By Scott Tibbs, July 5, 2012
Imagine you're playing basketball. You are playing 5 on 5, full court, with a couple referees. You are required to follow all of the rules - no traveling or fouls, observe the shot clock and three seconds violations, and so forth. The other team does not have to obey any rules. They can run with the ball, tackle players on offense to take the ball away, and basically break any rule they want. Plus, their basket has been lowered to 5 feet. It is a rigged game.
That's what it's like for conservatives posting in story comments on the Herald-Times web site.
It has been especially egregious lately. I have been stalked, harassed and personally attacked by my political enemies. There have been attempts to blackmail me into silence. All of this is tolerated by a so-called "newspaper" where the so-called "moderators" claim those posts are within HeraldTimesOnline.com (HTO) guidelines. To make things worse, I have had several posts deleted for using language that has not only been approved by Herald-Times editor Bob Zaltsberg, but was volunteered by Zaltsberg as an appropriate word to use.
I am done. I quit.
There is no longer any point in posting on the Herald-Times website. When the playing field is so obviously and brazenly tilted in favor of Leftists, and when Leftists can get away with virtually any offense regardless of the so-called "comment guidelines" that are intended to keep discussions civil, there is no hope for a reasonable discussion of issues. I make a completely issue-oriented and 100% civil comment about a news story, and I am viciously personally attacked and stalked by my enemies.
Someone told me that if I boycott HTO comments, I am giving the Herald-Times what it wants. That is the whole point. It is more than clear that the so-called "moderators" do not want me to post on HTO. I have been here before. I have posted on forums where it was obvious the administrators wanted me gone. I stubbornly stayed, and regretted it as the cascade of personal attacks, blackmail and stalking got worse - all encouraged by the forum administrators. The Herald-Times has now reached that point and it is time for me to stop posting.
What makes the Herald-Times comments worse is that people pay for the privilege of commenting on HTO. This is supposedly a reputable company (go ahead and laugh, because that is so obviously false) and it supposedly wants a reasonable debate. The Herald-Times even published an editorial where H-T editor Bob Zaltsberg pretended that HTO staff was going to be more aggressive in deleting abusive comments. We now know this was a lie. Sure, HTO staff will be more aggressive - with conservatives. Leftists, meanwhile, have had all restrictions removed.
The Herald-Times has degenerated into a sewer. Posts on HTO might as well be written in feces on the sewer wall. I encourage all conservative posters to join me in my boycott. The Herald-Times simply does not deserve to be dignified as a place to discuss issues of the day.
