Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Blog rules

Thank you to everyone who's been respectful to myself and others over my past 7 months in the blogosphere. I appreciate it! :-)

However, it's high time for some basic rules on this here blog. Why? Because I don't like to be attacked and disrespected (first, for what I said, and now for what I haven't said). I would never go to someone else's blog and disrespect them and I expect the same kind of courtesy extended to me. If you want to share my reality, you must acknowledge and abide by my rules.

That said, if you cannot post respectfully, your posts will be deleted. If you have to question whether or not your post is respectful, it most likely is not. Take a moment, think about how you'd like to be treated, reword it and try again. If you are typing something that you wouldn't say to someone's face, then it's not appropriate for my blog either.

(Update: I was going to change my settings to no longer allow unregistered users to post, but after giving it some more thought, I've decided not to. Unregistered users may still post, but I do reserve the right to delete posts that aren't respectful.)

And now for some basic (and fun) rules from "All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten." I've always loved this list and think it's appropriate here on my blog today. :-)

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN

(a guide for Global Leadership)

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.
These are the things I learned:

* Share everything.
* Play fair.
* Don't hit people.
* Put things back where you found them.
* Clean up your own mess.
* Don't take things that aren't yours.
* Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
* Wash your hands before you eat.
* Flush.
* Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
* Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
* Take a nap every afternoon.
* When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
* Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
* Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
* And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

[Source: "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum. See his website at http://www.robertfulghum.com/]

11 Comments:

At 9/13/2005 11:03 AM, Blogger Running2Ks said...

Awesome rules! Fabulous. I think your troll days may be coming to an end. Let's go eat some paste :)

kmeeen is my secret word as in 'K, meeen people go away!

 
At 9/13/2005 11:48 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

While I understand why you think you need 'rules', I wonder then why even blog? You are putting your thoughts out there for the world to see and in turn question and comment on ... and yes some of this world of people are going to disagree with you. If you don't want people who disagree with you or question you or your ideas to post, then why not just keep a regular journal for yourself?

I am in fact one of those people who disagree with you. I disagree with like 90% of your blog topics, but I do come back and read ... why? Well because I like to see what 'the other side' is thinking.

If you are just going to delete the comments of people who disagree with you, what is that saying? Do you really only want all like-minded people coming here? I guess I just don't get that ... if you cannot take the good along with the bad, then why bother? If I get negative responses to something I do or say, I get fired up from it, not try and just make it disappear. From what I have read of your blogging, I would have to say that you are a strong woman with strong beliefs ... backing down and just deleting posts just doesn't hold up to what I figured you'd do in a case of people questioning/attacking your ideas or beliefs ...

 
At 9/13/2005 11:51 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Could not have said it better myself Kellie! You go girl!

 
At 9/13/2005 11:59 AM, Blogger Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...

Kellie (and others),
I think you are missing the point. I don't mind being questioned and I don't mind people disagreeing with me as long as it's respectful. But I don't feel it's being done respectfully.
My impetus for posting rules is about wanting respect. Bottom line.

BTW, thank you Kellie, for posting your comments in a respectful way. :)

 
At 9/13/2005 12:32 PM, Blogger Jody said...

I think you're right Kellie in wanting contrasting perspectives, but the recent issues aren't about disagreeing. The specific case that brought this about was markerjon responding to Amy's post about 9/11, saying she is a bad person for not posting about 9/11 ON 9/11. Effectively, she was being told what to say and when to say it.

Who wants to go to their self imposed community and hear people immediately attacking you for not doing what they want? Thats opening the doors for people of a similar mind to log on to the blog and yell at Amy because she isn't talking about apartheid (one might argue that it is bigger than Katrina or 9/11). Should I complain to you Kellie that you're not telling Amy about the woes of the Detroit ghetto? I mean, it is your duty to cover topics that concern me isn't it?

There are a lot of important things to talk about, and people will have a different opinion on them, but it isn't right to just visit someone's site and tell them they are horrible for it.

 
At 9/13/2005 1:23 PM, Blogger purple_kangaroo said...

Respectful and intelligent discussion is one thing . . . trolling is another. Posting just to put someone down personally or to try to get a rise out of them isn't an exchange of ideas; it's trolling.

Don't feed the trolls. :)

 
At 9/13/2005 1:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It totally stinks that you had to set up ground rules.

As usual, though, you handled the issue with grace.

 
At 9/13/2005 2:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I somehow missed the fireworks (remember I've sewed myself into a protective coccoon) but I have to say I LOVE Robert Fulghum (sp?). Any "friend" of his, is a friend of mine. :)

 
At 9/13/2005 10:04 PM, Blogger Belly said...

Wow, I take a week off and look what I miss. I have to say I agree that trolling is generally just an obnoxious practice and not conducive to an actual discussion whether one agrees or disagrees on a point. Kudos to you Amy for demanding content!

 
At 9/13/2005 11:49 PM, Blogger Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...

PK, Ro and Nino - Thank you, ladies.
Belly - Thank you as well and welcome to my blog. :)

 
At 4/12/2006 4:10 PM, Blogger KleoPatra said...

I didn't see the rules until after I posted, but you won't have to worry about me. I'm one of those, "Do unto others..." types. I like your blog. I shall visit often!

~Take care~

 

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