Fred is talking crap.

Bartletts blog is my favourite because you can indeed engage in a discussion (or a stoush) with all sorts of weird and wonderful opinions. Bartlett makes his opinions known but he certainly does not repress others.

When people read each other’s comments, new ideas and possible solutions to problems emerge.

It’s also a good way of finding out which topics are of the most interest, and which policies need to change.

The only thing I have a problem with is the total axeing of certain comments from this site.

(Editor’s note: The Comments Policy on this site spells out the guidelines for comments. Comments which are clearly outside those guidelines may be edited, or in the rare cases of persistent flagrant breaches, deleted completely)”

Seems to me that what I’ve witnessed and others have told me is correct Andrew. I doth think thou protesteth too much. Like I said b4 Andrew your blog is good, but don’t try to say it is something it is not. As for your note. As usual you try to excuse your habit of stifling dissent when good points are made against you. Whether its against your personal flaming or beliefs.

I can’t troll my own blog Fred (although god knows why I’d want to anyway on a site that is specifically set up to enable feedback and reasoned debate). But seeing I allow people to put critical comments on my blog, I can’t see why I shouldn’t be able to respond to them – especially when the criticisms are of people or groups who can’t defend themselves.

According to you I simultaneously censor and delete critical comments (event though the evidence shows there are many such comments on my site), whilst also responding to those same comments that I supposedly don’t allow to appear!

As The Editor said, people can figure it out for themselves.

One benefit of responding to people who fib, flame and troll is that the contradictions and emptiness in their arguments become more apparent as they try to defend the indefensible (which is why they usually just ‘defend’ by attacking). However, as I said above, a downside is that for others readers the comment thread degenerates into tedious bickering, so I’ll leave it here and let the evidence and contradictions speak for itself.

“But as The Editor said Fred, readers can make up their own minds by looking at the evidence themselves.”

If you delete them people can’t see them.
If you end a topic people cannot make further comment and I note you always have the last word in those cases.
i also note you flame and troll yourself Andrew when someone stands up to you or puts forth a comment that makes your stance rather uncomfortable.

Your blog is pretty good Andrew but lets not try to say it is something it is not.

But as The Editor said Fred, readers can make up their own minds by looking at the evidence themselves.

However, while people can judge for themselves, the main problem with comment wars isn’t people being led astray, it’s people being led away – through boredom with tedious spats instead of genuine dialogue. It certainly dissuades others from leaving comments if they feel that all it will achieve is getting them drawn into squabbles.

Flamers and trolls have certainly destroyed the opportunity for dialogue and reasoned debate on a couple of politicians’ blogs in the UK which have just closed off comments a consequence. Trying to contain or control this without constraining honest and open feedback and discussion is the hardest task for any political blog which seeks to take a reasoned approach rather than just pursuing political polemics and posturing. However, at this stage I think it’s still worth trying that.

All I can say Editor is you don’t know much about Andrew’s blog and what happens to dissenters there. If a post is deleted or changed, how can you look it up in an archive?

BTW I don’t feel guilty for dumbing down this comment thread. Not after billybob descended to ejection jokes.

A downside of blogging is that comment wars often descend into soapboxing by turns rather than genuine dialogue. Unfortunately some commenters do take things a bit too far and bloggers, I think, have a right to implement a fair comments policy.

An upside of blogging is that comment threads are archived and available for all to see. Readers aren’t dumb and can make up their own minds about the various participants in comment wars.

From what I’ve seen at Andrew’s blog he’s had a very fair and even-handed approach towards commenters.

One other ‘campaigning blog’ which won’t fit the editors criteria, but is interesting blog to examine from a campaigning tool persecptive is the one by a WA Liberal candidate Graham Keirath. http://www.talkwithgraham.com/blog/

He of course used to a Minister, but was voted out when Gallop got in. His blog is from his campaign when he unsuccessfully attempted to be re-elected in 2005. It is dormany now of course, but it’s an interesting read and a very open blog. Again, the fact that he lost may be more proof that there’s no real electoral benefit in genuine blogging.

http://www.clemnb.typepad.com/

There is one other politician’s site that I know of which approximates a blog – Victorian Labor MLA Carl Carli – http://home.vicnet.net.au/~ccarli/.

It has fairly straight partisan press release style entries, but it does allow comments. Personally, I think a blog without a comment facility (even if it’s a heavily moderated one), isn’t a blog. Politicians are always happy to let people know what they think through as many mediums as possible – it’s listening and responding to the responses that makes a difference.

There was a Nationals candidate in the recent Qld election who had a blog – Lyle Sheldon for Toowoomba North (see http://lyles-blog.blogspot.com/). He was long odds to win, given how brightly the reign of the Beattie Sun God continues to shine in Qld, but I don’t think I’m being unduly unkind when I say he still polled a bit below expectations. Perhaps that’s another argument as to why blogging doesn’t seem to suit Australian politics for some reason, and hence why there are so few of them.

Blogging politicians, like honest ones, are going to remain a rare breed, i’m afraid…

It angers me when people write blogs but don’t allow comments. I’d read Turnbull’s if he added comment functionality.