Please, If You're Going to Blog, Blog the way *I* Like...

I happen to rather adore Scicurious and one of the reasons I adore Sci so much, is because she refers to herself in the first person (err, DuWayne meant third person, thanks LM). It certainly isn't the only reason I like to pop over there now and then, but it is part of her voice - her style - and I rather like her voice and style. But apparently some people don't - people who don't believe they were rude to mention as much in the comments of a review she wrote.

These commenters were rather shocked, when their "polite" critiques of Sci's style weren't particularly appreciated. Well, what would you think if you were entertaining some guests and explaining something, when one of them explained that they really don't like the way you express yourself? Personally, I am the kind of asshole who would mock their dumbass, as I booted them out the door. More reasonable people than I, would probably just be mortified at being insulted like that in their own home - however else they reacted.

Someone with the handle "The Blind Watcher" felt that the reactions to these jackasses was way too rude. He made a couple of comments, the last of which I had responded to a couple of weeks ago and then came back with this:

I don't quite understand how you've arrived at the point in which criticism must stop? What am I missing? If someone reviews a book of, say Richard Dawkins, the style will be a major part of it. It might even be lambasted for it. Why should that be so obviously "out of bounds" here?

If I understand this situation, we need a warning "Please don't criticize writing style in our blogs, it's rude and unacceptable and we'll reply with nasty, condescending comments specifically tailored not just insult you but to express at length your lack of intelligence and insignificance in the world"

This blog is part of ScienceBlogs, I expect a thick skin and a basic level of professionalism from all blog authors. If you can't hack it, then get the fuck off this Blog roll - I can't be bothered filtering you out.

Apparently, Sci should not be a Seed Scienceblogger - because some fucking asshole who seems to lack any understanding of what blogging is about, can't be bothered to filter her out. I responded over there, but wanted to take a moment to respond to it here - especially as I occasionally get emails about my own blogging.

This isn't a book or some column in the paper - it's a fucking blog. More to the point, this one is mine - just as Neurotopia is Sci's. I am here to express myself and mostly, to have a conversation - not to win journalism awards or sell books. Sometimes I just write things here, that I can refer to later - such as my posts on moral relativism. And I occasionally post papers I write for class, mostly because I loathe the notion of wasting hours of writing on an audience of one - I figure it is better to reach at least a dozen or so folks for my effort.

And you DO NOT HAVE TO READ blogs you don't like. Don't complain to the blogger that you would prefer they express themselves differently - just find blogs by people who express themselves in ways you appreciate. Don't presume to think that any blogger actually gives a fuck what you think about their style or, worse, what they write about.

The thing that I get emails about on occasion, is my sometimes gratuitous use of the word fuck. Invariably they start off with how much they appreciate what I have to say a lot of the time, but are really turned off by my strong language. If you feel that way, I am honestly sorry that your narrow mind can't get past a little profanity and appreciate the substance. I respect your feelings - I really do. But who the fuck are you to tell me how to talk? This is a conversation, not a formal journalism venue or a formal venue for anything. This is a place where people are pretty much free to say what they will about the topics I write about (as long as they actually use a handle of some sort and don't spam me with tons of bullshit) - regardless of how they talk or what their opinion happens to be.

Most importantly, this is a place where I can express myself and say what I think - talk about how I feel. I am not writing for YOU, I am mostly writing for ME. And I am writing for my friends. I honestly and truly don't care how you feel about the way that I write or what I write about. I write about what I feel like writing about and occasionally take requests - though you need to understand that I am not always able to write those requests. I am not really concerned that you don't like a particular topic I decide to write about. And I while I actually do care if I make you uncomfortable when I write about certain topics (such as identity issues), I only care because making people a bit uncomfortable is the goal.

No one is forcing you to read my blog or Sci's - or anyfuckingone else's. And if you are incapable of filtering out bloggers who annoy you - that is your problem, not theirs. Don't like a Seed science blogger - don't feel it is appropriate for them to be blogging under that collective - complain to the folks at Seed, not to the bloggers they invited to blog there. Just keep in mind that it is unlikely to have the desired result - Seed invited them to blog there, not you. They might be a little more polite about it than I am, but I wouldn't count on them being very nice and they will say essentially the same thing - go fuck yourself.

Or, perversely, you could just Get Your Own Motherfucking Blog Asshole!!!11!!1!1!1!!!!