Etiquette suggestions from a blogger

By The Daily Journal (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Tuesday, May 20, 2008

It has come to my attention that a lot of folks are concerned about censorship of what they say and do on the web, especially when it comes to folks blogging on Fergus Falls Daily Journal (FFDJ).

I was once an avid poster on this site but left after the conduct of folks helped me decide to stop. The comments and behavior of some of these folks is atrocious and leaves much to be desired when it comes to manners and maturity.

To me, I believe that there is a place and rightly called for by the FFDJ for online etiquette. Much as the physical world, we demand that we are treated with fairness, dignity and respect. I believe you can get your point across without being arrogant or sounding foolish if you do your homework.

So I have some advice for folks who post here.

1. Please be nice. If you don't agree then say so, however you can achieve this without being rude or nasty.

2. If you wish to make a social statement please, please do your homework.

Comments like “GB or Hilary are idiots” without facts or statistics are strictly opinion and give nothing to the quality of the conversation.

3. Don't stir the pot if you have nothing to contribute. Doing this only serves to distract from the conversation.

I guess I just needed to say how I feel about this.

I read everyday on here about someone complaining that the "man" is holding them down and trampling on their collective rights.

Stop compalining and do something. Or how about finding something positive to talk about in your communities instead of complaing how terrible everything is.

Many of you folks complain that the FFDJ misspells a word now and again and so forth. Do you really have that much time on your hands? Do you really need to berrate a local newspaper just to make yourself feel better? I mean, really? It seems some posters could use an English lesson themselves.

I realize that this is the major source of medium for Fergus Falls, however I still must ask that if you choose to use this as a sounding board for you personal beliefs then please have something of substance. There is room for all opinions and comments, just not one's that are abusive, mean or ill spirited.

Finally, there are a lot of blow hards on here who talk endlessly about how bad Fergus Falls has really gotten. To some degree I agree with that very, very, much however, I never see or hear any of these same people doing anything to make a difference other then complaining.

It's always what can the City, county and state do for me! All they do is screw everything up etc etc etc. How about running for local government or school board everyone rails on so much. I would in a minute if I lived there, especially in these hard times up there but to complaining without action is truely pointless.

I find it amazing that people say how bad or corrupt the cops are but when was the last time you went and filed a complaint against an officer? How about the new school? Many complained but not near enough voted the second time around.

If you don't like your leaders then kick them out but please stop complaining if you’re going to do nothing about it. It's called personal responsibility.

No one is at fault for who you are, where you are in life except you, so if you are unhappy then before you look at others to blame please take a long and hard look in the mirror.

Brian C. Brovold

Eden Prairie