Blog Comments

This blog, like many others, has a feature that the author can turn on or off. It allows the readers to comment on what has been written by the author. Even when the feature is turned on, the author can moderate the comments - and has the option to publish them or not publish them - or even just delete them altogether.



Generally I'd think it's a good thing to get comments on my blog(s). I keep the feature turned on. I don't get many comments (maybe because one of my blogs is specifically to respond to inquiries which would otherwise come as comments). When I do get comments (versus inquiries), I kind of want to celebrate them because it's an indication that someone is reading my blog. A blogger always wants that ... to know that someone is reading his or her blog.

Another reason I celebrate the comments I get on my blog(s) is that they can represent healthy dialogue - where minds are stimulated. I think it can create value. I have a couple of friends on Facebook and we're constantly commenting on each other's posts, having lively discussions about a variety of things. I enjoy it quite a bit.

On the other hand, I sometimes get comments that really do warrant the delete button. They aren't necessarily profane or wouldn't represent hate mail. But I won't publish them because I usually consider them snarky or irrelevant. And those two categories aren't mutually exclusive!

So how does a blog comment go into my irrelevant or snarky category? Perhaps the most common irrelevant ones are the ones that arrive in a language other than English. If I have to go use translation software to figure out what you said --- I'm just not gonna publish it. It's really that simple. My blog is published in English. If you want to comment and engage in some dialogue about what I'm blogging, please do it in English. Otherwise, I discard your comments.

The other category is the snarky category. I know, you're asking what that word even means. Webster's dictionary defines it as "sarcastic, impertinent or irreverent." So a blog comment comes across that way when it tries to discount or devalue whatever it is that I've blogged.

Recently, for example, I've blogged about some things that are right or wrong, or choices people can make ... and offered my recommendation for how to choose. It has been surprising how many people would like to water down my response. At least three comments came in - when I blogged about the notion of accountability partners - that essentially said something akin to, "Judge not let you be judged." Folks, I'm really not going to publish such nonsense.

When I blog about a topic, it's because there's a position I've taken after much study and thoughtful consideration. If you think I'm wrong, then you have a responsibility to tell me where I'm wrong. Offering snarky comments to simply imply that you disagree with me is ignorant and of no value to either of us. Educate me. Persuade me. Otherwise, don't waste your time (or mine).

Why am I blogging about this today? Because I've noticed an upward trend lately in the number of comments that I am rejecting and deleting. Apparently people are reading my blog(s) who don't want to communicate in English or who don't like what I have to say. I'm not sure why they would read my blog(s) then.

But here's the thing ... they are my blogs. And I get to decide what's published on them. If you want to start your own blog, you have my blessing to do so (although you certainly don't need it). So please don't waste our respective time with non-English or snarky comments to my blogs. They simply aren't going to be published or even considered as legitimate dialogue.

Other Blogs

It has been a little over a year now since I added a couple of nondescript blogs to my repertoire. It began when in 2008 I started receiving e-mails from people who'd read this (Victorious Conqueror) blog. Some had comments. But mostly they had questions. They seemed to be questions about life, about God or simply about right and wrong.

Initially I would answer the questions via e-mail privately. Eventually, I decided there were enough questions to be more intentional about answering them (publicly). So I set up a blog to do that, and "opened for business" in January 2009. Since then, I've been openly taking and even soliciting questions from anyone, anywhere. Most are from Christians. But some are from people who aren't even sure there is a God. But they're questioning. (That's a good thing.)

I've been surprised over this past year about a couple of things. First, the stream of questions has only waned once - back in August. I thought maybe it had run its course and I would be shutting down this (Dear Victorious) Q&A blog. But almost as soon as I mentioned that, the questions started to come in again. And they've been steady ever since. Second, that questions almost always have to do with an interpretation of Scripture. In other words, the people already know the answer to the question they're asking. It seems that they're looking for confirmation that they're interpreting Biblical context accurately. So in a sense, I'm just answering questions that people already know the answer to. Go figure.

I never know what the questions will be, but I have to admit that I kind of enjoy the dialogue. In fact, I often find it refreshing. Have a question for me? Send it to victoriousconqueror@ymail.com. I try to answer one question a day at http://www.dearvictorious.blogspot.com/ - so check that out if you want in on the dialogue that's happening.

There is a third blog going as well. I started it in May 2008. Through the years, I'd begun the tradition of keeping two journals with my Bible. In one, I tend to journal my thoughts about myself. Mostly they look like conversation with God - me pouring my heart out to Him. But the other is a bit of an oddity. You see, as I study the Bible each day (and I do), God tends to reveal things to me. They're not Scripture, but each of them could easily be backed up by Scripture. (That's how I know that they are true!) I jot these things down in my second journal. And they began to look like proverbs ... maybe something that had been written by a prophet.

So in May 2008, I set up a blog to share these little gems with the world. At http://www.moderndayprophet.blogspot.com/ I post a bit of God's wisdom each day. It's always wisdom that I've gleaned from my own daily time in the Word. I've not gotten too much response to that, but occasionally will get a letter from someone expressing appreciation for something that seemed to resonate with them.

With this (Modern Day Prophet) blog, I sometimes think it has run its course when I seem to have posted all the things I've written in my journal. But I try to post a month's worth at a time, so there's something fresh there every day. And just as I'm about to conclude that I'm finished with this little project, I find my journal filling up again. I start getting these little revelations in my daily quiet time. And before I know it, there's another month's worth of postings.

They still look like little proverbs, that might have been written or spoken by a Biblical prophet. I have taken some of those spiritual gifts assessments to see how God has gifted you. I always come up strongest in the gift of prophecy and other speaking gifts. Am I a modern day prophet? Seriously, it's a claim I wouldn't care to make. But I'm getting e-mails from people all over the world, now talking about this little blog of proverbs that I'm posting every day.

They say that social networks are the communication of the future. I'm not sure I believe it. I am on those networks. But frankly, I see more activity going on with this blog (Victorious Conqueror) and it's two "offspring" blogs, Dear Victorious and Modern Day Prophet. It's then I realize that God is in charge of all things, including the blogs and social networks!

Check 'em out:
http://www.dearvictorious.blogspot.com/
http://www.moderndayprophet.blogspot.com/