I've decided to disable comments on my blog again.
I don't care that the comment threads often wound up in left field talking about meta-meta-meta-social criticism. Having comments open invites that kind of thing to happen - it's leaving an open mic plugged into the PA system, and inviting anyone to take it. That's essentially the whole point of having open comments, to see where things go after hitting "Publish."
What I did care about was the tone that the comment threads often took. I'm explicitly not going to call anyone a "troll" - I believe everyone was commenting with the best of intentions, and that the only goal was to share a point of view and help enlighten each other. But the tone often go to the point that I'd cringe when I got an email notification of a new comment. So, comments are now disabled here.
*But. That's **censorship**! You're just trying to silence my voice! WITNESS THE OPPRESSION INHERENT IN THE SYSTEM! I'M BEING OPPRESSED!*
Bullshit. Nobody's telling anyone not to talk. All I'm doing is not inviting The Internet to do that at my place. Talk all you want. If you have something to say, write elaborate posts describing your perspective. The beauty of the current web is that anyone can start a blog, for free, and write about whatever they want.
*But. People will never find what I write if I don't do it in the comments of YOUR blog.*
Again, bullshit. Trackbacks are enabled. Link back and it'll be added to the page automagically. It's not like this blog is the New York Times or anything. It's just a personal blog that I started years ago, using the exact same tools that are available to you. If you want a voice, step up and craft your own. If not, then don't whine about not being able to post stuff on my website (wait - was that censorship? damn. I **am** oppressive).
*But. You're just being a lame copout, hiding behind your blog and not letting anyone communicate with you.*
Utter, total and complete bullshit. Bull. Shit. Everyone that was posting comments here already has several other channels to contact me (if that's what they really want). I'm not hard to find. I'm not hiding behind anything, nor from anyone. It's not personal. I just don't want to have to deal with the bullshit that comes from having comments enabled on my blog. That's all. If you think I'm wrong on something, call me out on it. Publicly. If anything, I'm at more risk of exposure now, as feedback and critique can't be buried in the comments of an obscure edu-photo-whateverblog.
Anyway. Whatever. It's done. I don't foresee enabling comments here again.