as far as the trolls…

opinions are like assholes(trolls) everyone has one…some are bigger ones than others (assholes that is)

or

if a troll is posting nasties on YOUR blog…that means they are NOT posting nasties on someone elses blog.

or

assholes are as assholes do

my point is…no matter WHAT you blog about there will ALWAYS someone out there who’s had the fuse lit on their tampon or had their wheaties pee’d in and find reason to post a nasty about it, And what do I say to those vagina bombs—-get a life. If you don’t agree with the blog or posting FINE but at least have the balls to back it up. USA = freedom. Have your opinion you are entitled to it…but be proud of it and take ownership of it.
Now to go as far as getting back at the troll by posting their actual phone number on the site….maybe a little toenail over the line…there is a much more discreet way of pulling this off….the interstate rest area.( wait hear me out. )
We’ve all seen it in the bathroom stalls “for a good time call …..so-and-so is a whore..and on and on”
This gives the same coverage without the smoking gun of evidence.
This would also be effective in truck stop bathrooms and nudie bars.

And I always thought that was a great analogy. The thing about the internet is that it’s a virtual Times Square; everyone you’ve ever known will walk by eventually. And that can be so valuable; wikipedia is really a great resource a lot of the time. And sometimes I see the most respectful, insightful comments in newspaper articles (sometimes!). And it’s how I’ve found this blog and others. But somehow it brings out the worst in people sometimes. It’s like people forget the the person who words you’re reading, that’s an actual person, not a fictional character created to entertain you. And so it does matter if you’re cruel or thoughtless or hurtful, because that’s a real person you’re hurting.

I would like to think that the potential of the internet is to allow everyone’s voice to be heard, and that it’s living up to the best of it. But I know that often that’s not the case, and that it just gives people a chance to let out their inner asshole.

I have also given a lot of thought to the question of how much to reveal about your kids. I’ve reached no conclusions but am interested in hearing more!

Well, I try to. I have issues of taking things personally, but my blog isn’t awesome enough to attract the trolls yet, so we’ll see how I am when I get them.

<3

1. Your husband is completely neurotic and is afraid of releasing any sort of personal information to anyone for any reason. (This is why my blog is anonymous – in fact, this morning, he was questioning why he had to give his SSN to the insurance people)

2. Stalking has become kind of a hobby for some people. The thing is, it’s a Catch22 – you become a popular blogger by letting people into your life, but by becoming a popular blogger you can become someone’s obsession. Lucky for me, I’ve never been the popular type!

3. You never know who’s looking. Children are always looking for ways to get at other children. Blogs open up a whole new doorway into criticism. While I think it’s hilarious that you tell me about your ALLI experiences, a 13 or 14 yo kid might use that information to mock you to your child. Depending on the kid, that could be traumatic. Your kids will probably not care, because they know they’ve got a cool mom.

Anyway, those are my non-useful thoughts on why it might not be great to put your photos and personal info on the internet. I don’t want you to stop, though, because you have some adorable kiddies.

It’s craziness out there. I think that sometimes people try to be as obnoxious as possible just to get noticed.

I’m all for bloggers deleting crap comments from nasty trolls.

And, btw, you are completely hilarious and I am a fan!

And your “no legs” comment has me thinking about those people who fantasize about being amputees.

I’ll go away now.

Love, love, love your bog.

I feel comfortable posting my thoughts here because I feel that Aunt Becky has a very balanced blogging approach when it comes to the private areas of her life. Many bloggers do not. Also, this “audience” never seems to fail to respond with humor and thoughtful answers.

As parents, we spend lots of energy and time protecting our children from cyber predators, etc… We try to steer our children toward child safe websites, limit their access to certain material, and teach them about being careful not to reveal too much information about themselves online. Would I want my daughter to have her own blog and have her exposed to “trolls” or worse? N.O. I would never want the global community to have the ability to “speak” to my child as we do here.

So do we appear hypocritical to our children when we post about them with updates and pictures for the global world to see? (Again, I know that as adults we can recognize trolls and creeps. I am just interested in the kind of example we set for teens who think they are as smart as we are…)

I am still mad at my mother for the rotten haircuts she forced on me as a child (my weak attempt at humor here) – how will this generation of children feel about exposure in the global frontier when they are old enough to comment?

As the world of blogging is relatively new, these are just issues I think about as a parent. I mean no disrespect at all. Clearly I do not have the talent or the thick skin to have a blog.

Since there are a lot of people with blogs listed here I know that you have all probably thought about this as well. And if there is one thing I always appreciate, it is advice from someone who has walked a mile in those particular shoes! Thanks for “listening” to me ramble on again. I promise – no more comments for a week!