making their case cybernetically.
Removed for childish swearing – possibly drunk or brain damaged
Tee hee.
And they all fell into respectful silence, awe actually, when Blearghhhhh deigned to orate.
Not really in favour of restrictions on speech. And I didn’t think the Salisbury review would be either. I won’t be posting here again.
Jesus wept. It’s not a question of free speech. I really think you should learn the meaning of the phrase.
Chichot (It’s Polish)
Sorry, Pictish. Good Dr Phil is fretting about these new restrictions on word numbers, not freedom. He knows that he’s still perfectly free to call you an *ss.
That said, Pict, I favour the new policy (after today) due to my limited attention span where you’re concerned.
restrictions on length
Mind the gap.
Readers can always ignore or answer other bloggers or add comments of THEIR own.
I do not intend to post anything here again unless specifically attacked myself.
Sometimes, David, it’s hard to ignore other bloggers. Just yesterday, I was challenged to a fist fight. I’m no Barry Lyndon, but I cannot not run away. However, I did suggest, instead of fisticuffs, water pistols at 20 paces on April Fools Day. Haven’t heard back from my challenger yet.
“I cannot not run away”
Freudian slip. Apologies.