Ryan Jerz :: Reno Blogger

Fun, conversations, and occasional journalism from Reno, Nevada


Misc: Sometimes removed posts aren't so removed

You knew once the Nevada blogging world got bigger we’d start to get some scandalous behavior. Not that I’m picking on her or anything, but “Reno’s #1 Blogger” and “Most read website this side of Digg” (Just ask her) has gone and done the unthinkable. She removed a post.

Bad, bad form. Her explanation is that she felt bad about taking a cheap shot at reporter Molly Ball by bringing up a recent DUI. Okay. Although, this is a new world and it’s not like the DUI was untrue. I got an email from Myrna this morning explaining that she took the post down for that reason and no other. I fired back that I though no matter what her reason was, it’s a very weak move to remove any post. Once it’s up, it needs to stay up, even if you feel bad about it. This is about the conversation, you know. And there was a lively one going on in that thread. I guess we’ll never know.

Or will we? Late in the thread Myrna made a big mistake. She accused me of posting under a fake name. Well, I don’t like being accused of that. In fact, it might be about the worst thing you could possibly say to me. In case you don’t know, here’s a little background on what I think of fake names. There’s more, but most of it is contained in comments elsewhere. After the initial jab at me, I let her know that I wouldn’t stand for it. I also made sure she was aware that it was a very bad idea for someone intent on remaining anonymous to start throwing accusations around.

Thinking that the post might disappear, I started grabbing screenshots. I want what went on there to stay on the record. There was a good debate about the post in general and a pretty interesting attack on me. So I’ve saved it and you can view it here. It’s a big, long image so you’ll have to scroll a bit. It’s worth the read to see into the personality of someone who tends to try to act above it all. It also features the usual nutjobs coming to her defense – stupidly, of course.


tags: anonymous, blogging, blogs, nevada, reno, reno discontent
posted by Ryan Jerz on 02/28/2007

Comments

ed adkins, Feb 28, 06:44 AM #:

essss uuuuuuunnnn GOOOOOAAALL!!!!

now you have to picture me running in circles in my living room with my shirt pulled over my head.

bangup job there, jerz.

myrnatheminx, Mar 1, 12:51 AM #:

First of all, the Digg comment? If you’re asking, I’ve never said anything remotely like that. I only quote what others have said.

And it doesn’t bother me that you copied the posts. I do think its strange that you thinks its such a “got you” moment. I could have taken it down without telling you—but I was being courteous which leads me to my next point. Although you didnt say anything I have a problem with here, we should agree that email conversations are considered “off blog” and confidential. I have email too after all. I also wouldnt even call it attack, but a mistake. But that’s you call—I certainly can’t tell you how to feel.

I thought all day about that post and made my decision—my blog, my whims. I didnt take it off for my benefit but for Ball’s. That’s the only thing that bothered me about it—-because I started thinking about how I would feel in her shoes. I could’ve cared less about the comments.

Ryan Jerz, Mar 1, 01:59 PM #:

The Digg thing was an attempt at a joke. I guess it didn’t work. But I was trying to illustrate that you’ve been mentioning a lot lately how popular the site is. And it was in my mind due to the Hillary ad debacle.

The information I included from your email was all information that you first posted on your site. It’s hardly confidential that you posted the same thing as you told me. And what I write in email is most certainly okay for me to talk about. I wrote it, after all.

Let me just say that it was a good thing that you told me about taking it down. I was expecting it, and for an entirely different reason than you gave (hence the screenshots). I’m not convinced that what you’re saying is really why you did it, and I think that it’s my call to make over here. Here is where I bore the hell out of people. I believe in transparency, and I believe in letting people come to their own conclusions. You say one thing, and the comments say another to me. If nobody ever sees them, it’s your word against mine. So let’s make the comments visible. Then neither of us have to convince anyone , and you’ve stated your case. The people that matter to you will have your back anyway. They always do. And they hardly find time to read this site, so you shouldn’t be worried. If you are worried, then I’d have to imagine that something’s not sitting right with you.

Nevada Blogger JWH, Mar 1, 09:08 PM #:

“Once it’s up, it needs to stay up”

Says who?

Ryan Jerz, Mar 1, 10:03 PM #:

JWH, I do. Are you saying that a blogger should just be able to remove any post when they see fit and not have someone question it? Just wondering.

Nevada Blogger: JWH, Mar 1, 11:39 PM #:

No, I didn’t say that. I’m just wondering who wrote the blog rule about not erasing posts. Should we call Blog Nanny 911 in here to teach us Nevada Bloggers proper blog etiquette? No big deal, though. I like both of your blogs.

myrnatheminx, Mar 2, 12:12 AM #:

That was weird—-until I started typing another comment, all I could see was the first comment. Now I see them all…..

Why is it easier for you to imagine that I was afraid of controversy than that I just thought I had gone too low at someone else’s expense? I have my theories about that but trust me, removing them had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with me rethinking the post (The Man was right) and wanting to spare someone else from forever having to account for a past mistake that could happen to anyone. I dont have a problem admitting mistakes and I don’t feel the need to hide that from anyone. I just decided it wasnt right to keep that up at Ball’s expense.

This blog doesn't work, Mar 2, 11:37 AM #:

It doesn’t show all posts until you preview a post.

Robert Payne, Mar 2, 03:36 PM #:

Pardon me stating the obvious, but clearly you can question it, and clearly she can remove it. Reminds me not to drink and blog. Might get in trouble with the law.

BTW Jerz, you got some nice pics on Flickr. You’ve got a good eye.

ryan jerz, Mar 4, 04:49 PM #:

Robert,

Thanks. I appreciate the compliment.

It is obvious that she can do what she wants. What’s really at stake here is the credibility and honesty of bloggers. Even the ones who say they’re not journalists. I want all bloggers to be taken seriously, especially when they write about serious things. Like politics and stuff.

If you’re acting like it’s your personal playground and not a place to have discussion, then you’re cheating everyone. Myrna did just that. She may have really felt bad about what she did. But the discussion was important. She’s trying to pass it off as a simple mistake on her part, but several other things happened. She was taken to task seriously by The Man. That would be lost. She made accusations that she also tried to pass off as some sort of joke. That would be lost.

Her pulling the post screams of someone who simply couldn’t look at herself getting ripped apart in a couple of ways. If a TV personality (and trust me, Myrna is a blogging personality) tried to get TV erased of her acting like a fool, then we’d all be posting it. Especially Myrna.

People defending her either don’t get it or think blogging is some sort of social networking application. I couldn’t agree less.

Eric Odom, Mar 5, 04:07 PM #:

http://contentious.com/archives/2006/08/01/rewriting-blog-history-bad-idea

Does that answer some questions?

Nevada Blogger: JWH, Mar 6, 01:38 AM #:

“Does that answer some questions?”

Absolutely. Thanks for the link, Eric.

Robert Payne, Mar 11, 05:41 PM #:

Great link, and good point.

Part of this discussion also stemmed from a comment Myrna made about taking the post down because she felt bad for revealing the identity of the woman who was caught drunk driving. I was taking her word for it.

But I agree that if someone is or wants to elevate their blog status and exposure, then they must accept a certain level of responsibility. Passing judgement or commenting on someone or some issue cannot be a one-way street, and one should think thrice before doing so.

Commenting is closed for this article.