Duncan Riley> Microsoft uber-blogger has responded to the Blog Herald on my comments here in the first time I’ve been priveleged to get into a blog fight with a high profile blogger since Andy Baio tried to exploit the Star Wars Kid.
Scoble writes at WebProNews:
“Here’s a clue: you want free speech? Get your own blog. Comments are owned by the person who’s blog they are on. They aren’t a place you’re gonna get free speech (although, my policy here is to not delete any comment). I HATE entitlement. That attitude has gotta go. You don’t have the right to take me down by posting illegal stuff or stuff that’ll get me sued or spam or really anything in my comment area. Because it’s on my blog I’m responsible for it. It has my name associated with it. So, no, you TOTALLY don’t get what free speech is if you think you should have free and unfettered speech in everyone’s comment area. Get a clue about what free speech is.”
I’ll agree with Scoble on one thing, start calling people paedophiles and what not and I’ll be deleting your comments, but killing the conversation, or as others call it, “cluetrain”, based on one persons opinion that is clearly identified as opinion, is definitely not the answer.
Nick W contends that free speech is not the right tact to take on Scobles comments, and writes
“but Duncan chose the wrong angle to argue – you cant win that free speech thing, Scoble’s right, but you can with the “you twat, what the f*ck are you talking about” argument, ‘cos it’s much simpler, and spot on.”
and maybe he’s right, but I still think cutting off comments is like trying to kill a fly with a sledgehammer: over kill. But I cant help but to quote Nick again earlier last week:
“Services, and I view TW (ThreadWatch) as a service, need to have structure, guidance, and moderation of the conversation, but you can do all of those things whilst still enabling the discussion rather than stifling it, or in the worst examples, choking the life out of it.”
Cutting off comments is killing the discussion: remember Scoble suggested:
” Yet another reason to moderate your comments and/or turn them off.”
So here we are, think I’m a complete and utter bastard, tell me so (watch the language, we try to keep it family friendly), but the difference between me and Scoble is that I’ll defend the right of people to share opinions here at the Blog Herald. Scoble would rather you not be heard unless you’re willing to write about it exclusively on your own blog or you have a multi-billion dollar employer who will provide you the legal protection should someone be naughty with their comments.
Dare one say that if we are to persue Scobles suggestion that we will be indulging in a clueless-train? :-)
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