To Comment or Post?

I thought as the moderator of the blog I would weigh in on whether you should comment or blog.

You can post to the blog directly via email and that will come up as a new entry.

You can also comment by clicking on the comment link at the bottom of a post.

Using the email address makes sure that you get prominently featured as a new post.

Posting a comment may get you lost in the shuffle, but feel free to comment as much as you like.

As to the censorship issue and the 'moderation' of the comments, I typically just pass through whatever is said and let it publish. I have refused to publish a couple of comments which were simply too offensive to be put up as written words. It's good to have constructive dicsussion, it's bad to out and out call somone abusive names. Incidentally, just so you are aware, those names were directed at Mrs. Schindler and I didn't think any good would come out of publishing those comments. The next time someone tells me that this is all about a personal attack on other members of the board, please remember that if that were the case, I wouldn't think twice about publishing those offensive comments.

I have also eventually rejected comments from someone who does not own land at Seven Bays and his constructive criticism also eventually came to pass as being angry and offensive. I rejected his comments because he too was serving no constructive purpose and he doesn't own property here at Seven Bays. If you would like to see them, I will publish them to you privately upon your request.

However, if you want to post a comment, chances are it is going to get passed directly through and I think from the number of comments you have seen, it is clear that I'm not doing much censoring.

Now the truth of the matter is this. If you accept this as medium to post on and clearly, someone on the board besides Margot and myself has, then you accept all that comes along with it. If you believe that I am going to censor other members of the board and their posts and other homeowners, then you are sorely mistaken. Otherwise, the posts of the last few days never would have made it on would they?

The truth of the matter is, as moderator, I can control all aspects of what is published and what isn't. If you posted something from the email, I could go back and take it off later. In fact I did do that when one of our homeowners inadvertantly published his email address on the blog. I went back and took it out so he wouldn't suffer interminable spam in his mailbox.

The email posting doesn't save you from my 'censorship' and 'moderation'. I believe in fair play and abiding by the rules. If I get to stand on the podium and shout to the crowd, then everyone else gets the same fair shake. I only ask that you keep your comments to the matters at hand and not take it upon yourself to refer to members of the board as various parts of the human anatomy.

Good luck out there and keep on posting. I'm so encouraged by the caliber and involvement of the community.

A Note of Caution: I do not edit the posts. You are responsible for anything you publish. I have read through the past few posts and the anonymous person who is providing information. It's one thing to talk about me and whether you like or hate this format. It is quite another to make reference to private members of the community who are not in a public position. I would caution you and anyone else before they make an issue and slander a private resident of the community. While I will not edit your post, I would suggest to you that you might want to contact me directly and give me permission to redact certain portions of your post as they clearly are directed at a member of this community who is neither on the board nor a public figure in the Seven Bays Community.

Jay S. Jump
Blog Moderator