The Mideast: A Troll-free Zone

Sorry for absenting myself from the blog for a few days, but the Obama circus blew into town and I was busy chasing around the senator/rock star. It was a fairly pointless exercise; everything was carefully choreographed for the Washington press corps accompanying him, and we local hacks were left in the dust. Dogs bark, and the caravan passes, as they say. We were left barking.

I'd like to thank all the commentators, the regular ones, especially, for weighing in on whether we should exert some kind of moderation (a far gentler word than censorship!) on the Middle East blog.

Judging by your comments, the majority of you think that moderation is a bad idea. Actually, I'm relieved. It doesn't seem right that I, or a time.com editor sitting in his New York cubicle, should have to weed through the comments, uprooting slurs and insults in the garden of free speech. There's enough censorship going on in this region without us having to follow suit. But at the same time, most of you agreed that some measure of self-discipline should be practiced. I welcome your opinions, and certainly don't expect you to agree with me or Andrew or Scott. (Yes, Jacob Blue, even you, whose waspish comments started this all!) That would be too boring. And yes, NK, we certainly welcome humor in this levity-deprived region. Bring on the jokes and irreverence!

But if this is to be a genuine conversation, how about we lay down a few ground rules? And here I turn to Nathan W. who writes:

“ This blog attracts many opinionated people who love to debate topics about the Middle East. I have no problem with debates devolving into a discussion on the greater region. However, I do have a problem with those who simply post inflaming, intolerant, racist diatribes about Muslims/Jews/Christians/whatever without offering anything constructive.
Trolls should be deleted. Flames should be deleted. Racist and insulting comments should be deleted. But if you start trying to keep people on topic, you'll never be able to delete the posts fast enough.”
That sounds good enough for me, with a few more suggestions: Let's stick to English, and please let's not have the post be a dumping ground for other people's blogs (yes, Eileen, this means you!) and off-topic diatribes.
Some of you seem to think that what appears in a Time blog is the same as a Time magazine article, fulsomely reported and judiciously balanced. It's not. These are our ideas and impressions of the Middle East, for better or worse, and our blogs (if you haven't noticed) are written in a far more personal style than the Time-ese you find in the magazine, or in a news feature on the website. They're opinionated, ornery and slightly whacky.

That's the fun of writing a blog, and hopefully, it gives you a more off-beat look at events behind the news or what daily life is like in the Middle East. I'd also welcome you writing about your own personal experiences, if it has bearing on the topic. Yoni, you wrote about your girlfriend's encounter with the first bulldozer maniac in Jerusalem. What happened? Is she OK? (If my wife had been five minutes longer in the dentist's chair, she would have found herself in the path of the second bulldozer.) I think that we bloggers are just as fascinated by what forms your opinions as the comments themselves, as long as it stays on topic. That mantra again.

When you read through the posts, you'll notice it's a small, fairly exclusive club of readers who bother to comment on the Middle East. We don't have to like each other, and we certainly don't have to agree, but since we all know each other pretty well by now, let's try to keep it civil --and entertaining. Ok? This can be a good thing.
I'm off on vacation for several weeks in the States. Maybe I'll run into commentator Joe riding his motorcycle on his back roads trip across the U.S.A. who asks that we not burn the place down while he's away. Same goes for me.

By Tim McGirk/Frankfurt airport