We interrupt this service for an important announcement

Yes, I know I said my next post would be Part 2 of Jewish Love's Young Dream. And it's well underway and will be with you soon.

But sometimes, something so important comes up that you have to drop what you're doing and spread the word around.

Here, today, from the enchantingly named "Drink-Soaked Trotskyist Popinjays for War" is the definitive statement on the rules of blogging commentary. In a spirit of admiring humility, I can do no better than pass it on to you.

1. Under no circumstances should you suggest that there are certain fields that you do not have sufficient knowledge about to form an opinion. Your bachelors degree from the University of Armchair makes you an expert on all subjects everywhere.

2. This bachelors degree also exempts you from any requirement to provide sources for any claims you may wish to make.

3. All positions that can be taken on a subject fall into two black-and-white categories, and nuances are utterly impossible. Therefore, anybody who is even slightly pro-Israel clearly believes every Palestinian village should be bulldozed to make way for 5-star hotels. Likewise, even the vaguest supporter of Palestinian civil rights laughs as suicide bombers blow up small children.

4. Irrelevant of which side of a debate you take, the mass media is against you.

5. Irrelevant of which side of a debate you take, don't forget to mock Benjamin.

6. When responding to a point made by another commenter, feel free to reply as though that commenter had said something completely different to the point that they actually made.

7. Ranting hyperbole is a sign of gravitas, and is always superior to nuanced argument backed up with evidence.

8. Finally, if you find yourself losing an argument, always ensure that you declare that the issue is unimportant anyway, and close by mocking the other side for having such a silly obsession with that particular subject.


There we are. Glad we've been able to clear this up. Carry on!

A point of clarification for those readers who wonder who the hell this Benjamin is. He is a very well known commenter on such blogs as Harry's Place, who some would unkindly label a notorious troll. He has in fact commented on this blog and has been responded to appropriately.

I am aware that some commenters on this blog are already enthusiastic followers of these rules. In the spirit of open-hearted welcome which I hope permeates Adloyada, I will say that those of you who do persist in writing humane, wise and even affectionate comments will continue to be most welcome here.

Comments

[Joanne]

Sorry, I forgot what "troll" means. What is it?

P.S. A very funny post. And how true! By the way, these "rules" seem to apply not just to blogs, but often to newspaper and magazine commentators, as well.

[Judy]

A troll is someone who deliberately posts outrageously provocative stuff, in relation to the usual tenor of the blog in question, in order to wind up the usual posters.

You may have noticed the impact of a couple of those on this post at On the Face:
http://ontheface.blogspot.com/2005/09/gaza.html

[Stephen]

A troll is one who makes deliberately insulting or inflammatory posts in the hope of getting a similar response, or of starting a flame war. Responding to one is called "feeding the troll" and is to be discouraged, because the best way to deal with them is to ignore them (like badly behaved children). The term may stem from the angling practice of trolling, in which bait or lures are made to move through the water by dragging them behind a moving boat; this causes some fish to take the bait more readily.

[Stephen]

Although I sometimes picture trolls as bad-tempered creatures who sit under the bridge of the discussion, trying to attack people as they engage in discourse above.

[Family Cohen Jerusalem]

Does your daughter need somewhere to eat on Rosh Hashanah?