Comments for Mystery of Iniquity http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. - Jane Austen Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:09:20 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on “Cursed is the One Who Trusts in Man..” by mysteryofiniquity http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/cursed-is-the-one-who-trusts-in-man/#comment-13535 mysteryofiniquity Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:09:20 +0000 http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/?p=1447#comment-13535 Thanks Ashley, I'll check that out! Thanks Ashley, I’ll check that out!

]]> Comment on “Cursed is the One Who Trusts in Man..” by Ashley http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/cursed-is-the-one-who-trusts-in-man/#comment-13534 Ashley Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:23:24 +0000 http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/?p=1447#comment-13534 A good book to check out is Healing Grace by David Seamands. Anything by David Seamands or Leanne Payne is pretty good and captures what I'm trying to say a lot better than I can and I'm too lazy. A good book to check out is Healing Grace by David Seamands. Anything by David Seamands or Leanne Payne is pretty good and captures what I’m trying to say a lot better than I can and I’m too lazy.

]]> Comment on “Taken Over By Fear…” and Quitting the Internet by Reg Webb http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/taken-over-by-fear-and-quitting-the-internet/#comment-13532 Reg Webb Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:49:33 +0000 http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/?p=1515#comment-13532 I guess we're all preaching to the converted. The sort of people who treat the Internet like some kind of psycho-therapeutic romper room aren't likely to take much account of concepts like common courtesy. Sometimes we're more sensitive than we think, and only find that out when someone calls us on something, and we find ourselves more hurt than provoked by the prospect of a bracing debate that tests our assumptions. I think blogging and commenting can teach us quite a lot about ourselves. Insofar as any rough rule occurs to me, it would be to comment in a tone equivalent to that of the original post. Obviously subject matter makes a difference. If we post about our favourite music, we should expect a somewhat different reaction to that we might get if we post that Holocaust deniers should be put in concentration camps until they change their minds. As you say MOI, discretion based on how much heat we're prepared to take. But some old fashioned etiquette definitely needs reviving. When in someone else's place, we should behave ourselves. I guess we’re all preaching to the converted. The sort of people who treat the Internet like some kind of psycho-therapeutic romper room aren’t likely to take much account of concepts like common courtesy.

Sometimes we’re more sensitive than we think, and only find that out when someone calls us on something, and we find ourselves more hurt than provoked by the prospect of a bracing debate that tests our assumptions. I think blogging and commenting can teach us quite a lot about ourselves.

Insofar as any rough rule occurs to me, it would be to comment in a tone equivalent to that of the original post. Obviously subject matter makes a difference. If we post about our favourite music, we should expect a somewhat different reaction to that we might get if we post that Holocaust deniers should be put in concentration camps until they change their minds. As you say MOI, discretion based on how much heat we’re prepared to take.

But some old fashioned etiquette definitely needs reviving. When in someone else’s place, we should behave ourselves.

]]> Comment on “Taken Over By Fear…” and Quitting the Internet by mysteryofiniquity http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/taken-over-by-fear-and-quitting-the-internet/#comment-13531 mysteryofiniquity Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:32:34 +0000 http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/?p=1515#comment-13531 Sungold, Thanks for stopping by! You are right. Once you have the tom cats coming around, there is no way to keep them peeing on your porch. Trust me, as a cat lover/owner as well, I've tried! The same for trolls I think. Once the scent is out there, it's a repellent for some and an attraction for others. It's indeed a mixed bag. I've loved blogging too because I've met so many people I wouldn't have ordinarily met living here in the Midwest U.S. of A. I think as a teacher, you can toss ideas out there and get an instant response more readily. I miss the classroom in that regard and the internet is a reflection of the that setting except you get more "students" that are honestly there to learn things than you do in the classroom where some students clearly wouldn't be there except mom and dad are paying for it. Still for some place that is strictly voluntary, bloggers do get a lot of disgruntled people looking for an argument precisely because it's a free forum to do so. I suppose I have to remember that I don't own that space either. Sungold,
Thanks for stopping by! You are right. Once you have the tom cats coming around, there is no way to keep them peeing on your porch. Trust me, as a cat lover/owner as well, I’ve tried! The same for trolls I think. Once the scent is out there, it’s a repellent for some and an attraction for others. It’s indeed a mixed bag. I’ve loved blogging too because I’ve met so many people I wouldn’t have ordinarily met living here in the Midwest U.S. of A. I think as a teacher, you can toss ideas out there and get an instant response more readily. I miss the classroom in that regard and the internet is a reflection of the that setting except you get more “students” that are honestly there to learn things than you do in the classroom where some students clearly wouldn’t be there except mom and dad are paying for it. Still for some place that is strictly voluntary, bloggers do get a lot of disgruntled people looking for an argument precisely because it’s a free forum to do so. I suppose I have to remember that I don’t own that space either.

]]> Comment on “Taken Over By Fear…” and Quitting the Internet by mysteryofiniquity http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/taken-over-by-fear-and-quitting-the-internet/#comment-13530 mysteryofiniquity Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:21:47 +0000 http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/?p=1515#comment-13530 T. This is also a truth: "no one is forcing another to read this or that blog.." You're smart avoiding the Facebook apps. They are monsters. :-) T.
This is also a truth: “no one is forcing another to read this or that blog..” You’re smart avoiding the Facebook apps. They are monsters. :-)

]]> Comment on “Taken Over By Fear…” and Quitting the Internet by mysteryofiniquity http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/taken-over-by-fear-and-quitting-the-internet/#comment-13529 mysteryofiniquity Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:20:45 +0000 http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/?p=1515#comment-13529 Reg, Good thoughts as always. I feel that the competitive nature of most humans comes to the fore on the internet more so than in other places perhaps because physical presence is absent and all we have are our words, therefore they must be strong words to be heard above the din. I like your sentence however: "free self-expression can easily be confused with a license to be aggressive." I wonder if that applies both ways? If so, then as you say, what we put out there will surely pull it back in.. I'm not saying we deserve it, but discretion works both ways I think. Reg,
Good thoughts as always. I feel that the competitive nature of most humans comes to the fore on the internet more so than in other places perhaps because physical presence is absent and all we have are our words, therefore they must be strong words to be heard above the din. I like your sentence however: “free self-expression can easily be confused with a license to be aggressive.” I wonder if that applies both ways? If so, then as you say, what we put out there will surely pull it back in.. I’m not saying we deserve it, but discretion works both ways I think.

]]> Comment on “Taken Over By Fear…” and Quitting the Internet by Sungold http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/taken-over-by-fear-and-quitting-the-internet/#comment-13528 Sungold Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:59:21 +0000 http://mysteryofiniquity.wordpress.com/?p=1515#comment-13528 I feel like I've been mostly lucky in regard to trolls. I had a persistent one earlier this fall - I'm pretty sure both you and Reg saw him on my blog. His name is Mark Nuckols (apparently his real name!) and he has a few chips on his shoulder. I banned him for overt racism and after a few weeks of his comments landing in my spam filter, he stopped coming around. Now if I could just get the neighborhood cats to stop peeing on our front porch, all would be well! I think I'm more willing to engage with serious criticism than are most self-identified "feminist" bloggers. That's probably in part because I'm a teacher, and in part because my blog is small enough that the comment section isn't overwhelming. I'm sure I'd feel differently if I wrote for a major blog. Even so, I may be willing to host opinions that diverge from my own, but I don't often radically change my mind. Perhaps that's an area I should work on. Or perhaps that mostly reflects the challenges to my thinking in the classroom before I ever started blogging. I definitely have evolved in my understanding, especially when it comes to transgender issues, over the past year or so. I do feel that I learn continually from blogging, much as I do from teaching but at a different level (because most of my students are very young). I just don't see me making a lot of paradigm shifts. Maybe that's okay. Or maybe it just reflects Thomas Kuhn's insight that the way a new paradigm succeeds is by previous generations dying off. :-) Great thought-provoking post. Thanks! I feel like I’ve been mostly lucky in regard to trolls. I had a persistent one earlier this fall – I’m pretty sure both you and Reg saw him on my blog. His name is Mark Nuckols (apparently his real name!) and he has a few chips on his shoulder. I banned him for overt racism and after a few weeks of his comments landing in my spam filter, he stopped coming around. Now if I could just get the neighborhood cats to stop peeing on our front porch, all would be well!

I think I’m more willing to engage with serious criticism than are most self-identified “feminist” bloggers. That’s probably in part because I’m a teacher, and in part because my blog is small enough that the comment section isn’t overwhelming. I’m sure I’d feel differently if I wrote for a major blog. Even so, I may be willing to host opinions that diverge from my own, but I don’t often radically change my mind. Perhaps that’s an area I should work on. Or perhaps that mostly reflects the challenges to my thinking in the classroom before I ever started blogging.

I definitely have evolved in my understanding, especially when it comes to transgender issues, over the past year or so. I do feel that I learn continually from blogging, much as I do from teaching but at a different level (because most of my students are very young). I just don’t see me making a lot of paradigm shifts. Maybe that’s okay. Or maybe it just reflects Thomas Kuhn’s insight that the way a new paradigm succeeds is by previous generations dying off. :-)

Great thought-provoking post. Thanks!

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