Odds and ends

In case you missed it, scroll down and take a look at the video of the Mama and baby whale in Hilo Bay.

I am doing fine with the routine treatment for my routine heart problem, which is age related. It won't stop me from going to Mexico. We're doing everything the easy way! 

I was distressed that elderblogger Ronni Bennett is taking time off from her blog, Time Goes By, because she has been subjected to so many trolls lately. Over the years I've run this blog, I've had a few come by, but they leave. If they believe they can get a hook into me, I'm playing their game. Here is what I do.

1. I publish the location of their ISP.

2. I complain to their ISP and send samples of their comments.

3. I post one of their comments and tell them that that is the last one, and they are now banned.

4. I laugh and sneer at them.  I tell them point blank to go away.(This really bothers them more than anything else.)

4. I keep copies of their messages.

5. I threaten to track them down and expose them. But it has gotten to that point only once.

6. I remind them that this is my blog. Just as I would throw a rude guest out of my house, I throw rude commenters off my blog.

I don't suppose Ronnie does these things, but why not? Trolls  deserve no consideration. She should be proud of what she does and not let these people silence her.

More: A post on another blog led me to write this.

I remember well how frightened elders were in the early 70's, as the boomers overwhelmed the culture with their numbers and their demands. I lived in the NYC area at the time, and people of all ages were moving out, basically abandoning the City. A woman told me she would be happy when NYC was a museum that tour busses would visit to show the awful way people used to live. Seems incredible in retrospect, since  these days so many want to live there but not many can afford it.
My mother in law and father in law moved to King City, a retirement community in Oregon, in the early 70's. They were very angry about the "longhairs" and so on and wanted to lead a life that seemed like the 50's but without work. They really really hated young people, including us, even though we were perfectly OK: a little older, not into drugs but not under their control. They were down on the whole generation. But when my MIL got too old to take care of herself, my FIL being long gone,  she moved in next door to us in Hawaii, and she lived to be 97.  I never once raised my voice to her, but I could not love her, alas, because of all the bad blood from that period.

Comments

[Maria]

I totally agree that when a person has a blog, they can run it any way they want to. On the other hand, if you present commentary to the public, and have a comment section, one could make the realistic assumption that the blogger wants actual comments.

Some bloggers think that any comment which disagrees with their position is trolling or abusive; nothing but unbridled adulation is acceptable. That too, is their prerogative, but I think it makes said blogger look ridiculous and whiny. (Btw, Hattie, I am not talking about you. In fact, didn't Ronnie lambast you one time when one of your comments wasn't sufficiently complimentary?)

[Hattie]

Maria: Funny you would remember that! I had no idea you were looking both at Ronnie's blog and at mine. I think it was about Betty White, wasn't it? And how because of what I said she was never going to try that sort of celebrity profile again? I was surprised that she would get so upset that I did not think Betty White was all that wonderful. Something about animal lovers or the San Diego Zoo, was it? She was gushing, and I thought, this is odd, because Ronni is not usually a gusher! It seemed so out of character.
I think I also upset her about some sort of auto demonstration she went to.
I felt bad about this, actually. It's not fair in a way, because her blog has a different meaning to her than mine does. I'm interested in writing, sharing photos and videos, expressing my ideas in this medium, whereas she is using blogging as a way to reach out to elders and provide information, advice, and a forum. She feels a sense of responsibility beyond what I feel.
As to trolls: the kind of trolls I'm talking about are the ones who tell me I'm senile, fat, ugly and stupid and make veiled threats: empty ones to be sure but unpleasant nonetheless. There was a very bad troll, a Canadian man, who was hard to get rid of, but he was good practice, because he taught me how to deal with these pests.

[Cop Car]

Maria--It has been my experience that neither Hattie nor Ronni takes offense at comments in opposition. They are, at times, rather harshed (and, IMHO, rightly so) by commenters, be they oppositional or supportive, who are entirely disagreeable. But then...I don't recall the particular exchange(s) between the two to which you and Hattie refer. (Selective memory on my part?)
At any rate, I absolutely agree that each of us gets to decide how to run our own blogs. Hurray!

[wisewebwoman]

Yes, I too was upset that Ronni didn't stand her ground and feck them all to hell.

I don't know whether you visit Shakespeare's Sister but she makes fun of the hundreds of trolls she gets. We need to develop armour.

I've gotten into conflict on my blog (wildly different opinions on things) which is sometimes upsetting. But then again, we are not all wash and wear are we.

XO
WWW

[Rain Trueax]

Some blogs want opinions and some only want agreement. I try to avoid the ones that aren't open to dissent. I like it when I get 'polite' dissent on mine which enables discussion. I like it when I get agreement too. Oh heck, I just like getting comments ;)

[Musings]

It was very kind of you to take care of your MIL despite her not being very loving to you. Sorry to hear about the "trolls". I'm getting a TON of spam lately which are very annoying.

[Hattie]

Cop Car: I don't mind disagreements; after all, I'm not god! It's when commenters create an unpleasant atmosphere with personal attacks. I want this to be a safe space for me and for commenters to have intelligent discussions.
WWW: That's Shakesville, right? I feel very sorry for a lot of her commenters, who seem to be having a very difficult time getting by.
Rain: I like my commenters, too! Mine are the best!!!
Kay: Being nice to my mother in law was very hard on my feelings, I think. I felt emotionally repressed. And I still do, to some extent.