Comments on: Don’t Flog Your Wallet with a Bad Blog!

By: Just my opinion

Just my opinion — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 18:38:08 +0000

Over 4,000 votes came in for the Deaf Blog awards, but that does not necessarily mean they come from a diverse audience. The majority of blogs posted on DeafRead tend to follow one certain ideology, while DeafDC is known for pursuing different viewpoints (for the sake of intellectual discussion).

By: Curious Eyes

Curious Eyes — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 16:13:11 +0000

oops, I ignored my own exhortation to stop bashing one another… like him or not, Ricky Taylor is one of us. And actually, he does say some good things now and again. Recently, he posted about seeing the UbiDuo at SLC and how he changed his mind about it being a useful and valuable tool for deaf people. So there is hope for all! That being said, I’m shocked that DeafDC.com didn’t win more awards — I know I voted for them in multiple categories. Surprising that very few of them even showed as earning any percentage of the vote. Wonder why that happened?

By: Shane

Shane — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 14:14:28 +0000

Hello all,

Some good discussion going on here. I have to caution everyone though, that Vikki’s blog is focused on the big picture here rather than specific incidents. And if specific incidents are highlighted, commenters should back up their claim(s) with a link or corroborating evidence. After all, that is the very point of Vikki’s blog.

By: DeafLinux

DeafLinux — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 12:02:02 +0000

Vikki Washington:

You did a great job and I enjoyed reading your post. I look forward to reading more of your future posts.

By: DeafLinux

DeafLinux — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 11:47:21 +0000

Lowest Common Denominator won? Who would that be Curious Eyes? Heh

By: wildstarryskies

wildstarryskies — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 03:06:33 +0000

Not a slippery slope? do you remember when the Dixie Chicks criticized President Bush and they were thereby banned from Clearchannel airwaves? There ARE cases nowadays when people using their personal soapbox, whether they are in the arts, or just a blogger/vlogger suffereing consequences when they express their opinions. I would normally not be so alarmist, but I have seen attitudes towards restricting the freedom of speech the past few years that have really alarmed me. There was a time when you could not speak against the President or the Iraq War without being labeled a traitor.

You are correct that slandering/libeling a person who is not a public figure is different from commenting on someone who IS a public figure. I do agree that it does a lot of damage to aperson personally and their reputation as well. I remember as well as many when the mere whisper of “slut” could destroy a girl’s reputation for years.

My dilemna is that even though I personally condemn those who would undertake those actions, I am much more concerned with protecting our freedom of speech rather than restricting what others say those days.

Taht said, I can see why legal recourse might be a viable option for those who feel they need it. But will legal recourse be abused? Will there be malicious lawyers who will see this as an opportunity to target old grudges? What about wealthy, anonymous donors who wish to enforce their personal beliefs on a whole group of people? Would they bankroll a libel suit just to shut a blogger up because they didn’t like what was being said? I don’t see it as out of the realm of possiblity.

I once read somewhere - “Would you rather protect a few guilty persons to ensure freedom for innocents or to condemn more guilty parties at the risk of jailing innocents?”

That is the very basis of the American judical system - sometimes we have to protect those who are guilty so the innocents are ensured their rights. That is one reason why there are people so strongly against the death policy - one innocent person dead for a crime they didn’t committ is too much.

Should we condemn one blogger or focus instead on making sure other bloggers have the right to say what they want?

Sigh. This is a very difficult topic I have many conflicting feelings about.

By: Curious Eyes

Curious Eyes — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 22:03:51 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, let’s not venture into “Brian Riley” conspiracy territory here. :) Now that the Deaf Blog Awards 2006 have come and gone, and we all know who won Best Blog category… can you quite believe it? Lowest common denominator, anybody? However, the DeafRead human editors posted something about screening the sources of the emails so that no one can vote multiple times.

By: regina

regina — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 05:20:40 +0000

pippin: you nailed it. Sure there are folks out there, Crab and Goyle types, who will follow Malfoy, go along with his hatred, no matter what. But, I’d bet that ole Malfoy has replied to his own thread on more than one occasion posing as a “fan”. I’m sure he’s pretended to be a fan and posted flattering things about ridorlive. Frightening, but I’d bet money it’s true.
He gets votes? Not surprising. Those who blather on about “deafhood” being for all, yet bad mouth the “mudbloods” and the “muggles” and cheer Malfoy on in his attacks against folks…. It’s sad, really.

By: regina

regina — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 05:13:53 +0000

You talk about “gossip” and malicous comments RLM, but you are among the most vile posters on here. Just something to think about.

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 03:26:06 +0000

Ever see a movie called DEMOLITION MAN? Where a person would constantly be fined for saying the wrong words?? I bet it will happen to us someday! It’s a pain in the ass to please everyone, no matter how nuetral you try to be, you will offend someone by using the word “THEY” or some will be offended simply because some felt a person was implying whatever that is insulted them! *sigh* We need a new language! English is dead! Bring back Latin or Aramaic maybe we will not be so vague. Am I clear or do I have to tranlate what I meant in 100 english versions?