Writing on the Walls … of the Gazette …

Well, there’s a thing: a week without me getting a letter in the Gazette.   I had wondered how long it would last …

But, at any rate, something did crop up in this weeks edition; it seems someone’s been making threatening comments on Facebook.

Which is annoying, I think.   Mostly because it makes those of us supporting the cinema look bloody fantastic.

And incredibly mature …

At any rate, here’s what I told the Gazette.

“Dear Gazette

I’ve got to confess, I’ve just read the abusive comments on the Facebook group that Rhiannon Evans wrote about, in this weeks Gazette, and feel I should make a few small, but relevant points, here.   Facebook, as all such sites, blogs and other internet media, has ways to report abusive comments.   Something similar — called comment moderation — is in operation on most blogs.

I know — I’ve had to switch the comment moderation on, on my blog, after someone left anonymous, and possibly libellous comments, in regards to both the cinema and Councillor Lewis.   I’m all for freedom of speech, but I’d rather not have irrelevant posts.   And I’d rather someone leaving relevant, but potentially actionable comments made them under their own name.

I’d rather not get in trouble because that same person chooses to leave them anonymously.   I also know that Councillor Chilver’s uses comment moderation on her blog; I’m assuming for similar reasons.

Here’s my point, though.

Having read the comments, I can understand why someone would wish to let the local police know about this.   But I have to ask if anyone on the Stop the Cinema group has taken advantage of the ‘Report Abuse’ button, at the bottom of each post?

And hope they realise that the many of us in town who support the cinema development DON’T endorse the kind of behaviour threaten by the person concerned.

Lets face it, I’d prefer to be adult about this.   As do many of us.”