By For those that haven’t seen it yet Robert Koehler has closed off the comments section of the Marmot’s Hole blog because of trolling comments and here is why:
I’ve had to shut down two comment threads in less than a week, however, and I see the same characters going at it again in another thread. This morning, I get a phone call — at work! — from one of the characters I banned, as well as an email to my boss that accuses me of advocated porn and encouraging hate speech. [Marmot's Hole]
That is absolutely ridiculous and I can understand why he shut down the comments section on the blog. I just hope this doesn’t cause Robert to shut down his blog all together.
The turning off of the comments section is actually something I am seeing happening more and more blogs with a high number comments because of the difficulty of moderating troll comments. I have had plenty of the same problems on this site, readers of this site probably remember the latest troll nonsense I have had to deal with on this thread. Fortunately I have never had trolls start calling me at work though. I have had plenty of e-mails bashing me as racist, anti-Obama, anti-Korean, etc., etc, because of comments that are left on the site. Just because there is a comment on the site that doesn’t mean I endorse the comment.
For those that don’t blog banning trolls can be difficult at times because they often change IP addresses. Also bloggers like Robert and myself have day jobs which makes filtering comments difficult as well. This may be hard to believe, but when I come home from work the first thing I do not do is go run to my computer and go filter through comments. I have better things to do like spend time with my family, which often means I don’t have time to read every comment that is left on the site especially for postings with comments going into the hundreds.
With that said though ROK Drop commenters have for the most part been good bunch and I appreciate everyone who participates on the site with thoughtful comments. The troll comments and some of the dumb e-mails can be annoying, but I have never felt like turning off the comments or worse shutting down the site. I hope commenters continue to remain civil enough to where I never have to do what Robert has unfortunately been forced to do with his site.
11:51 pm on December 18th, 2009 1
Back when I tried to comment at Marmot's, he wouldn't accept comments that weren't from the "right" countries, i.e. English-speaking countries, Korea and Japan, and maybe China. I have no idea what his rationale for that was.
12:40 am on December 19th, 2009 2
It's pretty obvious that his commercial interests are triumphing his hobby. Last I heard he works for the Seoul government as editor of Seoul Magazine. Seoul Magazine is a tourism rag. He (as he admitted) is a shill for the Seoul government. At least now people are pointing out that the king is indeed nekked.
There are plenty of people who try and fool people about Korea, Marmot is just one of them. The biggest, no doubt, but more and more people are on to him.
12:49 am on December 19th, 2009 3
Commercial Interests? It is called his job and his job should take priority over spending all day deleting inappropriate comments. I don't see how taking pictures and writing travelogs from different areas in Korea makes the king "nekked" or trying to fool people about Korea?
1:30 am on December 19th, 2009 4
Robert made a name for himself with his blog and published some books. The blog gave his some notoriety made him semi famous among the expat community. His blog was interesting because of the comment section. The comment section was often entertaining and a wide variety of views were expressed. Without the comment section, there is nothing unique about his blog. ROK Drop and other blogs are often better researched and more informational. Robert RIP.
2:02 am on December 19th, 2009 5
People who don't blog probably don't understand how time-consuming it is. It can take as much time as a "real" job, except blogging doesn't pay. (The amount of money I've made from advertisers this year is equal to about three or four shifts at McDonald's, to put that in perspective.)
Blogging has been an important part of the local media, I feel, in Korea because it helps fill in the gaps, add more sides to the stories, and give attention to things that otherwise wouldn't get it. That there's been crossover into other media by bloggers this past year shows that people are paying attention to the K-blogosphere, as undeveloped as it still might be.
And commenters play an important part of blogging. The good ones keep you going with encouragement, with new ideas, with healthy debate, and with editing help.
But one shouldn't become beholden to commenters, in my opinion. As I said on Roboseyo's post—I don't like having to write about somebody's blog on somebody else's blog but whatever—I never understood why somebody would invest hours a day into writing only to turn over the floor to a few loons with a keyboard and some free time.
It's possible to have healthy debate–hell, even fighting and mudslinging—without devolving into garbage and unreadable drivel. By investing some time into setting the tone, I think it's possible. The few bad apples over there could have been dealt with without closing the threads to everyone else. But, that was never really an issue because the comment section was part of the appeal, I guess.
He wasn't going to be on top forever. Nobody can keep that going and balance a "real" job a family and a social life. Indeed over the past year he's posted so infrequently and none of the guest bloggers really picked up the slack. The guest bloggers are fine when they supplement his regular posts, but when they make up the bulk of the posts it no longer is a must-read.
I'm sure in time he'll find the right balance and the right direction for his site.
2:05 am on December 19th, 2009 6
Yes I agree, its his job and I think it is taking priority. But I don't think he was "spending all day deleting inappropriate comments." I don't think he deleted anything, and that is what is haunting him.
Gerry Bevers has pointed out that his ego was out of proportion. He has expected that ex-pats should treat him like King Marmot, and when a few of them questioned him, he lost it like a big baby (Mr. Bevers words). He will be back because his ego will never let him leave. He just needs to get a thicker skin. As it it, he is very thin skinned.
It seems that you are close friends with the Marmot, and I think that is great.
2:18 am on December 19th, 2009 7
"He wasn’t going to be on top forever."
Brian,
For what it is worth, I think you should be on top forever. I wish you and marmot would make a blogger calendar. You should put Mike Hurt in there so you don't look racist. 11 very skinny bookish pasty white guys who never ever 'get any' and one HUGE dude who has his own 'tiger' passions.
just kidding dude.
The thing is, is that many of the top bloggers like Brian or marmot love to have people tell them how right they are, but can't deal with when people disagree or poke fun at them. Sure they say that they don't mind disagreement, but draw the line at "pissing on my carpet" (no freudian slip there) but when push comes to shove, they will not tolerate dissent. They just come up with some reason to ban somebody who disagrees with them.
Marmot the King got dethroned plain and simple.
2:27 am on December 19th, 2009 8
Well, maybe "on top" was a bad phrase . . . what I should have said was THE must-read. I said that much back in May, 2008.
I don't think it has anything to do with people badmouthing bloggers or with dissent. Though we do have to ask why people keep returning to blogs and commenters they seem to hate. It's more about the rewards not worth the time.
But I think you make good points, Idea,especially here:
"But I don’t think he was “spending all day deleting inappropriate comments.” I don’t think he deleted anything[.]"
3:14 am on December 19th, 2009 9
Funny, Mizar5 used to be one of my favorite Marmot's Hole commenters back in '04-'05. Too bad he seems to have pissed on Marmot's rug.
4:02 am on December 19th, 2009 10
I have actually never met Robert but exchange emails with him from time to time. I have always found him considerate and helpful.
I have also never got the impression he expected people to treat him like the expat King.
Also with people calling him and contacting his boss at work I can understand why he is thin skinned. That is just ridiculous and inappropriate.
4:03 am on December 19th, 2009 11
Which country were you commenting from?
4:35 am on December 19th, 2009 12
I agree that the readership is going to decline because a) the quality of the posts has declined from longer pieces with more analysis and opinion to mostly short briefs of news stories; and b) the closing of the comment section.
I suggested to Robert on another blog that he might reconsider opening comment threads on meaty, serious topics capable of spawning a thoughtful discussion and keep the comment section closed on stories that generate more heat than light, such as English teachers misbehaving or Korean Dokdo Jihadists. In fact, it might improve the quality of the blog if those tired stories were given a miss. Limiting participation to pre-approved longtime commenters and requiring a professional email address from would-be new commenters would reduce the volume of troll trash.
We teachers spend the first two weeks of school communicating and enforcing expectations to our students, and then the rest of the year goes smoothly as the students regulate themselves. Teachers who start off loose and inconsistent then have to spend much more time reining in inappropriate behaviors as students continually test the boundaries.
Likewise, if Robert decides to re-open comments, he'll need to make an initial investment in screening and moderating. If he is consistent, trolls and flamers will give up and move elsewhere and moderation will be minimal. Closing the comments can be an opportunity for Robert to reboot the blog if he wishes to change its collective voice.
5:21 am on December 19th, 2009 13
Surely I'm not the only one who actually frequented the Marmot's Hole for Robert's posts, as opposed to the comments (which, as far as I remember, very often been ugly)?
He always seemed genuine in his appreciation for Korea, while also acknowledging its many flaws, and his calm tone (save for occasional snarks) was a welcome respite from the disgusting gyopo-versus-foreigner mudslinging that seemed to take place in virtually every single Korean-themed discussion board in English. And I certainly NEVER got the impression that he wanted to be treated like some sort of king.
Oh well. I don't care what he does with the comments section but I do hope he gets back to his usual posting pace.
5:28 am on December 19th, 2009 14
This would specifically go against the desired effect (at least as previously stated):
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/03/05/new-comment-s…
Soon after this 2007 post, wjk took one of his typical short comment pot shots at me. I waited a couple of days to see if the new moderation scheme would wipe it away. When it didn't, I posted a short comment dialing 911 and asking the sheriff to implement the new policies. —- When that got deleted and the original pot shot was left standing —- I took the hint and left…
Overall, however, I believe a blogger can do as he pleases with his site.
5:41 am on December 19th, 2009 15
You are respectful and a pretty nice guy Mr Gi Korea. I respect you.
Marmot was thin skinned before some nut contacted his boss. His boss told him to shut it down, and Marmot knew he had best get with the program. Marmot got in line.
As a shill for the (Korean) man, Marmot does his job. But now is when the rubber meets the road. His book on how wonderful "the hub" is, is out. He is doing more and more interviews and he needs to cut off any links to his thoughtcrimes. Koreans are very unforgiving to people who question any of Koreans sacred cows. For the most part the modern marmot never questions Korea's sacret cows, but he is guilty by assocation.
I give Marmot 9/10 for being a shill for the Korean government.
5:52 am on December 19th, 2009 16
"Korean Dokdo Jihadists"
I like that phrase, but in my opinion you are one of them Pat. Not that you care about Dokdo, but you are just as much as a Jihadist as any WJK. (I had to put that last line in there because I am sure the use of your own metaphor would be lost with you)
I am sure your self image is pure as snow, but in every snowflake there is a piece of dirt.
5:54 am on December 19th, 2009 17
I liked Mizar too. Mizar was everything marmot was not. Funny intersesting and gave a kickass BJ!!
8:34 am on December 19th, 2009 18
Usually the mudslings are started by people like IDEA and JohnT. A "Shill for Korea", good one. They don't mind taking money from Koreans for teaching crap engrishi but they don't call that being a "shill for Korea".
8:35 am on December 19th, 2009 19
It's true that there were only a handful of people commenting. They killed the discourse in the comments section through personal bickering or trying to bait each other. Most of the comments were worthless. I started just scrolling through them looking for commenters that are insightful or new.
What Robert needed to do was have a function that you can ignore certain commenters. Then you don't need to see it. It's fantastic on sites that have that ability.
9:15 am on December 19th, 2009 20
I wouldn't be surprised if commenter "IDEA" here in this thread is actually Mizar5. The passive-aggressive attitude, insecurity, and taking cheap shots at Robert all give it away.
10:27 am on December 19th, 2009 21
"Gerry Bevers has pointed out that his ego was out of proportion. He has expected that ex-pats should treat him like King Marmot, and when a few of them questioned him, he lost it like a big baby (Mr. Bevers words). He will be back because his ego will never let him leave. He just needs to get a thicker skin. As it it, he is very thin skinned."
Very accurate, IDEA.
11:31 am on December 19th, 2009 22
Finland.
12:29 pm on December 19th, 2009 23
On the topic of small number of commenters at Marmot's and other popular K-blogs — how many long term expats are there out there to begin with?
There are a fair number of foreigners at the place I work at now, and none of them have been in Korea longer than 3 years total except me. In fact, few have been in Korea or paying attention to Korea beyond 2 years.
Big Hominid didn't have any commenting on his blog for a long time, and I had no more or less respect for him and his effort because of it. What was disappointing about Marmot's shuttering the comment section and Oranckay's attitude toward it was that – in fact – it was a community. The number of people with experience in Korea who offered their thoughts, and the variety of thoughts you could find, made it a draw for the blog.
Obviously some people didn't like what they heard from the pool of readers/commenters, but that is part of what I don't get……It isn't hard to scroll through a thread. It isn't hard to ignore the comments section altogether on topics that tend to generate negative commenting or to ignore comments altogether on all threads.
In fact, I don't have much time these days and don't pay much attention to the comments on this and the few other K-blogs I read. I also walked away from Marmot's easily a couple of years ago after having been a long-time, frequent commenter for years. If readers are that disgusted by the commenting that goes on in the K-blogsphere or Marmot's Hole in particular, then don't read them…It isn't that hard to avoid…
As I said, a site owner is free to do anything he/she wants. If Marmot has closed down his comment section because he has grown to loathe it, then that is fine. Honestly. He loses no points or respect with me either way. I just don't get why some people have a hard time with the nature of commenting sections.
12:40 pm on December 19th, 2009 24
I've wondered over the years how much of the disruptive commenting is actually done by regulars using socks to hide their identity when they want to act like a middle schooler. I have noticed in the past that the flamers tend to use proxies.
12:48 pm on December 19th, 2009 25
I think the reason I liked the Marmot's Hole in the beginning was that Robert spoke his mind on Korean issues, even though I thought he used too much vulgarity. When people speak their minds, it creates debate, which is usually the interesting part of a blog. The Marmot also used to debate people. However, as the Marmot's Hole became more and more popular, the Marmot's posts got shorter and shorter and they became so polluted with standard Marmot hedging words and phrases that they lost much of their punch. He also went from debating people to just making vague or snide remarks. The Marmot went from being a Bill O'Reilly to being a Ban Ki-moon.
The Marmot seemed to think his blog had built up enough momentum that he could ignore it and it would just continue on its own, and it did for awhile. It had become a meeting place for discussion and debate, and he had a good group of guest bloggers, but it was becoming obvious that the Marmot's Hole slowing down because there were not enough stimulating posts and the Marmot was depending too much on his Comments section.
Also, the Marmot had gotten somewhat arrogant. For example, he would sometimes refer to his commenters as "children" and respond to dissenting opinions with snide remarks rather than with reasoned arguments. He just got lazy or too buzy to write or respond and, near the end, even got into the habit of name-calling.
Without a Comments section, the Marmot's Hole will become insignificant because the Marmot does not invest enough time in his posts. Also, people enjoy discussion and debate, so if they cannot get it at The Marmot's Hole, they will just go somewhere else.
The Marmot seems like a good guy and knows a lot about Korea, but there are a lot of people like that these days. It is arrogant to think you can close down your Comments section and still draw a crowd, especially when a good many of your posts read something like this: "I have been too busy to post much lately, but hope to get back to regular posting sometime soon."
1:00 pm on December 19th, 2009 26
That and the comments section is why I got into his blog too. I also thought there was a noticeable shift in his style a few years ago, and I commented on it at the time.
I can't knock him for losing steam in his posting, however. It seems to be the nature of blogging. Few of the K-bloggers last more than a few years. And over the past couple of years, we've seen some of the old timers move on – like Lost Nomad. Others have left Korea and had their interests drawn in other directions – which their blogging (or lack of blogging) has shown.
Given the transient nature of the expat community in Korea – I doubt we can expect much more than what we get from it…
1:20 pm on December 19th, 2009 27
Hi USINKOREA.
Yeah, I cannot really knock him for losing steam, either, because I regularly loss steam, but I do blame him for his attitude toward his commenters. He seemed to be blaming them for the declining state of his blog.
Also, another probably reason for the decline is that there is not as much blatant anti-Americanism in Korea as there was a few years ago. A few years ago, people had a lot to complain about, but there is not so much now. These days Korea is too quiet to get riled up about. Yes, it is nice, but it is also kind of boring. In other words, there are not as many reasons to go on a blog to complain. We cannot blame the Marmot for that.
1:23 pm on December 19th, 2009 28
Sorry, I should have used the reply button. Also, it should be "lose steam," not "loss steam."
2:05 pm on December 19th, 2009 29
"This morning, I get a phone call — at work! — from one of the characters I banned, as well as an email to my boss that accuses me of advocated porn and encouraging hate speech."
http://korealaw.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/how-to-c…
4:24 pm on December 19th, 2009 30
RK needs to learn to respect those who disagree with him. Everything is fine on that blog as long as you agree with RK’s opinions. If you even mildly disagree with him he flies into a rage. Take it from someone who’s had it happen. I stopped reading and posting RK’s blog, as a result.
Besides, ROK Drop and Brian’s blog, and others, cover the important issues in a much more thorough and mature manner.
6:30 pm on December 19th, 2009 31
It's not a matter of disagreeing with them as much as it is being insulted and offended by some of the things they've written. Would you put up with some of the stuff he did? I wouldn't.
6:34 pm on December 19th, 2009 32
Besides, someone is calling him at work, calling his boss, harassing him over being banned from his blog? Dude, how can you not get the big picture?
6:50 pm on December 19th, 2009 33
"so polluted with standard Marmot hedging words and phrases"
You mean like how he will blog about some news story where Koreans show some kind of racism, and he will include links to show that American or English are actually more racist. Yes that gets tedious.
Granfalloon has pointed out that some of the unwritten rules for comments at the hole:
"Everybody knows that if you write something critical of Korea, you have to preface it with three positive compliments. Standard procedure.
However, many expat writers don’t follow the second rule, which is: if you say something positive about anyone who is not Korean, you have to follow it up with a compliment that includes Korea. Example: “That Beyonce sure is one hell of a performer. Of course, Korea has many fine signers too.”
Next time, just follow the rules, and everybody will stay happy. Remember: if a statement seems neutral about Korea, its negativity is implied"
7:07 pm on December 19th, 2009 34
Bil Mac are you a relative of Easy? I see you are no fan of occam's razor. I do not know what your point is, other then a feeble ad hominem attack coupled with an ignoratio elenchi fallacy.
To paraphrase, your argument: I don't like your vilifying my King, therefore I shall vilify you. Did I get that right?
My point is two-fold. I remain critical of the marmot for being thin skinned and having a massive Kimg complex.
7:10 pm on December 19th, 2009 35
Teadrinker- Big picture? RK operates an opinion blog. People will tend to have other opinions and may acutally express them. Respect my opinion I respect your opinion- that doesn’t always happen with RK.
Now, these people who are flaming and calling his workplace, they sound like nut jobs. Nobody supports that behavior.
7:23 pm on December 19th, 2009 36
Teadrinker, one more thing. If you know RK why don’t you urge him to relax. If anyone calls his boss about his blog, urge him to just talk to his boss and explain things. Koreans know all about netizens and their behavior. Plus, tell RK to take a nice vacation somewhere warm during the holiday season. Tell him to turn off the cell phone and the computer and relax. Things will look much better when he returns.
8:06 pm on December 19th, 2009 37
I never thought Marmot had a king complex…
…What I noticed was that a few years ago, he stopped adding his own commentary to news items like some racist incident in Korean society. He started kind of just "reporting" it.
I don't mind balancing things out by pointing out that there is racism in the US as well, but I missed hearing what Marmot actually thought about things, because he was an experienced expat whose thoughts I grew an interest in back in the early days of the blog – and as Gerry said, his posts generated discussion between others – often other Korea vets with several years in country – and that was a big draw to his site (at least for me and some others).
Again, it has always been his blog and he can do whatever he likes with it. The fact he started not giving his opinion much isn't even really something I hold against him. I just missed the old style.
8:08 pm on December 19th, 2009 38
Yeah. That is so far out of bounds, I probably would have shut down the comments section too…
8:14 pm on December 19th, 2009 39
Like with Bevers before, I wouldn't have recommended using his real name and certain personal info to begin with. It isn't just a Korean society thing – I wouldn't have recommended it for an opinion blog in the US where my career might be remotely connected – but I certainly wouldn't have recommended it in Korea's internet culture.
If you don't start a new blog each year – or if you are a commenter and stick to the same user name – then what you say is your identity and good enough. That is one of the good things about Internet culture – you don't need a PhD attached to your name to have an audience. In fact, even if you do have a PhD, on the Internet, you stand or fall based on what you have to say. So why use your real name? On the Internet, it just isn't prudent…
9:42 pm on December 19th, 2009 40
Crazy English teachers. Pure garbage in, garbage out. The more I read about this, the more I understand why the blog owner closed it. I can't believe we let our children learn from these arrogant assholes.
10:06 pm on December 19th, 2009 41
The big picture is that it's his personal blog. A lot of people have lost sight of that, including him (yes, I think he's been far too lenient with some of the commentors).
12:56 am on December 20th, 2009 42
Gerry I see no evidence that Robert really cares whether or not he draws a crowd after closing his comments section. I think it is pretty clear that his job and writing endeavors are taking priority over the blog which is fine and people should support and not call arrogant.
3:03 am on December 20th, 2009 43
When did you move back to Korea? I thought you were in Canada surrounded day to day by the white and other non-Korean assholes???
3:07 am on December 20th, 2009 44
Are you really that desperate for attention?
3:31 am on December 20th, 2009 45
Maybe you are right, GI, but he did say he did his blog because it was fun and because people seemed to enjoy reading it." I wonder if it will continue to be fun for both Robert and his readers without feedback and discussion?
I just did not like the way he tried to blame his troubles on his commenters, especially since his comments section brought a lot of people to his blog. Why didn't he just say he did not have time to manage his blog and leave it at that, instead of saying he was closing his comments section because "people keep pissing on my rug." For some reason, that just sounded kind of arrogant to me, especially since it is unrealistic to expect a comments section to manage itself. By the way, I thought that his frequent slamming of English teachers was also kind of arrogant.
Anyway, except for his seeming to be a little arrogant and for his frequent bragging about eating dogs, Robert seems like a pretty good guy.
9:15 am on December 20th, 2009 46
Other than ROK Drop where are all the former Marmot's Hole contributors going? I enjoyed the debates over there. I think he provided a real service – basically for free. For a blog with that many comments, there's got to be a way to delegate responsibility, or otherwise its too much work for any one person.
7:40 pm on December 20th, 2009 47
Readership has gone way down. Marmot's latest post is almost a slap in the face for long time readers. More of his crappy photo's. This time "The beautiful Hyangilam Temple in Yeosu is well known for its breathtaking views of the sunrise."
If you want to know more about Hyangilim Temple buy his book.
On a side note. Interesting how to the eyes of a Korean a piece of garbage is just that: garbage. But when seen through the rose tinted lense of a misty eyed quisling, that garbage is beauitful.
The quisling wants to rub the garbage all over him, and wear the garbage. To eat, drink and sleep in that garbage.To him that garbage is the height of achievement for all of mankind. He forgets all of the other real achievements for mankind and instead tries to convince everyone how that garbage is somehow the best of the best.
The Marmot hole is dead. What we have now is the quisling hole.
8:03 pm on December 20th, 2009 48
Idea: On what basis do you make the following accusation against both me and my boss?
I ask because oddly enough, my boss didn't tell me to do anything and my comments will be reopened from tomorrow following the installation of new comment moderation software (30% complete as we speak).
If you're going to make baseless accusation against me and my boss, you can at least let us know your name and place of work. Perhaps then we can talk about who is or isn't "thin-skinned."
8:24 pm on December 20th, 2009 49
Your majesty, I admit that the "baseless accusation" was conjecture, based on the known facts. Yes I have no "proof." Is that the new test for the quisling hole? All comments must have proof to the kings liking?
8:31 pm on December 20th, 2009 50
Yep, that's what I thought…
9:14 pm on December 20th, 2009 51
Keep up the good fight and your excellent blog Robert. Long time lurker, 0 time commenter, but I may start tomorrow.
10:58 pm on December 20th, 2009 52
You have "known facts" but "no proof."
Is that the opposite of "having proof" but "no facts?"
12:06 am on December 21st, 2009 53
Robert good to hear you are getting the comments section back up and running. Many of us do like viewing your photos and reading the travelogs unlike IDEA.
12:07 am on December 21st, 2009 54
"Yep, that’s what I thought…"
I knew you were going to say that. However, if you really "thought that" as you claim, then why didn't you say that in the first place?
THE KING IS NEKKED THE KING IS NEKKED.
By the way, I knew you were going to bring back the comments once I started pointing out that your readership was plummeting.
Guttard, what is "proof"? He can claim anything he wants and unless his master disputes his 'truth'I have no way of "prooving" his version of events is wrong.
Welcome to the new quisling hole and King Marmot.
12:10 am on December 21st, 2009 55
You have made your point that you don't like Robert. If you have further criticism please take it to his site for him to respond to once he opens his comments section, at this point you are looking quite petty continuing to criticize him here.
12:17 am on December 21st, 2009 56
I don't know whose comments are worse…trolls, intelligentsia, or Coreans….
12:23 am on December 21st, 2009 57
I like his pictures.
12:24 am on December 21st, 2009 58
I second what GI Korea said.
12:35 am on December 21st, 2009 59
Why do you care?
12:39 am on December 21st, 2009 60
How about starting your own blog? How's that for an idea?
9:59 am on December 21st, 2009 61
I have to disagree with some of the comments here; I've been following Robert's blog for a long time and he's never come across as arrogant to me. If anyone has become arrogant, it's been some of his readership; who think that by the fact they leave X number of comments, they own the blog and can dictate to the owner who else may comment and what type of articles can be posted. They tend to forget whose blog it is and that they're merely guests.
For those that have no idea, a blog like the Marmot's Hole, Brian's blog and this one here require a substantial investment of money and more importantly, time. That’s the only reason I stopped blogging; time. Between my family, my job, fishing and my blog, I had no time at all for anything and something had to give. When I stopped, the various comments around the blogs were quite humorous; people thought that the AF OSI, Army CID, USFK or even my job were putting pressure on me to stop blogging due to some of my content. But, it was time, or lack of and that was the only reason.
Unless you’re one of those bloggers who put up daily journals (“I got up this morning, drank a cup of coffee, read the paper, put on some jeans and a blue polo shirt, and checked my text messages” – you know the ones), it takes a lot of time and effort to put some of these posts up; doing the research and cross-research from various sources, translations (if you’re one of the lucky ones who know enough Korean), going out and about, taking pictures and making said pics look presentable for the blog etc.
However, I also believe that your readership is a large part of what your blog is and their comments not only provide feedback for your efforts but also lead to some very interesting insights and discussions along the way. I hope Robert does bring comments back, but finds a better way to moderate the comments section.
8:54 am on December 22nd, 2009 62
Im really sorry that Robert had to close off the entire comment section due to a few people.
I would have volunteered to be a moderator if asked. I know that Sonagi would probably be at the top of the list for consideration however if he ever went that route. I'm assuming that it was Mizar who called him at work though. Must have really ratteled him to shut the whole community of posters down. Well all good things come to an end I suppose.
9:24 am on December 25th, 2009 63
The comments section has reopened.
11:48 am on December 25th, 2009 64
The "idea"s are using IPs from Thailand. Most likely, this is the same person who was using IPs from Guam a couple of months ago to troll…
My guess is it is someone who is a long-time K-blogsphere denizen who gets off occasionally using a different user id to self-stroke a weak ego…
I recommend using an alias on the Internet — and having spoken out freely a lot in the K-blogsphere, often at Marmot's Hole itself, over the past 7+ years, I've put my foot in my mouth a few times —- but at least I've stuck with the same user name and stood by what I've said and why I said it….
11:52 am on December 25th, 2009 65
That's one of the best, insightful comments I've read in a long long time….
12:02 pm on December 25th, 2009 66
Another issue for long-time issue K-bloggers is something Bevers mentioned in passing —- eventually you start repeating yourself ad nauseum — and that goes for comments sections as a whole. The same issues come up again and again, and at times they can be novel enough to generate interesting, fresh insights, but after a couple of years, much of what you write/read is redundancy……Since the expat community is so transient in Korea, the topics generate interest and comments, but for people who've been around for awhile, it's much the same old same old…
By the way….I had to try to convince a Korean-American friend where I'm working now that you can actually catch fish in the Han/Korean rivers. She insisted it was physically impossible for some mysterious reason —like Korean fish were too smart or something….I told her to google your joint fishing blog…
Also by the way, since I've gotten back to Korea, I've bought a rod and tackle and am awaiting warm weather (especially since I'm living near a river)…
7:15 pm on January 19th, 2010 67
Idea's prediction came true. So his post was 100% accurate.
7:17 pm on January 19th, 2010 68
So true. It's better to read about US military affairs on this blog. A veteran can speak from experience.
7:19 pm on January 19th, 2010 69
Robert or teadrinker, please stick with one username.