Comments on Rationalist Judaism: Blogging Dilemmas

Thanks to the Admor MeSlifka and to the Rebbetzin ...

2010-02-13T21:46:21.896+02:00

Thanks to the Admor MeSlifka and to the Rebbetzin MeSlifka for their enabling this blog to happen in whatever scope is deemed practical. This blog has educational value which some of us do appreciate.

I think it is important to keep the comments becau...

2010-02-10T17:59:41.059+02:00

I think it is important to keep the comments because the additional insights and perspectives that people often add are an important part of what makes blogs valuable in the first place.

Having said that, you have no obligation whatsoever to follow and reply to all of the comments in detail, as you so often do to the great benefit of us all. But you needn't do so.

Perhaps the best solution is to simply state that due to time constraints you will only deal with comments in a limited fashion, if and when you have the time but no more than that.

Rabbi Slifkin said: "On a post from a fe...

2010-02-10T03:40:33.255+02:00
Rabbi Slifkin said:

"On a post from a few days ago about Rashi, I decided to shut down the comments after over a hundred had been posted... The debate did not seem to be getting anywhere. Furthermore, the people arguing with me had not even read the two primary texts on which such a debate should be based - R. Moshe Taku's Ksav Tamim and my article in Hakirah. So what should I do?"

As one of the last readers to write comments back to you about Rashi, I may have been guilty of expressing myself a bit too "bizarrely" in some of my criticisms, and if that is the case then I hope you will accept my apology. We should all endeavor to keep the discussions as polite as possible even when disagreeing on the issues (not always an easy task when in the heat of the argument).

I certainly appreciate very much the way you have been so frank and open with your positions, and the way you have readily shared your knowledge and opinions with everyone in these online forums. Thanks again for the obvious amount of time and effort that you have put into this. Your work and approach is a refreshing breath of fresh air, especially in comparison to the methods of seemingly all of your main opponents.

That said, only at the end of the hundred plus comments on your latest Rashi blog did you write that those arguing with you should first take the time to read R. Moshe Taku's Ksav Tamim and your (latest) article in Hakirah. This is of course a reasonable, even self-evident, request for you to make. I agree that this is the fair and proper thing to do, so since you made that comment I have downloaded a copy of Ksav Tamim and have ordered the new issue of Hakirah, which I should have done right from the start. Please don’t hesitate to point out what you consider to be required or preferred background material for readers to consider before sending in their comments.

By the way, I’m very glad I was able to make it to the “Bridge Shul” last Sunday, even though I unfortunately got there late and missed both of your lectures, and was only able to see you for a few moments. I’m presently enjoying your very informative book “Man & Beast” that I purchased there. Again, my best wishes to you in all of your endeavors.

I would like to also support the continuation of t...

2010-02-09T03:37:08.109+02:00
I would like to also support the continuation of this blog and the comments if possible simply because the lack of alternatives. There are many smaller Jewish communities where there is little or no availability of Rationalist Judaism and reading your blogs and listening to your shiurim remain the only way to have exposure to it.

Bava Metziah 59a: וגו' א"ל רב פפא לאביי ...

2010-02-07T18:01:39.163+02:00
Bava Metziah 59a:

וגו' א"ל רב פפא לאביי והא אמרי אינשי איתתך גוצא גחין ותלחוש לה לא קשיא הא במילי דעלמא והא במילי דביתא לישנא אחרינא הא במילי דשמיא והא במילי דעלמא

R. Papa objected to Abaye: But people say, If your wife is short, bend down and hear her whisper! — There is no difficulty: the one refers to general matters; the other to household affairs.16 Another version: the one refers to religious matters, the other to secular questions.
I hope this helps you.

make a rational decision :-)

2010-02-07T05:39:33.078+02:00
make a rational decision :-)

Don't hesitate to limit the comments the secon...

2010-02-06T20:59:00.993+02:00
Don't hesitate to limit the comments the second they are getting unwieldy.

1) Have a Forum where anyone may read, but you mus...

2010-02-05T21:33:01.149+02:00
1) Have a Forum where anyone may read, but you must register in order to comment.

2) Furthermore, you can require people to have their own blog in order to comment on yours.

3) Appoint a friend or supporter to police the forum for you, and have him issue warnings, delete posts, etc.

4) Hope to see you Sunday...

There is a very simple concept here: your blog, yo...

2010-02-05T20:31:17.840+02:00
There is a very simple concept here: your blog, your rules.

As long as you're providing free content, you owe your readers nothing. It is entirely within your rights to allow or limit discussion as you see fit.

It is also your prerogative to selectively choose which comments to respond to and which to ignore, and to change your preferences over time.

Looking forward to catching you on Sunday!

Rabbi Slifkin, I think you are right to value you...

2010-02-05T16:40:48.990+02:00
Rabbi Slifkin,

I think you are right to value your time and to make decisions about the best use of your time. A compromise position might be to close comments after a certain number of comments.

Hocking is a yeshiva world disease. I feel that you should not waste your time with hockers. Just delete them. I see value in internet anonymity, especially with all the conformist pressures in the frum world. But why should you waste time and have your readers waste time wading through garbage that would never be allowed in a civilized face-to-face discussion.

I trust you to post critical comments which are constructive, respectful, and advance discussion of the points you made. You are not obliged to answer every argument.

If you decide to keep your comments section open and unmoderated just post some disclaimer.

Some bloggers just grant unmoderated access to those with a consistent record of being useful commenters.

Whatever you decide, thank you for the value you have provided to the community through all your different endeavours (and your Brit accent).

A forum like this provides one with the most likel...

2010-02-05T11:20:24.633+02:00
A forum like this provides one with the most likely way to hear something which will challenge their opinion...articulated in a way that one is the least likely able to accept it.

:)

just disable the comments. it seems like a valid c...

2010-02-05T08:39:37.422+02:00
just disable the comments. it seems like a valid compromise. the readers still get to appreciate your posts, and you don't have to waste time arguing with people who just want to argue

PLEASE...DON'T...CLOSE...THIS...BLOG!!! I rea...

2010-02-05T06:18:35.536+02:00
PLEASE...DON'T...CLOSE...THIS...BLOG!!!

I really enjoy your work and method of thinking an debating. It is very educational and refreshing hearing a normal rationalist perspective. As for the comments - never really cared much for them. I only scrolled through to read your responses anyway!

Thanks again for all your efforts,
All the best in either of your decisions!

ta'aleh ve'tatzliach be'chol asher tac...

2010-02-05T03:52:06.746+02:00
ta'aleh ve'tatzliach be'chol asher tachlit.

I'm going to take a contrarian position: Keep ...

2010-02-05T00:48:02.183+02:00
I'm going to take a contrarian position: Keep the comments section.
There's something more annoying than posting anonymously and that's someone who doesn't have a comments option. Know why they don't? Because either they feel they're above having to defend their positions or they know they can't. They want to spout off without the annoying consequence of getting feedback that they might have to answer. Do you want to be that kind of guy?

You really have no obligation to post comments - t...

2010-02-04T23:42:41.423+02:00
You really have no obligation to post comments - the blog is to share your ideas. People who want to discuss them can do so on their own blogs. Invite them to do so (as long as they credit you for the originating text/blurbs/excerpts). And, as some others have mentioned, you could just post them very selectively - only the best ones get posted, flush everything else. If your goal is to teach, then put out your lesson and let it fly where it will. You can use subsequent posts to clarify and answer really good questions. It's not your job to babysit your "students," so don't.

If you leave teh blog, pelase don't take away ...

2010-02-04T20:34:18.049+02:00
If you leave teh blog, pelase don't take away the coomments section. Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb's blog has no comment section, and it is a shame beasue often I have questions comments etc.

Also, artscroll's "blog" has no comment section...

I would jsut be very strick on moderation and only accept comments that bring a valid point, support, or attack in a civil fasion.

Building on Akiva's suggestion: Maybe you sho...

2010-02-04T20:10:02.500+02:00
Building on Akiva's suggestion:

Maybe you should keep the comments as is, but don't comment in them. Instead, highlight in red the comments you don't like, and highlight in green the comments you do like. Let others know that they are encouraged to challenge the "red" ones.

Does this sound like a time-saver? (My apologies to the colorblind bloggers!)

Keep the blog going, but disable the comments. An...

2010-02-04T19:55:13.043+02:00
Keep the blog going, but disable the comments. Anyone who really wants to contact you can always send you an email.

Like most of your readers, I appreciate your blog ...

2010-02-04T19:30:47.249+02:00
Like most of your readers, I appreciate your blog -- as well as your considerable patience managing it!

My suggestion: Keep posting to the blog (because you enjoy it and it's a public service) but make it clear that your time constraints prevent you from participating in the discussion.

The only question is whether/how to moderate the comments. Maybe someone you trust could volunteer to filter out obscene or repeated comments??

Good luck!

I think that the animal world is fortunate to have...

2010-02-04T18:30:42.783+02:00
I think that the animal world is fortunate to have both a Rav and, now, a Rebbetzin :)

Regarding concerns of time and blogging, do whatever is best for you and your work. Someone suggested, above, that you get a volunteer to moderate comments. Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz called for volunteers to moderate comments, and works with such a system on his wesite.

Whatever you decide, best wishes for much hatzlacha :)

It's seems to me that the art of writing a wel...

2010-02-04T16:17:43.254+02:00
It's seems to me that the art of writing a well-trafficked blog is to know how often to ignore comments.

I think you are entitled to ignore even ALL of our comments, as your personal schedule/sanity dictates. To some degree the comments section allows the readers to discuss/debate with themselves, with or without your intervention.

If you are not already doing this, I would also consider blogging primarily on those issues that your are currently researching for your books/articles, to save time.

I for one would prefer to be able to read your thoughts/ideas, even if you rarely, or never, responded to comments. The content is that valuable, as a potential alternative to the chareidi take on things.

Some general posting about the optimal way to communicate with you might be preferred, such as visiting your Torah in Motion classes.

You might also want to get some collaborators (if there are any) to contribute to your site.

One purpose of a blog as far as I can tell is to s...

2010-02-04T15:50:30.965+02:00
One purpose of a blog as far as I can tell is to serve as a central infrastructure around which to form a supportive community (or "tribe" as Seth Godin might call it). This is a valuable asset to have at your disposal.
As far as the comments - just ignore. You don't have to debate each one (certainly not anonymous ones) and truth is most people (even those who do read the blog) don't even read them anyways.

> My wife points out that it is a drain on my ...

2010-02-04T15:19:09.306+02:00
> My wife points out that it is a drain on my time and concentration

Just remember what happened to Adam HaRishon when he listened to his wife's advice!

Ba-da bum!

But seriously:

There are different purposes a blog can serve
1) Updates on your life - announcements of upcoming lectures, books, etc.
2) Viscious attacks on your enemies. This is generally time consuming and reserved for people with little to do other than sit at a computer all day searching for dirt to write about.
3) Sharing nascent ideas, looking for feedback, etc. This is in between, taking time to separate the wheat from the chaff. Used in this fashion, the blog can further your "official work".

But as I've told you before, you need to focus it on something

at least leave your blog up and use it to point to...

2010-02-04T14:54:53.310+02:00
at least leave your blog up and use it to point to articles or other links of things you deem interesting or important. your scholarship is much valued by many.