Comments on: RealClimate comment spiking

By: admin

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:14:03 +0000

Ranter – yes, they probably have that right. Actually, I am not sure since there was some discussion a long time ago that they may be using public time or university time to create and moderate this site. I won’t get into that argument here but there are some people (primarily the people the RC criticizes) that complain that the site isn’t purely a private endeavor.

More at issue is they propose that their site is an educational site for the discussion of a fairly complicated matter. They blend that with a political slant and have some very political viewpoints. If it is truly an educational site then I feel they should be very careful in their practice at spiking. Asking questions and challenging a stance is the core of education and understanding. If they are straight politics then they can push the conversation any way they want.

By: tim maguire

tim maguire — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:46:31 +0000

Thanks for the link. I check in on WUWT a few times a week, but miss more posts than I read. I have mixed feelings about this new site. It’s good for a laugh and will probably reinforce my doubts about RealClimate, but it’s unfair in its conception.

Since it is not a compilation of all deleted posts or a random selection, it will probably not play out as a fair representation of Real Climate’s deletion habits. Instead, it will become a site for RealClimate skeptics to reassure themselves that the site is run by polemicists.

But as you suggest, if Real Climate doesn’t like it, they can shut it down by cutting off the supply of deleted posts.

By: Ranter

Ranter — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:28:54 +0000

It’s RealClimate’s prerogative to spike dissenting comments. It’s their website, which they’ve built to push their own agenda. There are plenty of other websites with alternate opinions (for example, this site) so it’s not like RealClimate has a duty to provide a forum for the opposition.

That said, I never spike dissenting comments in my blogs. I only delete comments that contain foul language, personal attacks, or of course, spam. I find that a more balanced (but respectful) debate is better for my readers and certainly more interesting than a bunch of drones telling me how right I am.