I just thought I’d write a few thoughts about some of the abusive messages I’ve been receiving on my site recently, let you know what was behind them, how I feel about them, and what my thoughts are regarding different sorts of comments on my site.

…If I was you I would climb down off your very high horse and get a life.Elaine Corcoran

What sparked all this off, you may wonder?

Well, it seems that I had the temerity to voice my thoughts about Madeleine McCann, pointing out that we didn’t need, on every news bulletin to be told that there were no further developments in the story. If there are no further developments, it isn’t actually ‘news’!

you are the most callus person i have ever read about,i hope your children never read your comments,you turn my stomachPam

Hmm. And I hope my children learn how to capitalise words and spell the word ‘callous’ better than you! Although I’ve got no doubt that Elaine would say you’ve got nothing to worry about there:

I cannot believe your insensitive comments.I also don,t believe you have children of your ownElaine Corcoran

Yeah, yeah, Elaine. So the pictures of them on my site, the stories about them on my site, and the fact that a good number of the commenters on my site have actually met my children is just some kind of elaborate hoax? Merely so I can later, should I choose to make comments about someone else with children, claim to be a parent myself?

Seems a bit unlikely to me. But then again I think a plane crashed into the twin towers, Princess Diana was killed in a car crash, men did land on the moon, we aren’t being visited regularly by flying saucers and that Lee Harvey Oswald didn’t shoot JFK. Oh, and that Elvis is dead.

Now where was I? Oh yes, I made it clear that I hoped Madeleine was returned safe and well. I merely suggest that I thought it likely that she had been killed early on (something which I note the papers now are seeming to suggest is a possibility) and that I didn’t really think sticking up posters in my local supermarket was going to help, since I don’t live in Portugal anway.

You disgust me, using this [to] launch yourself on your soap box…why are you using her to get people to look at your pathetic self loving site. I cant help think alot of people laugh about your self-importance behind your backBarbara Edge

And for the temerity of having an opinion, of saying that the death of the writer Isaac Asimov meant more to me personally, that I’d never bought into the whole “outpouring of grief over Diana” thing either, and that I thought the hundreds of Iraqis been killed every month were possibly more newsworthy than a story about a missing girl constantly being reported with no new information, I get this level of abuse.

Frequently from people who seem to have their finger stuck on the ‘shift’ key…

YOU ARE A VERY VINDICTIVE PERSON DEVOID OF ALL COMPASSION. GET A LIFE.J Jay

But don’t worry, those are just some excerpts from some of the comments that I actually allowed to be published on my site. If you think those were out of proportion, then take a look at this one:

is your last name hitler by any chance?Pam

Right, so because I have an opinion that is different to your own and is formed from my own ideas, opinons and values, rather than from whatever is on the front page of the Daily Express that morning, I’m to be equated to the person who was ultimately responsible for one of the worst acts of organised genocide the world is likely to see? I’m not convinced the analogy holds water, myself. Maybe if I had one of them little moustaches…

But I obviously upset Pam by not publishing her comments immediately (her previous one having by then been held in my moderation queue for nine minutes) she felt the need to jump in again…

whats wrong touched a nerve,you havent got one in your body,truth hurts doesnt itPam

Well, duh, no you didn’t, yes I have, and it probably would if I had anything to feel bad about.

I was initially in two minds about writing this post — partly because the tirade of abuse was getting, well… boring, and I didn’t really want any more — and partly because in this case I wondered whether this post would fall into the class of using this “to get people to look at [my] pathetic self loving site”.

So what tipped me over the edge into thinking that it was legitimate comment?

I’m being cheeky really your comments are now closed on madeliene so iam sneaking one on here [an entirely unrelated post] what a poor excuse for a human being you are jpPam

Well, that as well as a couple of other reasons. I think it shows something about the character of some people that they can’t tolerate anyone who seems to hold a different opinion (although I must say that there were a number of comments written in support of me too), and particularly those people who feel that they need to express these poisonous sentiments repeatedly.

Also, if I’m going to continue to get comments even after I’ve attempted to close the conversation, I’m entitled to think that this in itself is sufficiently interesting to warrant a post.

Finally, because it gives me a chance to explicitly codify my long-used if unofficial ‘comments policy’.

And it’s really quite simple.

• You’re positively encouraged to:
  • Comment
  • Disagree with me — particularly if you provide a reason
  • Poke light-hearted fun at my expense where it’s relevant or related to the post
• You’re not welcome to:
  • Spam
  • Post comments that aren’t relevant to that particular post
  • Use ad hominem arguments
  • Be downright rude or offensive

There you go: simple. Bear that in mind and you’ll not go wrong. If you’re repeatedly offensive or libellous, then I will reserve the right to take further action. If you’re a spammer, I’ll just blacklist you…