This is the Free Press 3000 typewriter. It has very sharp thumb tacks for keys. It was designed for those who have what it takes to be a writer.
Wanna take it out for a spin?

Are you tough enough to express yourself? To write what you think? To write what you feel? To suffer the slings and arrows of those who oppose your thoughts? Your ideas? Your ideals? Are you tough enough to get bloodied up for your convictions? Are you tough enough to be a writer?

Then why do you close your comments?

Every now and then, I run into a post on Open Salon in which a Blogger posts something controversial or starts a war. In an effort to avoid confrontation, the writer uses the “Comments are now closed” function to prevent others from commenting.

The writer does this for a variety of reasons: they are afraid of a backlash, they realize they just created a firestorm with no way of knowing how to put it out, or they are afraid of other bloggers writing snarky comments on it just to be snarky. Notice that the main motivator here is “fear” or “being afraid”.

The Editors sometimes use the Comments Closed function when they do an Open Call because they are using the Open Call as an assignment for Bloggers to post something on their own blog not to leave a 10,000 word manifesto in the Open Call’s comments field. Apparently, some Open Salon Bloggers don’t get the Open Call concept and write their response to it in the comments sections so I see why the editors use this function.

However, some people use it as a cowardly way of writing something and not having to defend it. Therefore it is a form of censorship because it prevents a dissenting opinion to be heard.

A dissenter could easily write a post countering the Blogger’s opinion in question, and reference the original post by copying & pasting that post’s URL into his or her dissenting post. This counter-post is still being censored because it puts distance between the original post and the counterpoint. Even though a reader (of the counter-post) will be able to easily view the original post by clicking the URL, most people will be too lazy to do just that.

Writers are risk-takers. Whenever you put pen to page, or keystroke to paper or pixels, you are taking a chance especially when you publish it. The primary chance you are taking is “will people like or hate my work?” The second chance is “will I enrage or enlighten people?” And, third is, “can I handle the counter-attacks?” 

So if you are going to write, especially something controversial, you must be prepared to bloody your keypad, your paper, your screen and your precious ego with your own blood and avoid using the “Comments are now closed” function.

Don’t even get me started on Bloggers who delete comments.

Image source: The original source was from a calendar a vendor gave me over ten years ago. The calendar was full of compelling and thought-provoking images some with or without text. After that year was up, I kept this image and mounted in on a board. I keep it in my cubicle at work. Why? I’m in advertising.

I cannot find the original source of this image. I cannot remember who the vendor was. If anyone knows anything about its origins, please contact me so I can give it its proper credit.