When starting this blog in late 2022, I intentionally disabled the comment section:
- I'd seen what happened in the comment threads beneath each of Lauren Do's posts: For each fascinating historical detail added by an experienced Alamedan, there would be at least one other comment with an ad-hominem attack.
- "Godwin's law of Nazi analogies" definitely applied in the Blogging Bayport comments section — although I think it was much more often in recent years those comment-threads reached their breaking point with comparisons not to Hitler but rather to Trump.
- While I haven't used Facebook in years, I can also guess what happens on the Alameda Peeps group: When the group works, it's only because of much ongoing active moderation.
Seeing those points of comparison, I didn't have the interest or the energy to become the "owner" of a comments section. (I already have my own kids as well as a cat :)
Since that time, Twitter's #alamtg hashtag has disappeared. The dean emerita of Alameda bloggers has hung up her blog and its comments section. More recently, I've also been impressed with random assortment of emails that do reach me from readers who figure out my email address and want to reply to my posts.
So, I'll give this a try. Comments now enabled on this blog.
Rules
If you want to post to the comments section, please follow these rules (which I'm adapting from Reddit's r/alameda discussion board):
- Keep it about Alameda: Your comments should be relevant to the given blog post and relevant to Alameda. There are other online forums to talk about "the national situation" or about other larger topics.
- No trolling or personal attacks: No trolling, baiting, or comments intended to provoke a reaction. No inflammatory posts. No personal attacks. Avoid simple ad hominem attacks. Avoid hurtful language against others. While it's reasonable to be critical of elected officials in their public capacities, let's also give them the benefit of the doubt and privacy for their personal lives. Same for city staff and for volunteers serving on city boards and commissions.
- No doxxing: We live in a small community and things can get around. The internet is also a "permanent record" in that sharing information about people's names or their home locations can quickly get indexed by search engines. Don't post personal information about anyone other than yourself.
Recommendations
Along with those rules, let me offer a few recommendations:
- Start your own blog: If you find yourself writing an overly long comment explaining how I'm wrong and you're right, consider starting your own blog.
- Send in a public comment to City Council or a board/commission: Hopefully it will be somewhat stimulating and somewhat educational to post and read comments to this blog. But that's not a substitute for sending in your own comments in your own voice and under your own name to Alameda's elected and appointed leaders. A small number of letters and public comments can make a surprisingly large difference in this city.
Disclaimers
Writing to me about a topic related to the Alameda city Transportation Commission may be considered a public record. Only write to me or post in this comment section what you'd feel comfortable with everyone reading.
Also a disclaimer that this is an experiment and I reserve the right to shut down all comments if it's more trouble than it's worth.
Chit-chat
Since moving to Alameda, I've quite enjoyed learning about the "civics" of this place from long-time residents, activists, bloggers, Twitter addicts, City Council members, and others.
Hopefully these comment threads will help spread a bit of this positive "chit-chat" about transportation, housing, and local politics in Alameda, California.