2003-04-04 11:53 a.m.

I'm taking down my comments page today. I fear that the comments page has altered my creativity and the energy surrounding my web page ways that I don't like. I will probably also also take down the guestbook in the next few days.

Sure, sometimes I like to see what people have to say about my web site. Often I get really positive feedback, and that makes me feel great. But, sometimes people take advantage of the anonymity provided by guestbooks and comments pages. They use guestbooks or comments pages as hiding places from which to "safely" throw stones and take pot shots at others. This sort of thing is not only dull and uninteresting but also cowardly.

People who want to leave their opinion without maintaining accountability...I have been thinking about this for a while now. It occurred to me that it's a lot like terrorism, actually.

See, in my mind, "war" refers to when two parties can't really work their issues out, so their discussions escalate to direct confrontation. But, terrorism on the other hand is when, due to spoken or unspoken irreconcilable differences, one party attacks another party anonymously. The attacked party has no recourse, no way to retaliate. Kinda cowardly and dull, ain't it?

I don't want people doing that at all. Not anywhere; not ever. And, especially not on my web page where I read it and it soaks into my mind and I carry it home into my life. Screw that crap!

Speaking of unwarranted opinions: As I was driving the other day I made connected an analogy that I had been wrestling in my mind for a while. I feel pretty much the same way about people's opinions as I feel about sexually transmitted diseases.

Check it out: To me, someone's opinion is like a sexually transmitted disease. Do I really want them to give it to me? Probably not. But, if I really like you and I trust you and the opinion seems like it might not be so painful, won't ruin my life or kill me, and we are gonna have a great time doing it, then it probably won't seem so bad at all. I might learn something from it, and hopefully the negative symptoms will go away with proper care.

And, I would much rather pick up a disease from a person I want to have in my life for a long time and not some anonymous character.

Hm. Maybe that analogy doesn't work as well written as it did in my mind. I don't think that actually describes exactly how I feel. Oh well. Sometimes words don't quite work out. There will be plenty more driving time for me to fumble with silly word ideas in my mind.


PREVIOUS ENTRY - NEXT ENTRY