A blog about Kern County and Technology.
Real Name: Jason Sperber Member Since: March 14, 2006 Last Signed In: October 10, 2008 Profile Views: 14082 Blog Views: 15427 When parody crosses the line to inappropriate... Early Morning Site Issues The Great Profile Photo Debate Say hello to your Personal Inbox! Blog Categorization: "Interest Groups" in live beta - We need your help! Is "online community" an oxymoron? Testing, testing, 1 2 3... Site outage tonight from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Jim Padgett, "bballdadmc," 1962-2008 When in doubt, try "shift-refresh" (or "ctrl-refresh," as the case may be) November 06 December 06 January 07 February 07 March 07 April 07 May 07 June 07 July 07 August 07 September 07 October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 
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I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach right now. I just made a difficult judgment call, and did what I hoped I'd never have to do here. I just deleted two blogposts by Bakersfield.com community members, not because of the content of the original posts, but because the poisonous tone and content of the ensuing comment threads. I copied the texts of the original posts and sent them to the original bloggers so that they may repost if they so choose. But people, this has to stop.
Just for background's sake, you could characterize one post I deleted as having a "liberal" bent, by a "liberal" blogger, and the other as having a "conservative" bent, by a "conservative" blogger. What followed each in the comments, unfortunately, is becoming more and more common here--name-calling and personal attacks, by both "sides" against each other.
I. am. tired. Tired of the sheer meanspiritedness, the backbiting, the sarcastic slurs against each other's intelligence or mental health or claims to Americanness or countless other ways in which you rip into each other every single day here.
I mean, why do it? And why do you come back? What is this place to you? Just a place where you can yell at those you don't agree with, call them snide or outright nasty names, hide behind a mask of computerized anonymity, pretend to be someone else, just to egg others on (even on your own posts or on posts you've already commented on)?
Because if that's all this is, then I'm not sure this is worth it. Because that's not why we built this. That's not why I'm here. If this is a virtual ecosystem, then every comment, every post, every blogger is connected, is part of this ecosystem. And you know what? You're poisoning it. Not all of you, and not all the time. But the poison is spreading.
And it doesn't matter who each side thinks "we" (meaning this company and its employees) are "on," and it doesn't matter who "started it." All that matters is that we all finish it. Now.
There are so many people with passionately held opinions here, so much life experience and background knowledge to share. Instead, we fling our opinions at each other like hand grenades, curse each other out under our breath, and prepare for the battle of ideas we already have told ourselves is coming--that is, if we even deign to call what those we disagree with type out "ideas." It's a self-serving, self-congratulatory status quo. It's even safe, since you know what's coming, can anticipate it. But it's poisonous. And it has to stop.
I don't care how things are out in the big bad World Wide Web. I don't care how things used to be here or on this system's predecessors. I don't care if you agree with me, or what you assume about my beliefs or politics or what-have-you.
What I do care about is keeping this community going, keeping the discussion going. You come here for a reason. You can and do go to other interactive media sources, where you can either rail, uncensored, against those you disagree with or else engage happily in an echo chamber of agreement. So why come here at all?
I'd hope it's because this is meant to be a virtual home for our physical community, a place for those connected to Bakersfield can gather and talk and yes, even disagree. It's that connection that makes this place different.
People on all sides complained when this position was created, and people on all sides still complain--either I'm not doing my job or the job isn't needed at all, some think. But think of the freedom, trust, and responsibility given all users of this system, to create a healthy virtual ecosystem in which to discuss what's important to those of us connected to this city, this county, this place. Keep going where you're going, and think about the choices this company could be forced to make--moderation queues, computerized monitoring, maybe even reevaluating the worth of such an endeavor in the first place.
I don't want to see that. Do you?
So feel what you feel, believe what you believe, think what you think. Have your research and links and arguments and counterarguments. Fight for what you think is right, hopefully not just to fight for fighting's sake but because you hope someone will listen. And then do just that, listen. To each other, and to yourselves, to what you say and how you say it. Stop the name-calling, the personal attacks, the snide remarks meant to bring your opponents down a peg. You are adults, members of this community. Act like it.
I don't want to have to write another post like this again. A TBC editorial that will be in tomorrow's paper just went up on the Editorials blog, citing "Californian reader and letter to the editor writer Curtis Dalton" for waging a 10-year campaign to get Caltrans to post signs warning of the dangers of swimming in the Kern River at the mouth of the canyon, a campaign that has finally paid off. B.commers will recognize that name, and know that not only is he a TBC reader and letter writer, but a longtime Bakersfield.com blogger and commenter, our own CurtDalton. Good work, Curt. Congratulations, and thank you. Most of you are aware that regular Bakersfield.com blogger BMWeerman, a.k.a. Cameron Weckerley, is in a Farmington, New Mexico hospital right now, recovering from a major motorcycle accident, with blogger Camsgirl, a.k.a. his wife Patti, by his side. Patti has been keeping our community updated on his condition on her blog, and our community has reached out to give them what virtural support we can. Many bloggers have asked us what we can do to help ease their financial burdern at this trying time, and so, an account has been set up at Wells Fargo in Patti Weckerley's name to receive monetary donations if anyone is so moved. You can go to any Wells Fargo branch and deposit funds into Acct. # 505 246 7486, in the name of Patti Weckerley, and they will be able to access it in New Mexico. Wishing Cam a speedy recovery, Patti the time to take care of herself too, and both of them all the comfort and strength they need.
Location:
1600 20th St.,
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Bakersfield.com Blogger Meetup Saturday, May 19 3:30 to 6 p.m. Dagny's Coffee Company 1600 20th St., Downtown Bakersfield Coffee and cookies on us, conversation on you! Let us know if you're coming here.
Location:
1600 20th St.,
Bakersfield, CA 93301
Today's my first day back on the job after almost 2-and-a-half-weeks on vacation, and let me tell you, you all have been keeping busy! It took an hour-and-a-half this morning to sort through about 1200 emails (a mix of spam and violation reports), and I've been spending the rest of the day catching up on the online goings-on around here with my colleagues who generously kept an eye on things while I was away (on top of their usual duties). So, if you expected to hear from me or see me comment or act on something or another in the last couple weeks and didn't, now you know why. (At the urging of my coworkers, I left the laptop at home!) Coming back after a break, let me tell you what I see. I see a lot of new names and "faces" commenting, blogging and reviewing, and that's exciting. A look at our metrics shows that the number of public profiles and blogs are up, and that the number of posts and comments published continue to increase on a weekly basis. I also see, as I have over the last six months, a community struggling always to grow and become itself, and to shape itself and discover new ways to discuss what's on our minds without resorting to baser impulses. It's not always an easy task, but many of you continue to take it on, encouraging each other and reflecting on your own behavior at the same time. The more we model the online community we want this to be, and the online community members we want ourselves and our neighbors to be, the less of a "policing" role this job will have to do. And you know what? You're already doing it. But at any rate, I'm back. Heh. And as usual, reading as much of what you put up here as humanly possible. Of course, that's not all I do here. Other stuff includes the weekly ngage e-newsletter that features the previous week's interactive greatest hits, as it were, plus user profiles. And, tomorrow, we're relaunching the Bakosphere blog, a look at the interesting and quirky stuff that happens when Bakersfield and the Web collide. And, of course, I'm hosting the latest in our on-going series of real-life get-togethers for B.com bloggers, commenters, reviewers, and lurkers, this Saturday at Dagny's. We're looking to branch out to other kinds of meetups in other locations, too, so please give us your ideas and let us know if you're coming. I look forward to meeting more of you on- and off-line! Bakersfield.com Bloggers' Meetup Dagny's Coffee Company, 1600 20th St., Downtown Saturday, May 19 from 3:30 to 6 p.m. All are welcome! |
