Rules for posting comments, LOLZ!!
On the comments form for movie reviews and “Snide Remarks” and such, there is now a link to the commenting rules.
Even if you’re been around a while, you should still give ‘em a look. Some are obvious (no swearing), while others may not have occurred to you (e.g., you don’t need to point out how dumb a commenter is; idiotic comments usually speak for themselves).
There is one rule that might be somewhat controversial to some of our younger readers, however, and it is this:
If you want your comment to be posted, write like an adult. Even if you’re not one. If you write like a 14-year-old girl (”OMG thiz actor is hott i luv this movie he is soooo fine!”), we’ll delete your comment.
There are many sites on the Internets where teens can gather to discuss how hott an actor is or how awesum a movie is. I am proud to say that EricDSnider.com is not one of them. I’ve been subtly doing this already, but now I’m doing it more ruthlessly: If I see a comment written in idiot pidgin English, I’ll just delete it. Such comments, in addition to being hard to decipher, usually don’t add much to the discussion, either.
Don’t get me wrong, in real life I love teenagers. I really do. I like their enthusiasm. I always thought teaching high school would be fun, and not much less lucrative than being a freelance writer. Many teens have bright, interesting things to say. They are more than welcome to post here, as long as they do it in a way that doesn’t bring shame and indignity to all who read them.
And people who are full-grown adults who still write in teen-speak — well, knock it off.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:26 am
I’m a little disappointed with rules 2 (the one mentioned above) and 7 (and the asking stupid questions). How are we going to be so blessed as to receive posts like “Dumb comments for your reading pleasure” (most recently 4/15/08)?
Note: Any questions in this comment are posted as comments and not as a direct question to Eric in violation of rule 5.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:37 am
Is it okay to discuss the hotness of a particular actor as long as we use proper English? I mean, sometimes a drool-fest is really the only thing that makes a movie worth watching.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:09 am
I think the rule against asking the general readership stupid questions is a tad pointless. Odds are that the posters asking idiotic questions like that don’t think of them as such or else they wouldn’t post them in the first place. Am I right or what?
I’ve been posting for ages and my comments are still held back to be moderated from time-to-time. I always wonder what I did to warrant getting put on the EDS Terrorist Suspect List.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I know that #9 is true with every fiber of my being.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Personally I like the rules. It’s nice to have a place to read comments that have a certain level of intelligence and aren’t just a bunch of “first!” posts.
As a side note, I often have a problem with “web cred” when posting to other sites due to my understand of the difference between “your mom” and “you’re mom”
If anybody else has the problem I recommend the ” The English-to-12-Year-Old-AOLer Translator” (http://ssshotaru.homestead.com/files/aolertranslator.html). Once you’ve translated your post no one will ever suspect you of being intelligent or educated!
Here’s an example:
Original text :
“This comment seems a little to coherent to be legitimate, the poster is obviously uncool.”
Translated text:
“THES COM3NT SEMS A LITLA 2 COARENT 2 B L3GITIMAET DA POSTER SI OBVIOSLEY UNCOL!1!1!!!!! OMG”
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:59 pm
That is my new favorite toy. Reading the Gettysburg Address in 12-year-old-AOL-ese is downright hilarious.
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:06 pm
I hope that rule #2 means that you’ll delete posts that are in all other respects correct, but which use “u” and “ur” in place of “you” and “your”. Because that bugs the crap out of me.
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:44 pm
You like teenagers? Wow…good for you. Most of them I know are rude, surly and lazy. But maybe that’s just my kids…
Also, re: Kyralessa, please ban anyone who uses LOL, lol, etc. That was over in about 1999.
I will be careful.
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:11 pm
“Reading the Gettysburg Address in 12-year-old-AOL-ese is downright hilarious.”
That is so wrong. Yea I admit I had to try it.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:45 pm
IMy one and only experience with deletion occurred when I referred to a person with a gender-neutral username, and with whom I disagreed, as “it.” I still think that the comment was funny, and that humorous rudeness is not “gratuitous.”
Especially when the context is Eric D. Snyder.
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:11 am
Hmm - what if I run a particularly stupid quote through the English to 12-Year-Old-AOLer translator. Y’know, to unwrap the idiocy within? Sounds like acceptable behavior to me.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:14 am
I’m shocked that you like teenagers, Eric. I hate teenagers, and it was only 7 years ago that I was one. Of course, even when I WAS a teenager I hated a lot of teenagers for being so arrogant, pretentious, rude, and stupid.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Oh Dom, it only gets more rich. “AND SO MAH F3LOW M3RICANS ASK NOT WUT UR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR U WUT U CAN DO FOR UR COUNTRY!111!1! OMG WTF LOL MAH FALOW CITIEZNS OF TEH WORLD ASK NOT WUT MERICA WIL DO FOR U BUT WUT 2GETHER W3 CAN DO FOR DA FREDOM OF MAN
!1111!! WTF”
Top that, illiterate teenagers.