Blog EULA.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger      3 comments      link this post     





Before you respond, react or do anything with this blog, I encourage you to read this page.

Please.

It's for your own safety and well-being. And also so that I don't have to keep saying the same thing over and over again either in direct emails or to people complaining on my blog or their blog or wherever else it goes down. Please read this page. It's long, it's wordy, it's harsh, it's insulting, it's pretentious, and it's written from years of blogging experience.

The Basics
Some things to keep in mind while participating on this blog, with examples where
necessary:

1. Do not threadjack. If it doesn't apply to the topic of the post, don't leave it in the comments section. Put it in a post that deals with that topic. If there is none, the comment remains yours and yours only. The comments section of this blog is not the way to contact me, spam me, promote your own blog, or sound off on your pet agenda. (Click here for an example.)
2. Do not post complete song lyrics. Post a link to the song, a stanza, a snippet, a mention, but for the love of all that is good and holy, don't post the complete song. This goes for complete poems, large passages from books or online material, and sections from the 1796 peace treaty with Tripoli to prove this isn't a Christian nation. Sum it up in your own words or use a link. Please.
3. Do not be a link whore. If you want to use my blog to launch readers over to your blog, leave a decent comment that makes them want to find out more about you. Don't leave a comment saying something as uninformative as "Hey, I have a blog you might like to check out. Here it is!" because no one cares about your blog if you haven't earned respect by leaving a worthwhile comment.
4. Do not be an obnoxious boor. Read the rest of the page for a detailed
   description of what that entails.
5. Be relevant. If you leave a comment, make it relevant to both the topic and tone of the post you are leaving the comment on. If you find it difficult to determine if what you've written is relevant, then it's very likely not. (Read here for further instructions.)
6. Content is fresh, 99% of the time. I publish as I blog with little delay from when I sit down to write to when it hits the blog for you to read. However, when I am going to be gone for long periods of time, whether on vacation or something else, I will utilize Blogger's ability to schedule publishing. This means I will write a bunch of posts and have the set to publish periodically while I am gone. Such posts will be marked as follows: "This post was pre-written and published as scheduled." All posts were still written, and are wholly original, by me.
7. Sometimes I change my mind. I don't delete posts, but sometimes I wish I'd not written something, or that I could delete it. Instead of doing that (which seems dishonest to me), I categorize it as "I changed my mind." This means that I do not agree or adhere with what I wrote, and that I may want to/have apologized for it. Read more about it below.
8. I need to maintain this blog as I see fit. This may include deleting comments that are off-topic, off-color, or purely bait -- main comments I let slip by that do not even follow my own EULA policies. I am also finding that I delete comments by "anonymous" on old posts that I come across. I value a name and I no longer allow "anonymous" comments. So, you'll see some comments deleted.
   

Some things to keep in mind in regards to how readers react to me, the writer they do not really know:

1. I am not your new best friend. Please read below, on the topics of sending me email and comment section response, for further details. A personally written blog does not actually translate into you knowing me personally. And, on the same note but in a slightly different take...
2. I am not as interesting as you think. Some readers have convinced themselves that I am an interesting person. I really am not. I'm no more interesting or unusual than the average woman walking by you at the grocery store. Please remember you only see, on this web site, what I allow you to see in my life. You don't see everything. There is much I keep private -- very much. The picture I present to you of myself is very selective. There is nothing to see here and in me that you can't find in the people already around you. I only say this because of the following sections you will now read, regarding contacting me by email, responding to you, and sending things.

Several Links of Interest

• Taking you seriously
• Thoughts on fisking.
• The responsibility of the reader.
• The use of logic.
• Excessive caveats.
• Annoying netizens.
• Propriety's sake.
  

Regarding Contacting Me By Email
Please don't.

I'm not trying to be cruel. I do like people well enough. I'm sure I'd love to hear how you either love or hate this blog, under normal, face-to-face circumstances. I have a history of answering nearly all of my emails, even the random stranger ones that seem to get stranger and stranger every year I blog. I don't plan on doing that
anymore.

If you really like this blog and want to show your appreciation, consider donating a few dollars and make it a simple business transaction of money exchanged for goods. That works, and it helps me pay bills. And then no one feels obligated about anything, since the transaction was fair and equal: money for content.

But don't email me to connect personally. I don't want to strike up a personal friendship, particularly if you're male. I don't like to see people hurt and so I too often answered every email out of that guilty obligation, which then led to my friendliness being misinterpreted.

It has been exhausting to care about everyone and everything, and I have to finally say: I can't , and sometimes don't, care. I can't care how similar you think we are. I don't want to get to know you. I don't want to link to your site. I don't want to excerpt your thoughts on my web site anywhere. I'm sure your mother thinks you are a wonderful person, and she's probably right. I'm sure you're very nice and intelligent. Whatever the case, I'm not interested in becoming friends, buddies, pals, or anything else. You have enough friends in real life, and so do I. That's the truth! The people around you are the same as the people online, except they're right there, now. Meet those people.

Now, if you're a customer or exist in some other professional status, or have a request or inquiry, that's something else entirely. Maybe you have additional information or a blog suggestion or question on a topic I've written about. That's not a personal email, but an informational one. I think that's great. That's why I
provide contact information.

But personal contact? Don't email me. Please. I'm not trying to be rude to my readers and visitors, people I appreciate very much for supporting this site. I've had, however, enough headaches from where all that communication eventually leads and I'm sick to death of all the well-meaning but inevitable result. If you email me, despite all of this, I probably will not reply. It's nothing personal about you. I'm sure, as is often stated in such emails that get sent my way, that you have a great blog and are a great person and I'm great and everything is great.

But I most likely won't reply.

I've learned my lesson very well. And I just can't care about everything.

Responding To You In The Comments Section
I enjoy the conversations that happen in the comments section. I enjoy taking part in the discussion other readers are involved in. I love it when a post lights up with readers interested and active at the topic at hand. If I respond to you in the comments section, it doesn't mean anything other than that: a response.

Don't email me later.

Don't try to clarify something with me in private. Don't give me extra information in private communicae. Don't try to "side" with me via a private email. Do it in the comments section, where it is public and all can see.

I simply do not want to be in on your secret, be a holder or recipient of "special" information, or in any way, shape, or form, be taken into your confidence as some minuscule step towards a closer relationship other than mere writer and reader and the public forum we share.

I'm not joking.

If You Send Me Something
Sometimes readers, out of a sincere and appreciative kindness, send me things.

Books, maybe, or even pizza or a towel. Even flowers!

I can't tell you how I appreciate that. It makes my day. It reminds me that I need to keep blogging and writing to the best of my abilities. It makes me smile and gush and I am thrilled. It reminds me of the good people out there, of how each of us likes to express our appreciation in different ways. It tells me that my work is appreciated enough that someone would like to let me know. It is, by no means, a requirement, however. No one has to send me anything. I really don't expect it. I really don't. Getting things is kind of awkward for me, and I'm not sure I thank people enough. I struggling with feelings of owing, and I'm diligently working to put that to rest. In that regard, to be clear, all I can give you back is a thank you. That has to be good enough.

I can't owe you anything else.

I hope this doesn't seem ungrateful. It isn't meant to be. I can't, however, accept a gift if it means the giver expects something. It all must be in the free and clear. This goes for donations, also. I frequently give things away on this site in contests or just for fun, and I do it without expecting anything back. This is the nature of a true gift.

I will probably thank you, but I can't do anything more than that. I hope you understand my position, and why I have to say this. And for those of you who have given? Thank you. I appreciate it.

Changing My Mind
I don't delete posts.

I do, however, change my mind on some things I've written about. This doesn't make me a hypocrite; it means I'm not in a coma and that I constantly reconsider. Like any other adapting and thinking human. In such cases where I think it relevant, I will post on things I've changed my mind on. You can read those posts here. Before bringing up an old post and using it as proof that I'm not holding to my own writing, please be sure to make certain you're not beating a dead horse.

I prefer live horses.

The Right to Remain Silent
You have the right to remain silent. You don't have to respond to everything I ever write.

This is my blog, and that is why I reserve the right to turn comments off or delete those I wish to delete. If you're not sure what you're about to comment or say is appropriate; if you can't spell a majority of the words you choose to use correctly; if you think you'll come off sounding philosophical or you think what you want to say will make you The Man, trust me. You should remain silent.

Why I Might Not Take You Seriously
I might not take you seriously if you say you want intellectual debate and then follow it with insults. There are also a couple of other reasons I might not take you seriously. Please read them.

The Difficult Concept of Private Property Rights
If you are upset at my policies because you think I only present one side and that I'm a) the Gestapo b) Hitler c) any other over-used cliché, fine. What makes you think that a personal blog is a platform for presenting both sides?

A blog is essentially private property. I might allow you to hunt on my private property, but if you throw garbage around on the ground and make a general nuisance of yourself, I'll forbid you from coming back. That's not censorship, particularly when you go other places or even buy your own property. Instead, I am managing my private property how I see fit, since I AM THE ONE PAYING THE BILLS. I welcome you to come and show me that you are a polite and considerate visitor. However, I am saying that you have to follow my rules when you hunt on my property.

If it is not your blog, then you have no rights to it. This has nothing to do with you, personally, or what you believe. Everything is not about you.

Censorship And What It Isn't
Since this is a private blog and not connected to the government or an employer or some entity that could ruin your life if you speak up, deleting or forbidding your comments and opinions here is not censorship. This is about private property rights. There is a huge difference, which might not seem fair to the We're All Equal And Everyone Is Important crowd. If you don't understand it, life is going to have some really bad surprises in store for you.

If you're still upset and feel "censored" despite the fact that you can start your own blog for your own opinions for FREE, where did you get the idea that you were entitled to have your voice heard on other people's blogs? If you want to say something, get your own blog. They're simple to set up, and if you can't pull it together to figure it out yourself, tough bounce.

Comment Policy
Deleting or editing comments inevitably leads into the You Fascist Pig battle, in which a person whose comment has been edited or deleted starts in with one of the following arguments, either by stupidly trying to leave another comment or through direct email to me:

1. You fascist pig.
2. What, you can't handle hearing another side of the argument? Are your own arguments that weak? You fascist pig.
3. Some freedom of speech. You conservative right-wingers can't take anyone disagreeing with you. You fascist pig.
4. I thought this country was built on free speech. I thought both sides should be heard. You fascist pig.
5. (whirring sound in background as back peddling commences) I was just trying to give you a chance to solidify your arguments. Don't you want your readers to hear both sides of the story, or are only interested in bias? (you fascist pig)

That being said, all comments are welcome, except those that are crude, vulgar and laced with obscenities or racial slurs. Just keep in mind that I reserve the right to delete comments that are in poor taste as defined here. I also reserve the right to delete comments by those posted as 'anonymous' that are argumentative, out of line, or just tick me off in general. If you can't put your name to it, come back when you've grown a spine and then comment. It's my site, out of my checkbook, cterefore, my call. Get your own blog if you don't like it.

Email, Revisited
If, despite what I said at the start of this page regarding email and why I don't want you to send it, you choose to still email me, be aware: All correspondence (email, et. al.) relating to this blog and web site, directly sent to me, or comments left on this site, become my property and may be published on this site or elsewhere.

Obnoxious boors get special treatment. This means you.

If you email me, leave a comment, send me a letter or postcard, or use a Vulcan Mind Meld in reaction to anything on the www.loneprairie.net website, including the blog, you give me permission to use any or all of it as I see fit. This may include posting in partial or full in later posts. The mere act of responding and/or reacting, both positively or negatively, tells me that you understand and agree to my policy. I may quote you in any virtual or real publications in relation to this blog.

Simplified Summary in 32 Flavors (or thereabouts)
I know that there are some of you out there still having a hard time understanding constraints on your "freedom of speech", having been brought up to believe you can say anything you want anywhere with no conditions. This special section is just for you.

1. This my blog.
2. I pay for website.
3. I make policy.
4. I enforce policy.
5. You welcome to read, to comment.
6. I no like comment, I delete. See #3. Get own blog.
7. Quit crying. Life not fair.
8. Your mamma.

If you are offended by be labeled by the moniker "intellectually challenged" but still haven't grasped what I'm trying to say, I have conveniently summarized these concepts for specific types of people. Enjoy.

For Accountants

Free = no cost.
Loneprairie.net hosting = over $100 a year
Speech on loneprairie.net is, therefore, not free.

For Simpletons
It's not my website. I might not be allowed to post.

For Thomas Moore fans
Utopia was a good book. We do not live in Utopia. The internet is not Utopia. As much as I really, really wish everyone's opinion was valid, valuable and worth hearing at any and all times, in any format or setting, it isn't. Some people haven't put much thought behind their thoughts. Some people have talking-points opinions. Just because they own a computer doesn't get them a place at the table.

For Michael Moore fans
I have to go find a doughnut and some fries.

Copyright (c) Julie R. Neidlinger      2/03/2008 05:52:00 PM      (3) comments      Links to this post    

Content, design and imagery © Julie R. Neidlinger. All rights reserved. Please read the blog End User License Agreement (EULA).
All work by Julie R. Neidlinger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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