At the weekend I put up a post about Salute which was mainly about how I found the day plus photos etc. I mentioned how nice it was to see how diverse the audience is compared with a few years ago including more younger people, women, and I also happened to mention that there were more people who appeared to be non-binary or trans.
Clearly for a handful of people this was like a red rag to a bigot bull. I've had daily anonymous posts arguing that trans women aren't women etc and celebrating the controversial Supreme Court ruling in the UK. These weren't reasoned debates but ranty, 'ooh everything's gone woke' strops. And then followed up with posts getting upset when I deleted the comments claiming there was 1984 style censorship going on.
So, sadly, for the 1st time in over 10 years, I've had to turn on Moderation for comments. It's sad that the anti-trans sentiment seemed to be the main takeaway for some people from a lengthy post about the biggest wargames show in the UK.
Just to be clear, I accept people have wide ranging views on this subject and that it can sometimes be tricky to have a nuanced discussion, but I'm certainly not providing a platform for bigots to spout their reactionary views. So for now I'm afraid there will be a bit of moderating going on until they get bored and go and shout at someone else.
That is such a shame. Honestly, some people. The worst I get on my blog are AI generated spam and phishing attacks. Trolls, please don't take that as a challenge!
ReplyDeleteSadly I think AI would generate more literate posts that the ones I've been getting, but they're all going into the bin and not bothering anyone!
DeleteI enjoy your blog and am sorry you have to take this action. Personally, I feel pleased this hobby can attract participants from many backgrounds. That certainly helps the evolution and survival of gaming.
ReplyDeleteAnd it cheers me just to read the word "nuanced" as opposed to screaming into people's faces.
It's a complicated and contentious subject and it's a shame some people feel the need to be offensive and obnoxious about it.
DeleteI think it's only a couple of angry people who are still sending me several posts a day on the subject but I reckon I'm providing a public service by keeping them occupied so they aren't annoying anyone else! I'm not sure if they've twigged that their comments aren't actually being posted ! 🤣
Sorry this has happened. I too have had to moderate comments on my blog as well. Take it as a badge of honour that the trolls have found you. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDelete