In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

A Quick Note

Lauren

Life has gotten the best of us. Due to the overwhelming number of comments we are taking in daily, and our inability to moderate comments in an adequate and timely manner, all comments will go directly into moderation until further notice. Guest bloggers will continue to approve comments on their own posts, and we will attempt to moderate in the interim.

We apologize for any confusion this may cause. Feel free to complain by email.

18 thoughts on A Quick Note

  1. “Due to the overwhelming number of comments we are taking in daily, and our inability to moderate comments in an adequate and timely manner, all comments will go directly into moderation until further notice.”

    What you really mean to say is because of your inability to censor comments in an adequate and timely manner, all comments will go directly into censorship until further notice.

    The strength of an idea is measured by its ability to withstand critical analysis and comment. I am deeply disappointed that a blog bearing the name “Feministe” ostensibly overseen by proponents of feminist ideology would engage in anything that remotely smacks of censorship. I understand that the forum is a private one, not necessarily open to all posters, but I believe the fundamental principles of Feminisim can withstand the most withering of comment or analysis. Censorship or “moderation” as you call it only looks like you are limiting comment to supporters tacitly acknowledging weaknesses in this very important Socio-Economic Political Movement. I wish you would not do that, it exposes you and the movement to critical attack.

  3. Dear nameless moron:

    Censorship is when the government does it. You do not own this space, or have a right to have your puerile thoughts broadcast here. The marketplace of ideas, like the marketplace for everything, is an imperfect one that can be swamped by a tide of idiocy. See, e.g., the tulip bulbs fad, the real estate bubble, and the comments on YouTube. Moderation is desirable, therefore, in all things, including blogs.

    Fuck off now.

  4. Wait, what? This makes no sense. You can’t moderate comments fast enough… so you’re moderating all comments?

    Huh?

  5. Moderating is not censorship. No one is being prevented from expressing themselves *at all*. Some people are prevented from expressing themselves *here*, with absolutely no direct consequences beyond that, and some people are *delayed* in expressing themselves here (occasionally inconvenient or disruptive to the flow of discourse, but hardly punitive). It is possible to disagree with a general moderation policy or the moderation decision for a particular comment without absurdly conflating moderation with censorship.

  6. OK, you know, I have serious issues with some of the things Lauren said WRT to the FA blowup, but this is not your blog BNG (and I rather doubt you are talking about that, anyway). You are welcome to start your own blog and allow all kinds of comments on it. Plenty of blogs moderate all comments. There are blogs that don’t allow comments, period. Cope.

  7. JYaYa: Wait, what? This makes no sense. You can’t moderate comments fast enough… so you’re moderating all comments?Huh? (Quote this comment?)

    Comments that go into moderation now take so long to be approved that the difference between comments that go straight through and those that enter moderation and must be approved is too great. The individuals whose comments go straight through will have an unfair advantage in terms of their impact on the conversation, because they will be able to respond to others and be responded to more frequently. Since their comments do not sit in moderation for an extended period of time, they will be visible for a longer period of time as well. Requiring all comments to go through moderation will level the playing field.

  8. OMG! My thoughts cannot be broadcast immediately on THIS website which I am inexplicably invested in even though I do none of the work!!! How dare you have a life outside of this blog and how dare you say I can’t say all the offensive things I want to directly to the people my offensiveness is intended to hurt! My feminism includes allowing asshats to bludgeon marginalized people with their privilege.

  9. Is there a concern troll/OMG censorship!!11!1! bingo card? I feel like I need one for BNG020421’s comment.

  10. The problem with this is that, for example, if a thread has, say, 100 comments, and then it says it has 105 comments the next time I look, what it’s reasonable to do is scroll down to the bottom of the page to see what’s new. But with everything in moderation, the last comment might be #105 but the new comments are at position # 12, 50, 73, 84, and 96, requiring that the reader go carefully back over the entire thread every single time. It’s a tremendous waste of time.

  11. What you really mean to say is because of your inability to censor comments in an adequate and timely manner, all comments will go directly into censorship until further notice….

    Oh, internet! You are like my mom’s meatloaf with little chunks of glass in. So familiar, and yet endlessly captivating.

  14. random sheepless lurker: But with everything in moderation, the last comment might be #105 but the new comments are at position # 12, 50, 73, 84, and 96, requiring that the reader go carefully back over the entire thread every single time. It’s a tremendous waste of time. random sheepless lurker

    Actually, this is not true. The situation you describe would be a result of sending some, but not all comments to moderation. Sending all of the to moderation results in exactly what you want: All new comments will be at the end of the thread.

  15. @FasionablyEvil: I think one could write an entire Bingo card using exclusively the comments in that one post. Like for example:

    1. Thinks that comment moderation equals TOTAL CENSORSHIP OF EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE.
    2. Comment moderation on one blog means that an entire social movement, (one that began and continues outside the internet) is weakened.
    3. The small number of individuals responsible for moderating a blog are responsible for all communications within an entire global movement, so they MUST moderate quickly or hurt the movement.
    4. Because “the fundamental principles of Feminism can withstand any withering comment” therefore the individuals responsible for moderating this one blog are obligated to spend their whole lives in front of their computers moderating.

    And so on.

  16. sannanina: Actually, this is not true. The situation you describe would be a result of sending some, but not all comments to moderation. Sending all of the to moderation results in exactly what you want: All new comments will be at the end of the thread.  (Quote this comment?)

    That’s not necessarily true. Some comments might be take more time to be approved than others. Let’s say that Lauren signs on to approve comments, and she only has several minutes to spend moderating. She might approve the shorter comments, and leave the longer comments in moderation until she has time to read them.

  17. Bushfire, I think what BNG was saying is that bloggers must never spend *any* time moderating, because moderation is censorship and smells like poo poo.

  18. I’m starting to wonder if BNG posted that to give us something to laugh about and break some of the tension from the fatphobia threads. . .

    If that’s the case, then well done, BNG!

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