YOU'RE ON NOTICE!

"You're on notice, you Hosers!"

Today I deleted a number of comments from both sides of the Middle Eastern debate.

I have lost all patience for people who are here just spoiling for a fight. Going off-topic is one thing, and it's welcome if it advances the exchange or adds some intelligence, new information or levity, but flame wars and the hijacking of threads are not.

If you're a repeat offender, and some of you already are, your comments will be deleted and your IP will be banned.

Keep this up, and I'll just close all comments.

NB: I have time-stamped this notice well into the future so it remains at the top of the blog for a while.

H/t to Big G. (and Ivor) for the Stephen Colbert pic! To generate one, here's the link.

UPDATE (AUG. 17 @12:17 a.m.): How ironic. On a thread about deleting comments, I have started deleting comments. And now I am closing them.

Comments

[Matthew Carrick]

Ban by IP? Nah. Just charge a modest fee NOT to ban them. Profit!

[estragon]

Good riddance to bad rubbish! There are plenty of other places in the blogosphere for these people to go so they can pick fights with each other. (I wonder how brave they would be if they had to have the discussion in person.)

[True North]

"If you're a repeat offender, and some of you already are, your comments will be deleted and your IP will be banned."

That's the answer. Just do it.

This blog is too good to let it be poisoned by these people.

[Ivan Prokopchuk]

You mean we can't accept the red herring of terrorist plots to obscure the Stalingrad of Lebanon?

[Krister]

AZ,
I agree with the decision you made. The same old, same old rants are getting stale. I for one hit the scroll button on the Israel/Palestine debate.

The other thing I like to see is you getting back to what brought me to this blog in the first place - comment on CANADIAN media. You do it well with lots of insights even if I don't always agree with some of the conclusions you make of the arguments.

[stephen.reeves]

Methinks the lady protests too much, reminds me of a baby that throws its toys out the crib when it doesnt not get it's way, or someone insults their hero Robert Fisk.

[Big G]

I'm going to have to agree with johnnykap here.

If you have a part-time student or intern help you out, the posts will appear faster and the conversation will flow with more posts.

More posts mean more traffic...

AZ have you heard of the 3 D's?
Do it, Ditch it, or Delegate it.

I hope you delegate it...

[Antonia Z.]

All very nice and I am sure lots of students would love the job but:

(1) There are union issues because this is, after all, the Star.

(2) I can't afford to hire anybody.

(3) Actually I can, but I'd rather buy Dries Van Noten shoes.

[Reality Check]

http://www.driesvannoten.be/

[Ivan Prokopchuk]

Omigod.
Everybody's shooting the messenger.

A really bad teacher at Ryerson told me I was "all talent and no judgment." Took me two years at the Star and Star Weekly/CANADIAN to prove him wrong.

Mr. "Buck" doesn't teach at Ryerson anymore.

That being as it was (to introduce a really bad subjunctive mood) I would opine that Ms. Z has both talent AND judgment.

It is a job especially demanding of judgment.

I sense there may have been an editorial meeting and Antonia very probably bucked
some ukaz and kept going the way she has been going anyway.

Kudos to the Star for keeping her around.

[estragon]

I'm with Krister. Many of us come here for discussion of Canadian media.

If I want to know about the Middle East, there are more informed sources on the subject than Arik, arthurdecco et al. I don't care what they think, and I'm sick of scrolling past their messages on the subject.

And as for those who are crying foul (eg. jay curry, who wants to read the deleted comments) -- for pete's sake, people, get a life!

[Kari]

Both sides are equally guilty and they shouldn't use this site to nip at eachother. Antonia, I feel your frustration.

[wsam]

Instead of banning what about public flogging? it worked in the Middle Ages. I bet some of them would actually quite enjoy it.

[Bill-Muskoka]

Antonia,

WOW! There are our names, and moi's in particular (backwards of course its a media show) on TV! Is this our 15 minutes, or seconds of fame Andy told us would happen? LMAO!

[Jiminy C at the other daughters]

Another good reason for NOT shutting down comments....

Look what happened to your friend (and a gent who I once admired) W. Chinchilla.....

When his comments were swarmed by a lot of neocon troublemakers - the folks that were maintaining it for him threw up their hands and shut down the comments.....and Warren's inspiration for ideas fell right through into the basement......

Heck - the poor lad is so bereft of ideas he's even having second thoughts on Iggy.....

[Scotian]

"Thanks folks.

I am not yet ready to eliminate comments, and I won't capitulate to those who may want me to.

It will be much more fun to delete them and ban them.

Dragon lady?

Oh baby. Just watch me."

Posted by: Antonia Z. August 10, 2006 at 03:42 PM

I am very glad to see you are not at the point of eliminating the comments section. I am also pleased that you will not submit to the desires of those trying to get these comments shut down for their own reasons, but then to be honest I never really expected you to capitulate to such easily, you have too much integrity from what I have seen for that.

You are one of the only media critics left that actually appears interested in critiquing the media, instead of advancing a political agenda (regardless of what some of your detractors would have us think) which is what turned me off Howie Kurtz at the WP for example. Which is why I value your work as highly as I do and spend as much time as I do reading through all that you write. As I said before I spend far more time reading your work than I do commenting on it, indeed I comment far less frequently than some of the other regulars here. I just hope that on occasion I am able to advance the conversation here, something I would hope is at the heart of most of the commentators here regardless of political leanings.

This is a very good site, you are very good at what you do, and your willingness to wear a target on your back by being so blunt/direct is refreshing in these days of intimidation and threats. You also tend to attract a well informed set of commentators (aside from those that are clearly out to pick fights with you and/or find ways of discrediting your voice as an credible/respectable/informed one that is) even from some of your critics and that is something I truly enjoy about this blog.

Keep up the excellent work Antonia and know that you are appreciated for the hard work you put in in maintaining this blog. If that necessitates a dragon lady approach for those that refuse to follow your rules here then so be it, they have brought it upon themselves by their own self righteous belief in their right to do/say anything they want despite those rules being clear for all to see and follow. You provide a forum and are entitled to set ground rules, and I happen to think those rules are sensible, reasonable, and those that cannot abide such have only themselves and their inability to recognize the prerogatives of others than themselves have only themselves to blame for losing the privilege of commenting here.

[Reality Check]

Are all the posters in your photo invited for dinner? What can I bring?

[Jiminy C at the other daughters]

And another thing Antonia - think yourself lucky - I occasionally read the Political BLOGs e.g. today - the topic is covering Mad Dog Bob Runciman - the poor folks like Benzie and Urquhart or whoever scribbles there - are shouting in the proverbial empty forest - knowing full well that - even if folks read them - they will never know because they DO NOT HAVE A COMMENTS Option - I'd love to tell them what I think of Mad Dog and Jim Wilson - the Purple Faced Mandrill - but another day - I guess!

[20/20]

I like your posts on Canadian Media, and I follow them closely. I frequently come away understanding some media situation in more depth than previously. Your stuff on Canadian Media is very important to me.

But...the same goes for whatever can of media worms that you tip over--exposure to light is important for change. Without exposure corruption becomes entrenched, wider and deeper corruption ensues.

There are those out there who would like to see the end of your blog, or at least a diminishing of it. It's a nasty bit of reality which will probably always be with you, Antonia, no matter what you do--short of giving up completely and canning the blog, or giving up and canning the comments section of your blog. So, I hope you will can comments which go beyond the bounds of decency, etc. and put a filter against repeat offenders as you have stated above and not worry yourself about it.

[Antonia Z.]

Thank you, all.

I am humbled by your comments.

And Reality Check? You have to bring your best behaviour, and some intelligence.

[wsam]

Free Beer!!!!

[Tony]

AZ, you are doing a great job. As the saying goes:

"DOGS BARK, BUT THE CARAVAN ROLLS ON."

Respectfully,

Tony

[Reality Check]

AZ, that sounds like an ad hominem atack that would be beneath you.

[wsam]

... and no spitting!!!

[Ti-Guy]

I still chuckle at that alias "fanofzerbisiasnot" It's so involved and complicated; much more than anything that particular user has ever said...

Anyway, ban me, let me in again, and then ban me some more. Just for fun.