Alert: Update to comments policy

“Keep your environment clean.”

In light of a handful of comments I’ve received recently on my youtube channel, and because of the subject matter of the second season of Berlin Station, I have updated the blog’s comments policy to include an absolute prohibition on anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi trolling and pro-white supremacist statements. I am confident that my regular audience does not harbor such prejudices, but this blog is publicly visible and frankly, I was surprised at the youtube comments. Perhaps I was naive.

I’m hopeful that this proactive approach will head off problems spreading from youtube to here. If anti-Semitic or pro-white supremacist commentary does seep through here, and you are a regular commentator, please do me a favor and do not engage with the trolls. I’ll take care of it when I get back to the blog.

I’m also aware of the Twitter and FB campaigns to boycott the series because of Ashley Judd. While my opinion of her is generally, although not exclusively, positive, I’m aware that’s not the case in large parts of the fandom. I’m going to leave this issue alone for now in hopes that I don’t have to put walls up around that topic. I believe that we should be free to exchange opinions and thoughtful critiques of her work and her political opinions, and that some of our reactions to these may be negative. Much of what I see in other places, however, reflects personal, racist, sexist attack that involves no political or artistic commentary. So please be aware that I will be monitoring this issue as season 2 continues and may institute some kind of comment policy change for that reason, so that it remains possible to have a civil discourse.

Thanks for your understanding and, as always, for continuing to read this blog.

~ by Servetus on October 15, 2017.