Why Have I Altered My Blog's Format to One I Don't Like? It's Simple: Profanity!
June 12th 2007 23:32
You'll notice that I've drastically altered the appearance of my blog--and I have to admit, it is not a format I am particularly fond of, aesthetically. But, if you'll pull up a chair and give me a few minutes of your time, I will explain the reasons behind the change. Perhaps you will agree with them, and perhaps you will not. If you don't agree, I'm sorry, and I respect your right to your opinion; but I can only say that I must follow my own conscience in the matter. If you do agree, I'm happy that you and I have something in common.
Read on and I'll tell you why I felt I had no choice but to change to a blog format that I don't particularly like:
The current format, which I've chosen over the one I used previously, is one which moves the Popular Orble Posts and Breaking Orble Posts lists to the (less-noticeable) bottom portion of the left sidebar--as opposed to their previous highly prominent location at the top of the right sidebar. Many of you will be able to understand why I did so. But for those who haven't a clue, I will tell you: I am sick to death of reading profane, obscene, crude, and/or sexually suggestive titles in the sidebar immediately adjacent to my own blog posts.
I do my best to provide clean, wholesome, informative, professional, and edifying content for my readers--content which is G-rated and family-friendly--and I am thwarted at every turn by the works of other Orble bloggers who choose to do otherwise. As a Christian, I am offended by these titles (though not necessarily by their writers)--and particularly by their appearing beside my own posts. And I believe that many of my readers feel the same way that I do. I feel that, by changing to my blog's current format, fewer people who visit my blog will be forcibly exposed to the offensive post titles, since they have been relegated to a position very far down on my blog's web page. (It is, of course, true that, when one scrolls down far enough on my blog's page, these titles are visible, and for that, I apologize; but there are, unfortunately, limits to what I can do about the matter.)
I want to be very clear here, however, in stating that I have absolutely nothing personal against the individuals who write these titles; and my feeling is that, if Orble chooses to allow them to write such content, under the controversial "freedom-of-speech" covering, the questionable content should be restricted to the inside of their blog posts, where the "Mature Content" flag can actually do some good and where every reader can choose whether or not to read the posts in question.
To my way of thinking, such potentially offensive material should be entirely forbidden in post titles, which are visible to everyone who visits the Orble site--which, I might point out, could include children. In this way, these bloggers would have the freedom to write whatever they liked within their actual blog posts, those who wanted to read those posts would have the freedom to do so, and the rest of us would have the freedom not to be accosted by material we find offensive. This seems, to me, a very fair compromise, as both sides would be giving up a little so that each could still retain a great deal of what they desire from blogging at Orble. After all, it is totally unfair that one group should be expected to make all the concessions so that the other can do whatever it pleases (i.e., indulge its baser instincts in a widely viewed public forum), regardless of what anyone else thinks. (Note: there is a reason--and a very good one--why pornographic materials have traditionally been shipped in plain brown wrappers!)
Aside from the offensiveness issue, I truly feel that, while profane or obscene material may well reflect the viewpoints of its writers--which they are 100% entitled to--in my view, it has little artistic value and totally lacks the class that I, personally, enjoy seeing in the material I choose to read. Suffice it to say that the writing which endures over the long term is generally not of this type.
And I would add that some of the bloggers who post such content are exceptionally good writers, whose work I would so much enjoy reading if it were not focused in the direction that they've chosen to pursue. While I will not go so far as to say that they are wasting their talent, I will say that they are cutting their work off from an entire segment of the reading public, including many very thoughtful and intelligent individuals, who are appreciative, gracious, and generous with praise for writing that they enjoy.
Besides all of the above, a little enforced subtlety in post titles would provide a wonderful creative exercise that would stretch the blogger's imagination, encouraging new, better, more interesting and artistic ways of expressing ideas. It takes zero talent to use profanity in place of other, more exact and more meaningful adjectives, verbs, or nouns--in both writing and speaking--and I am confident that, if these writers would just take the time to give it a little more thought, they could come up with descriptive words and phrases that are vastly superior to the profanity they are currently using (that is, if they should choose to).
I am certain that many will disagree with me on this subject, and, while I don't mean to be self-righteous about it, I am adamant regarding the issue. To be perfectly candid, I am seeking every possible alternative to leaving the Orble community and truly hoping I won't be forced to do so. I strongly believe that Orble needs to become a place where all bloggers have the opportunity to enjoy the blogging experience. While crude, vulgar, obscene, and sensationalistic titles undoubtedly attract more readers--thus becoming more popular than your basic, responsible, mainstream ones--this is not a sufficient reason for allowing them. Doing so is like encouraging a naughty, mischievous child to continue "acting out" because he (or she) receives more attention when doing so.
Therefore, dear Reader, my blog posts, at least, will no longer continue unintentially featuring offensive Orble content. I apologize that, due to the nature of the Orble blog template, I am unable to remove this content entirely, but I promise to do my best to make it as low-key, unobtrusive, and well-hidden as possible.
Another area I will soon be addressing where my own blog is concerned is Comments. Due to the nature of some of the comments my blog has been receiving--from Orble bloggers that I would love to hear from otherwise, since I feel that they have so much of value to say--I am convinced that it will soon be necessary for me to take the situation in hand by beginning to preview comments before they can appear on my blog (which I've been trying to avoid) and disallowing those that contain profanity, crudity, and or sexually suggestive language or subject matter.
I have been hesitant to delete any of my blog's comments, up to now, so as not to insult anyone; but, as I say, I am attempting to provide a family-friendly blog, and this is impossible when the comments my posts receive contain such material. Therefore, I may have little choice but to do a little comment-deleting soon. I truly wish I didn't have to do this--and I wouldn't if those who have left the comments in question would return to my blog and modify them. This way the main point of each individual's comment would, in most cases, be able to be retained. If those who have added such comments to my blog posts would be so kind as to replace the obscenities with asterisks or any other combination of non-provocative symbols and tone down their comments by using less-crude or suggestive language to express their thoughts, I would greatly appreciate it and would be very happy to be able to retain their comments.
I have nothing but good will toward everyone who has seen fit to comment on my blog posts, and I greatly appreciate their taking the time to share their thoughts with me. So, please do not misunderstand: This post, and all that I have said in it, comes totally from my own convictions about the matter of profanity, obscenity, and the like; and it is in no way meant to imply that I do not respect the individuals who see fit to express their opinions in ways that I find personally offensive.
Perhaps, one might think of my blog as one's grandmother's house (though I do realize that all grandmothers are different). If you wouldn't say it in front of your proper, staid, and prudish grandmother--or perhaps better, still, your own mother--then, please, don't say it on my blog. You are welcome back for a visit anytime, and I would love to carry on a conversation with you when you visit--as long as you can respect the rules of my "home".
There, you have it, folks. You now know why I have been forced to change to a blog template I don't really like. In a perfect world, I wouldn't have to do that--but alas, this is the real world and we have to deal with the way things are rather than the way we would like them to be. Though, if we can change them for the better in some small way, I say, "Go for it!"
Thanks for reading!
Jeanne
NOTE: I have, since this post was written, changed my blog back to its previous format for a number of reasons. The design was very cumbersome and difficult to navigate. Visually, its asymmetrical appearance was very unbalanced and hence quite aesthetically displeasing. And, finally, the atmosphere at Orble seems to have mellowed somewhat of late--possibly because Orble is enforcing the use of the "Mature Content" tag--and I have not found anything too offensive in the Orble sidebar lately.
Did you enjoy this post? Don't leave me lonely--Please comment!
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