:0 !
He did it. Steve closed the comments on his blog. I think it was apparent to all willing to see that he was growing frustrated with the comment situation. I have enjoyed the comments -- and I've "met" people through them who have become friends (some I've actually met in real life :-) ), but given a choice between the blog itself and the comments. I'll take the blog.
I wonder if he will follow isolde's suggestion and put up an email addy and start a facebook account so fans could interact (I think that's what she suggested anyway). I don't actually see the need for either of those. Steve can already be contacted (through his Myspace acct) and he (or more likely Russell) has already set up a reader community (MyBlogLog) we can use, and people can also use Myspace to contact each other. So I don't see any need for him to do anything else. Sometimes Myspace does get wonky, so I suppose an email account just for fan correspondence might be easier. But then most people will expect a reply, so that might just be opening up another can of worms. Of course the same is true if people start contacting him through his myspace page.
Here's the blog post which marks the start of the no comment era:
The Time Being: chiaroscuro
I had to laugh at the "cranky instead of thankful" line. I seem to be a big fan of cranky. So many of the people I have liked and enjoyed over the years could be called cranky (many could be called lots of other names too), and I've found I even get along well with cranky animals! My two very favourite horses were the most cranky ones. Hell, Misty used to run over people if she was in one of her moods and someone was in the way. I learned to move out of her way mighty quickly when she got "the look" on her face. lol. But I got along with her wonderfully. And my cats -- many of my cats are surly little devils, but I enjoy them.
The post is a list of SK's contradictions (I do love the way he plays with words -- I've always enjoyed that type of thing). It always seems strange to me when people criticise him for this (the contradictions, not the playing with words, although I think it's weird to criticise that too), because I find most people -- at least most interesting people -- are a mass of contradictions. My guess is that Steve can be a major pain in the ass to live with or deal with very closely -- but I and the rest of his fans, don't live with or deal very closely with him. We get the benefits of his complexities and contradictions without the drawbacks of them. I think that's a pretty sweet deal for us.
I wonder if he will follow isolde's suggestion and put up an email addy and start a facebook account so fans could interact (I think that's what she suggested anyway). I don't actually see the need for either of those. Steve can already be contacted (through his Myspace acct) and he (or more likely Russell) has already set up a reader community (MyBlogLog) we can use, and people can also use Myspace to contact each other. So I don't see any need for him to do anything else. Sometimes Myspace does get wonky, so I suppose an email account just for fan correspondence might be easier. But then most people will expect a reply, so that might just be opening up another can of worms. Of course the same is true if people start contacting him through his myspace page.
Here's the blog post which marks the start of the no comment era:
The Time Being: chiaroscuro
I had to laugh at the "cranky instead of thankful" line. I seem to be a big fan of cranky. So many of the people I have liked and enjoyed over the years could be called cranky (many could be called lots of other names too), and I've found I even get along well with cranky animals! My two very favourite horses were the most cranky ones. Hell, Misty used to run over people if she was in one of her moods and someone was in the way. I learned to move out of her way mighty quickly when she got "the look" on her face. lol. But I got along with her wonderfully. And my cats -- many of my cats are surly little devils, but I enjoy them.
The post is a list of SK's contradictions (I do love the way he plays with words -- I've always enjoyed that type of thing). It always seems strange to me when people criticise him for this (the contradictions, not the playing with words, although I think it's weird to criticise that too), because I find most people -- at least most interesting people -- are a mass of contradictions. My guess is that Steve can be a major pain in the ass to live with or deal with very closely -- but I and the rest of his fans, don't live with or deal very closely with him. We get the benefits of his complexities and contradictions without the drawbacks of them. I think that's a pretty sweet deal for us.
posted by eek at 3:55 AM
10 Comments:
Was there a particular comment or commentor that brought it all crashing down? Or just the fact that all of us exist?
Well said, Eeky.
I've been a regular member of the commentariat from the very start (I couldn't believe he'd started a blog. Wonderful). Anyway, I tried to restrict my comments to the pithy and witty end of the spectrum, only commenting when I felt I could engage with what was being said. Occassionally I think even succeded. I got a couple of acknowledgements here and there, so that was gratifying from a fan-boy point of view.
I was infuriated by the unthinking diatribes that some people posted (the infamous 'Anonymous'). There was some really horrible stuff in there, but mostly it was just deflating to read. It really put a dent in my faith in human nature....only to have it restored again a few comments down by the likes of yourself, Isolde, Mal Arky, B-Bon, Honeysmoke and many others. A real community of likeminded souls.
I lament the end of the comments era, but understand the need to detatch. I'm simply amazed the blog has lasted as long as it has...and even more amazed that Kilbey's mystique remains intact in my mind for all the intimacy of regular contact. In truth I dislike being anyone's 'fan' - I really resent the hierarchical implications of such a relationship. I'd really like to see myself as a peer, a fellow traveller, or just another fella looking askance at an out of kilter world. But in the scheme of things I'm just another punter. Ever was it so, pharaoh.
I'll miss the interaction, of course. But life is change, man...
With love,
v
John -- I don't think it was any one person -- even as a trigger. I think it was a cumulative thing where he'd finally had enough. It just seemed to kind of come to a head in the Oct 25 blog comments section.
Verdelay -- Deflating is as good a word as any to describe many of the comments. I've been stunned at times by the viciousness of some of them -- comments intended only to wound, not to make any logical point. It is discouraging to realise there are just as many Church fan fuckwits as any other type. I had hoped we as a group were better than that.
Certainly not all the comments were bad, and I will miss the ones by many people who are always interesting.
I also never expected him to start a blog and am delighted it's lasted so long and been so good. For me the daily blogs have increased my appreciation of SK instead of lessened it.
I certainly can't blame him...
My commenting kind of ebbed and flowed, but I certainly wouldn't consider myself a regular commenter even though I'm a daily reader.
It's hard to put into words how much I appreciate his daily blog. Hopefully closing the comments will give him more time to concentrate on delivering his daily gold to us in his blog!
I really don't understand the malicious nature of some people - but I should know by now there are a lot of bad people out there. Too bad some of them have brought The Time Being to this.
Oh well, long live SK.
I must admit I'd stopped reading the comments some time ago.
Might have been lack of time, might have been lack of interest. Probably both.
I found that the comments rarely added anything of value (present company excepted, natch) and occasionally, as verdelay said, they were actually quite horrid.
In the end, it usually wasn't worth the effort.
I won't miss the comments. But I would certainly miss the blog if it went away.
So if it's going to make Mr Kilbey happy, then comments be damned.
Hey there miss.
I agree with Matt as far as if it keeps Mr. K happy - comments be damned. I heard from kat that they'd been discontinued just today, and honestly - I can't believe he showed the patience and restraint he did for as *long* as he did.
Me - I'll take whatever I can get, however I can get it. SK output in any form he chooses.
i've been saying for a while that he needed to do it, and i'm glad he finally did. the situation had long since passed being an annoyance. a lot of the comments on there were rude and just downright mean.
personally, i stopped reading anything that had a name line of "anonymous" or something obviously made up, like a "name" that took up two or three lines of text before actually starting the comment section.....and even then while reading the comments, i only read those from a handful of people, like eek, andyL, queen h, etc. this is how i would read the comments: scroll down till i saw somebody i recognized, stop, read comment, continue to scroll down, see somebody else, stop, read, scroll down...
and so on and so forth.
it seems to me that it got to the point where these idiot commenters were just a bunch of bratty kids, more or less pushing steve's buttons just to see if he said he would do what he said he was gonna.
and he finally did.
i'm like you, verdelay, i'll miss the interaction, too. but if the lack of interaction means that i (and others) can be safe from being insulted, then i'll just read the blog anyday.
The only concern I have with the comments being completely stopped is that Steve obviously liked the interaction when that interaction was good (good as in intelligent, not necessarily always agreeing with him). We all say we'll read it without the comments (and I don't doubt that), but if he gets no feedback, will Steve keep writing it?
I know it was his choice to cut off the comments, and he could have chosen a less extreme way (no anon comments, etc.), but I think his idealism (it's there, even if he's a cynic sometimes) kept the comments wide open for long after most of us would have cut them off. But I just can't see him continuing the blog for long in a vacuum.
Mostly for this reason I hope the comments shutdown is temporary. Until then I'm finding other ways to make sure he knows I'm reading and appreciating it.
you're right eek~~he has mentioned more than a few times that he enjoyed the interaction, too. (well, the meaningful ones...;) )
i don't think he'll keep it off for long, either. but we'll see.
"i don't think he'll keep it off for long, either. but we'll see."
ha~~spoke too soon. it's on again.
Post a Comment
<< Home