Saturday 5 January 2008

Prose To Darkness

When I noticed some blogs with comments moderation enabled I wondered why, in the interest of free expression, one'd need to do that. I recognised the fact, then and now, that out there are some who cannot employ temperate language when they feel strongly about something, when angered or when they take an issue personally, as we all tend to do from time to time. I also know that some comments left may be totally inappropriate, way too personal for this medium or may even border on blackmail.

With the above in mind and even though I totally validate the reasons why some will moderate their comments - there are too many unhinged people out there and, believe me, I've seen and met my share - I resolved never to moderate comments on this blog. I can literally see a couple of my friends in blogshere raising their eyebrows and saying: you wait, you'll eat your words and I think I agree with you because, as I write, I feel it in my water that you're right.

What has influenced my thinking is the knowledge, acquired over the past two years or so, that we have less to fear from those people I described in the first paragraph than those who are hidden from us, (some of whom smile at us in reality and are our best friends at work and at play, and who we share our stories with and they know most things about us, the ones who really understand us, them), those with really ulterior hang-ups, total dead-beats with sinister chips on their narrow shoulders fermenting evil machinations and wallowing in the stench of their murkiness.

I have broadly divided visitors to various blogs into separate categories below:

1. The Curious – they just ‘surf’ (how I hate that word) and look around various blogs. Like reading a newspaper, they do not leave comments.

2. The Passive – this category mostly wander unto your site by linking to comments you leave at other sites. Some leave comments, some do not. Some come back, others stay away. Some want to come back later to blogs they find interesting but cannot find the path with which they navigated to the blog, as has happened to me. Some ‘stalk’ your blog in a not unpleasant way.

3. The Active – some who know you only on blogshere, virtual friends with whom we develop friendships and affections for their writing styles and ideas, others know your person. At other times, we meet virtually and become friends in reality. Mostly, they leave comments, sometimes they cannot be bothered.

4. The Baddies – this group have some things in common apart from the love of darkness. They generally think they’re clever; they monitor your blog so closely they could be your shadow. They’re around so often they could be stuck on with super glue. They never leave comments but follow your ‘trail’, seeing what you’ve been up to and trying to determine your next move. They are always there, rabid little heretics who may actually be deaconesses in church; greedy dead-enders slinking around in darkness. If you listen closely, you can hear them clicking on to your site. I can see you! Oh yes! Every time you come to my site I smell you, you leave a rancid bovine smell when you log off, much like your paraphernalia of jazz you thought you were hiding from me. You, daughter of darkness, the daughter of an abomination of a mother who knows both husband and boyfriend, killer of Abel and his first son, importer of jazz, the bad fruit does not fall far from the rotten tree. I smell you. Every time you come on, you leave a nasty taste in my mouth.

51 comments:

Afrobabe said...

LOL @ your description of the dark ones....hmmm wonder where I fall in...stalker??? lol..

Allied said...

LOL. " the daughter of an abomination of a mother who knows both husband and boyfriend".

I don’t know why I automatically changed the above words into Yoruba. LOL. “Omo Iya osi to mo oko to tun mo ale” Very funny

I am guilty of 1 - 3. Especially 2.

Beware for you have now awoken their wrath.

@ afrobabe - what happened to studying?

Beauty said...

Thanks for say everything I did not have words for.

Afrobabe said...

ehmmm Allied...I am studying small small...

Jinta said...

@ afro - pleasant stalker, more like.

@ allied - my strong friend, your translation could not have been better. I dont think their wrath ever went to sleep though, they know of no other way.

@ beauty - you're welcome. As you imply, it applies to both sexes.

SOLOMONSYDELLE said...

Haba, Uncle Jinta, wetin happen? The way you take curse that pickin, na wa oh. And how you know say na woman? Let me go peruse old posts to understand this situation.

Anyway, happy new year, my brotha!

Simi Speaks said...

I fear o, i fear

Ms. Catwalq said...

LMAO!!!!!!

Wetin she do you? And why is it a she?

Do I still get classified if I say I really, really like your blog?

EXSENO said...

Interesting.
Thank you for the visit.

Onome said...

hmmm....jinta(lol)

Joy Isi Bewaji said...

ok!!!!!!!! have i been away for too long? who is 'she' that is vexing jinta this much?!
jinta dear, what can i say. we've all had our fair share of hating on blogsville. some of mine even became real-life menaces!
let it not bother you much. i have learned to grow above people's motives, conspiracies, and even their impressions.

stay with the true friends... and strive to be happy!

For the love of me said...

Nice write-up, simply ignore the ghosts, perhaps they will go away.

anonymous gal(retired blogger) said...

u are paranoid that ur no 4... like a good thrill;er. me i am no 1,2 and 3 all in one.

Nicky said...

I know that i am supposed to feel some sympathy for you but this post cracked me up. I am laughing so hard and loud in my office right now that my secretary thinks Ive gone mad.

I needed this. First day back after christmas hols. Im depressed.

(clearing throat) Jinta, I hear you friend. Just take some deep breaths.

Flourishing Florida said...

d curious: my least favorite people as far as blogging goes

d passive: na me b dis o ... lol

d active: this am becoming - particularly 2 u, jinta (speaking of which, ur name sounds suspiciously lie wot we dey call 'guitar' 4 my area o

d baddies: a figment of ur imagination, love ... u've been staring into dat computer 4 too long, baby; getta a life!!!!

Ms. emmotions said...

hello jinta,,,,, am actually fighting hard 2 resist adding gry. lol

na wa o, this description for the baddies hard o besides how did u know its a daughter?

lol anyways, best to ignore those baddies cos the moment you acknowledge them u encourage them.

glad u updated at last cos i know i ve been here like twice searching for updates.

regards

Jinta said...

@ everyone - my vitriolic comments were not aimed at any blogger, indeed, I've had no problems with anyone; if you take a closer look at no. 4, you will see it refers to a particular non-blogger.

@ solomon - happy new year to you, o political one.
The point I make above should make it more obvious

@ simi - me too, me too.

@ cat - new classification for you - VIB (B = blogger)

@ exseno - thank you, and welcome

@ onome - yes o. hmmm...

@ isi - welcome back. I have not had the priviledge to receive any hateful comments from any blogger (see my first comment). Guess it's still the honeymoon period, but I am determined to be meek if some come my way.

@ for the love - thank you. so much insight...

@ anon gal - a wise man (laspapi) once told me: the paranoid live long

@ nicky - ahh, nicky, how long have you known me? over a decade. you know i cannot thrive on sympathy.
1st day back for me too

@ florida - thanks my friend, know i will always get a straight-shooting comment from you, but sorry, you're wrong (only this time).

@ ms. emmo-gry - nice to see you back too. Needed to get the baddies out into the open and out of my system.

el~correcta said...

don't know about belonging to any of the classes you listed but i do know you are one hell of a writer, poet even.You should be given a nobel laureate award!!!!

Jinta said...

@ el~correcta - omg! Thank you. I feel my head swelling to the size of the National Theatre, Iganmu.

AuraSoul! said...

Now... Jinta ,on that note, should i be scared? lol

Eyin'ju Oluwa said...

Lmao this is serious, all that for one person, i wish i could buy the person phensic...serious koko ni yen. Take it easy o...focus on the positive people.

I think im an active surfer of your blog...

lol@surfer.

Sherri said...

I don't have an excuse o
actually i do! life!
been meaning to stop by for a while now, each time i set out, i get lost on the way (is this holding water?)
i will invest in a blogville navigation system asap (when is it coming on the market?)

so how's blogville treating u?

Ms. Catwalq said...

VIB? Me likey

Jinta said...

@ ondlow - being scared is my preserve for this post. Maybe i should spread it so mine is reduced

@ omosewa - you never cease to amaze me. i remember cafenol also

@ sherri - you need a better excuse, i think, however, thank you, and preset your navigation system

@ cat - we did talk about titling up, did we not, Architect Cat (VIB)

little miss me said...

i think i am a rare blend of curious and passive...the part about the dark ones scared me,it reminded me of all those stories my grandmother told at night about evil spirits..very odd..

Thirty + said...

Shuo who pinch ya bum na?

Quite descriptive with the words, anywayz why does it have to be a she ehn? Why not the son of abomination .....?

Shey you are good, happy new year to you and take care of yourself

rethots said...

...the juxtaposition of words leads to blogs to be visited.
Personalising comments, irrelevant 'cos eventually, "Comments are free but, facts are sacred."
HAppy New Year

Queen of My Castle said...

Funny how this post hi-lighted some of my very thoughts. Isn't it weird how some bloggers like your site so much that they go as far as to email you to get to know the person behind the writings? Hmmmm, I know ponder about where I stand. LOL

Afrobabe said...

what has jinta aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa been up to?

miss hotbody said...

Na me jinta dey vex for oh. My love merecine no work for am, him come dey bind and loose...But i ready for you!

Jinta said...

@ little ms - your grandmother is a very, very wise woman. believe me

@ 30+ - happy new year and thank you o, i will. still recovering from the nervousness of watching your LA driving video

@ rethots - you lost me along the way, but i'll say everything in blogville is personalised cos they are seen from individual perspectives.
A very happy new year to you.

@ QomC - with that hot stuff you posted recently, even i was tempted to come and camp at your door at 4am

@ afro - careful not to draw the aaaaaa out too much - it has meaning o

@ ms hotbody - so na you? quick, wey my rosary???
You're right in a way, when i visited your page, i started gulping air: needed to shout 'get thee behind me, satan' b4 i could bring myself to exit.
happy new year

anonymous gal(retired blogger) said...

Jinta if i catch u at my blog moanin about how i did not feed some guards i will...

Unknown said...

Jinta
Na dis way you wan begin new year ehn??

Na wa O...

Well, Pammy is the angelic online friend... :D

♥♫♪nyemoni♫♪♥ said...

LOL...Happy new year to you too Jinta!

Kawana Aminata Oliver said...

LOL Great Post, Happy New Year ;-)

Jinta said...

@ anon - ok, i give up. i'd rather the guards starve than face your wrath

@ pammy - that is so, my angelic friend. they say: start as you mean to go

@ nyemoni - you came up for air!!!

@ kawana - hey! how is you? nice to see you on these shores.

laspapi said...

Errrr, jintu....na wa o!

Here I was thinking, 'really great prose' when....slam! bang!!!, it turned v.angry.

ok, you forgot 'the deranged' when you were classifying. That auntie that kept on trying to hack into my blog in August/September is in that category. Now all she builds are effigies of me.

Afrobabe said...

kai...I just saw this...pray teel, whats the meaning?

Jinta said...

@ laspapi - i even saw some of your effigies in jankara. hmm, careful

@ afrobabe - o fe ko ba mi ni?

Afrobabe said...

dammm...the chic does not understand yoruba but will def get someone to translate...

Jinta said...

@ afro - translation: do you want to incriminate me?

onydchic said...

Oh gawd... i think im passive... ah well..

Afrobabe said...

yes oh...unless you interprete it urself....

Jinta said...

@ onydchic - i started off by being passive, look where it got me

@ afro = that WAS the translation. It means: do you want to incriminate me?

TheAfroBeat said...

woah!! i was laughing so hard at # 4, it really caught me offguard.

"rabid little heretics who may actually be deaconesses in church"; killer of Abel and his first son

chei, i hope i never get in a ring with you, you go abuse my life so tey (i've never been great with insults)!

Afrobabe said...

oh....hmmm...ok back to the first question....what does the ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh mean?

Jinta said...

@ theafrobeat – they were not insults in that sense, just facts garnered and presented from my perspective. Come to think of it, I’m not that good at insults.

I like your avatar, baba was one of my heroes

@ afrobabe – hmm, tenacity and determination… , it’s a sound of exhaling

Iyaeto said...

Jinta , wetin d person do u? Na wa o

Jinta said...

@ iyaeto - na the person with the wound wey dey eat the fly now...

Abbie said...

**perfectly arched raised eyebrow**

I guess I'll eventually get to the part where you changed your mind about this huh??

Yes dear, I am stalking you in the name of perusing your archives.

Jinta said...

perfectly arched? you looking in the mirror, abbie? lol

no dearest, i cannot change my mind on this - it took several decades for me to realise that this is the way of the world