Two Posts’ Comments Closed

I’ve just closed the comment threads of Professor Halkides' Unintential Self-Parody and KC Johnson’s Response To “:ban:ban:ban:ban:ban:”

While some of the comments at each post are worthwhile, others are error-filled or off topic or contain gratuitous personal attacks or some combination of the three.

Of necessity, a good deal of what this blog is about is controversial. But that doesn’t mean what people say in comments has to be either false or ad hominems.

Everyone, for example, should be able to agree that in the last comment on the thread of his post, "Suggested Panels for the Stone Center," KC Johnson @ 4/27/09 2:56 PM wrote:

To Joan:

My best wishes to you.

I'm sure there will be hundreds of blogs that will give you their space to more fully develop the hypothetical you presented earlier in this thread: that there's no fundamental difference between a professor committing academic misconduct on a scale greater than anything we witnessed in the Duke case and a beauty pageant contestant not being rewarded for opposing marriage rights for her state's gay and lesbian citizens.

Among those hundreds of blogs, however, will not be DIW.

Everyone should also be able to agree:

1) - - KC addressed his comment ONLY "To Joan:"

2) - - KC said NOTHING in his comment about closing down the thread.

But while those two points are obvious to most people, there are other people who get upset and lash out if you don't agree with them that KC's comment really told his readers he was closing down the thread.

JinC is not meant for such upset and lashing out people, but there are blogs out there which are.