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Pot Calling the Kettle Black
Posted by SelahV in Uncategorized
A blog is a personal kind of thing. It’s usually created by one person who has something or nothing to say. And they want to say it so others can agree or disagree with whether or not it is something or nothing.
The unique thing about blogs is that some people agree ALL the time with a particular host, or some people agree some of the time, or some people agree absolutely NONE of the time. But such as life, not all people agree all the time. That is why we have varying opinions on blogs. It’s life. It doesn’t necessarily mean we are not able to cooperate with one another on essential things like disaster relief and leading someone to Jesus.
When you find someone who has a blog that has a readership in which the majority of commenters agree all of the time, then you might want to be careful ever posting a comment where you disagree with that host even some of the time. [You might even want to think seriously on whether your comment is worth posting at all at anytime.] There are some blogs some of us just need to leave alone. I’ve found that out by way of wound-licking experience, emotional bandaids and heart stints.
I have only been blogging since October of 2006 at SelahV Today. I have a lot to learn about blogging and bloggers. However, some things I have learned and although I’ve not always practiced what I preach, I want to offer some ideas about Blog Rules we might all agree upon. I’m going to post my contributions and should you have any to add, please feel free to comment and add your own.
1) Newcomers introduce yourself and tell where you learned of the site before engaging or attacking the host and his/her post or any commenter in the stream.
2) Get your own blog, so we can all understand what kinda person you are from your verbose or limited description of yourself. (Blogsites are free so money is no excuse.) The least you could do is write a one-time post sharing the reason you love or hate Christianity, people, dogs or cats. If you sign in with a name we cannot follow to a specific link to get an idea of your personality, don’t get overly bruised if folks totally misunderstand from which planet you have come and don’t care which planet you’ve left, either.
3) Type in the name of whom you are addressing in the comment stream before posting a comment to them. Otherwise expect your comment is fair game to anyone who reads it. And trust me, others will hop on it like a robin on an unearthed worm. Be prepared to burrow back into the soft protection of your home turf, or you’ll find your comment being pulled at from both ends of it’s squirmy existence.
4) Ask the host of the blog to explain what their rules of engagement are if there are none listed for which you can follow. If you are not one to follow rules anyway, just accept the fact up front that someone is gonna hold you accountable whether you enjoy it or not. And should you overstep the boundaries of the bloghost, expect to find your comment deleted, placed in the unpublished files of eternity, or admonished as is commensurate with his or her personality. Often unpublished comments can be retrieved if the commenter contacts the bloghost and gets things ironed out. Sometimes not. It’s worth a try.
5) Read all comments twice before assuming you know where the author is coming from. Then NEVER ever assume you know where they are coming from. Investigate before you speculate.
6) Read the host’s post twice to ascertain you know the topic of his post before giving a long-winded response like I’m doing right now.
7) Get a laugh-track and play it beside your computer and RELAX. Have a cup of coffee, sweet tea or milk and cookies. (Don’t drink alcoholic beverages when you blog. Messes with your brain cells. So don’t drink and blog. Got it?) Don’t go spoiling for an argument. Think of everyone in the comment stream as folks sitting in your living room sharing appetizers of all sorts on a tray within everyone’s reach.
If you totally disagree with a post–or for that matter another commenter’s comment–don’t feel it is your responsibility or mission in life to set that person straight. As my dear friend Luke said, “sometimes I like to, or would like to, get involved in the “fight” simply because it is a fight. In the end, it just isn’t worth it and it does not honor my Lord worst of all.” The commenter isn’t a facilitator; the host is.
9) You may think the host is doing a lousy job at facilitating. So simply ask the host if he/she would ask other commenters how they would respond to an irate commenter’s comment. That’s always good for about twenty new comments. All kinds of critters come out of the woodwork with that invitation.
10) Please be willing to say I’m sorry. And remember to be courteous. For the love of Snoopy, would you say in the pulpit in front of an entire congregation what you say on a blog comment stream? Would you want your expressions videotaped and placed on You-Tube as you respond?
12) If you do get out of hand and multiple commenters call you on your behavior, email the host and beg forgiveness or to intercede. It’s always easier to ask forgiveness and enlist help than to let the impression of your demeanor be left to speculation of others.
13) Sign all your comments if you come into a stream as anonymous. Make up a “moniker” such as “selahVee’s advocate”; (I need those). Or “selahVee’s adversary”; (I don’t need those). Having a name to refer to, makes it easier for folks to address you because sometimes there are more than one “anonymous” in a stream. Gets confusing.
14) Remember at all times, to comment on the topic and not the Bloghost’s personality or character. Restrain yourself from invalidating a person’s point or opinion with accusations that they, themselves, are insincere, devious, arrogant, condescending, stupid, ignorant, hateful, self-righteous, integrity deficient, etc. Use adjectives sparingly. And don’t call people names. i.e. stupid, dummy, hillbilly, knothead, ding-a-ling. It just isn’t nice and no amount of smiley-faces will quickly erase the words from most folk’s memories.
15) If you discover a jewel worth sharing with the world, then share it with the world and link folks back to where you found this jewel.
16) If you can’t at least find one thing nice to say…well, don’t say anything at all. But if you can’t find anything bad to say, at least say something. We all like to know you are there.
17) Avoid taking potshots at someone with something that was said in yesterday’s conversations in an unrelated blog. It confuses folks who weren’t privy to the original conversation. If ya have some kind of beef with someone, email them and blog to each other. Don’t take up valuable space on another’s post to wage war on a fellow commenter’s historical thoughts. (For all bloghosts who have reason to find me guilty of this infraction, I now most humbly beg your forgiveness.)
18) When all the above fails, remember “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye likewise.” Then go and sin no more.
[copyrighted, selahV Today, 2008]
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Dear SelahV,
You’ve got a nerve writing something like this. Who do you think you are? You don’t even have a degree or anything; thus you have no right to post anything worthwhile. I demand SBCImpact take me off the mailing list today and give me my money back for the unused subscription.
With that, I am…
Peter
P.S. And another thing. What does “Selahv” even mean?
If Paul had been a blogger (and he would have had he a computer) he would still have used the word stupid, etc.
It is stupid not to use stupid when stupid fits. A person would be a dummy not to use stupid to help a ding-aling understand his stupidity no matter if the stupid person is a hillbilly or a sissy-boy.
cb
P.S.
CB
So, you want a piece-uh-me?
With that, I am…
Peter
SelahV,
It looks like the boys (is that ok to say about grown men?) are up early today and ready to play. I hope all the comments stay this friendly, but not this silly. Oops, was it ok to say Peter and cb’s comments were silly?
You posted so many rules, I think I need to go back and read your post a few more times, not just one more time. See, I remembered one of the rules, read the post twice. I only read it once – too long winded of a post for double reading this early – sorry.
Have a great day
Trish
Law blogging or Grace blogging? Hmmmmm . . .
Dear Trish,
How dare you call us silly. But wait! That’s better than CB calling me a hillbilly, sissy-boy. I resent that.
With that, I am…
Peter
p.s. All silliness aside, Trish. We continue to pray for you and your family…
Don’t drink and blog; now that’s funny!
Peter, please be sweet to Mrs. V. If not, my bloghost will beat up your bloghost, or something like that.
Oh and I forgot my validation for obtuse commenting
There. Whew. That was close.
(Seriously, Mrs. V, great post and I’m with you on every point.)
Dear Peter,
Do you resent being called a hillbilly and sissyboy or do you resemble a hillbilly and sissyboy? It’s early, so I’m not sure you are awake enough to select the right words and want to be sure you really know what you are writing. If you get on cb’s bad side, he may just invite you out to eat, only to leave you with the tab
.
On that serious note: I and my family sincerely appreciate the prayers, we are at the point where only a miracle will keep my mom with us. But we have a God who can provide that miracle, so keep asking for it. Thanks and God Bless.
Trish
Dear Tony,
You’re right. SelahV, I’m sorry. Go here, here, here, and here to back up my apology.
With that, I am…
Peter
P.S. And, for the record, SelahV. I am a 110 proof with our Brother Tony: the post is superb.
Hillbillies, sissies, stupid, law blogging, grace blogging … Is there a full moon, or something?
SelahV,
We think much alike. Just because we can doesn’t mean we should.
I think that blogging is often a major distraction from life. It’s like the total news coverage of Super Tuesday while major portions of our country were being blown away in those storms.
Cyle
Brother CB,
You said; “A person would be a dummy…no matter if …is a hillbilly or a sissy-boy.”
You have described a number of people in your complete comment. However between the hillbilly and sissy-boy, which one are you? :^)
Blessings,
Tim
Y’all are funny.
Peter: I’d call you a goofball but that wouldn’t be nice so instead I’ll let the whole reading community know that you are just kidding and trying to jerk my chain. And given some of my post’s witticisms to lighten the subject matter, I can make allowances for the miserable way you tried to compete with my superiority in humor.
I don’t need a degree to write a post. Anyone who can type or peck letters out on a keyboard and has access to a computer can write a post. And just because you are entitled Dr. Peter Lumpkins, you’re still a little whipper-snapper to me: Remember, you are talking to your elder (albeit not by much) and a lady taboot. You better straighten up and behave or I’m gonna let cb have his way with you. Got it?
ah, the power of being the bloghost for a day.
Definition of selahV: Pause think about it; V-is for Victory in Jesus. play on words is C’est la vie. That’s life. selahV
SelahV – If the good Dr. Lumpkins cannot decipher your moniker, I’m not sure he deserves the title. Perhaps we should demote him back to hillgirlie.
cb…as always, I am giving you a great deal of leniency here because I am no match for your ability to communicate the human language. You are one of the funniest bloggers on the net, and still manage to share opinions with depth, substance, ethics, and faith. Even when you don’t have one iota of an idea what you are talking about you talk about it like you do know what you are talking about. Therefore, the way you argued your points for stupid dingalings is worth putting into a grain of salt and tossing over one’s shoulder in hopes we do not meet with your wrath. Love ya cb.
selahV
Trish… well, dear, I’ve been saying since 2006 that Boys will be Boys and Men will be boys too. They just can’t help it. They are Wild at Heart and have the hunter sensibilities of ferocious lions, tigers and bears. It’s the way they release the pent-up emotions of restraint for having to help wash the dishes, do the laundry, take out the trash, fix the leaky faucet when they’d rather be huntin’ and fishin’.
You don’t have to read the post twice. Just be yourself. It works really well in most any post stream I’ve had the pleasure of conversing with you. selahV
Ray, you have just broken rules number 1, 2, and 3. Perhaps if you’ve read the post, you simply don’t agree with the post. If that is the case then I want you to know, I don’t care.
C’est la vie.
I haven’t given much more thought to the other rules which you may have bent. So unless you want someone to pick on you, you better offer us a bit more than Laws vs. Grace for a comment on this post or your “Hmmmmmmn” might be misconstrued and debated adnauseum. Just a word to the wise. selahV
Peter: Trish can use “silly” because “silly” was not on the list and because if we do not take some time in life to act a little “silly” we will all end up intellectual snobs of the worst sort. We must laugh at ourselves. We must see value in others or we will end up in a miry pile of pig mud and no one will want to play with us at all. selahV
Tony, Welcome back to the land of blog. You’ve been missed. By me, at least.
I’m glad you agree with all my rules. I have noticed, have you…that of the two greater minds in the streams of blogland, neither have offered one bit of validation to the rules or one of their own to replace them. I would surmise it is because they are left speechless other than to do what comes naturally to them. To be silly. And given the extreme seriousness of most posts in which sober thought is most needed, an occasional silly remark, though strange it may seem to others, is just what is needed to break the tension in the air.
Geoff is often known to do this here at IMPACT, and when he does…we all bow to his interruptions. Geoff likes everyone to get along. And everyone to come back. And everyone to comment. And then Geoff is very very happy because everyone is happy. But don’t for a minute underestimate him. He’ll take ya out in a New York minute if you are a meany. selahV
Peter: apology accepted. I will copy and paste it, then save it in my PC so I can forever remember on which date you offered it to me.
I will do this because I am going senile and will never remember you have actually said it, and in the end I will have to wonder for what my brother you have apologized, since I will have forgotten the offense (if there is one, which there ain’t), and have cast it into the deepest sea. selahV
Trish…humor becomes you.
I am praying for your Mom, also. For readers who do not know, Trish’s mother, Anna, suffered a stroke around two weeks ago and is lingering between earthly life and heavenly life. Stress in all the decisions of feeding tubes and DNR is causing a lot of heartache for the entire family. Please pray for her today. selahV
Cyle: Brother, as always, you have some of the most poignant thoughts on the sphere. I thought the same thing about the election coverage when those folks were suffering such tragedy and destruction.
I’d be willing to predict that we Southern Baptists from our Disaster Relief Teams will be the first on the scene with aid, food and offerings of compassion and hope, too. And I really don’t care who gets the news credit anymore. As long as people are helped and God knows our hearts.
We need to pray for them and Geoff rightly gave us updates so needed. thanks for that Geoff. selahV
You’re absolutely right about some blogs where it’s useless to comment beause any bone of contention will be jumped on like a duck on a junebug.
Your rules are good and I agree with them. I don’t always abide by them, but I agree with them.
But then I am a rebel.
Les
Geoff: Don’t know about the full moon. But definitely signs of one are found within our stream today. selahV
Tim Rogers…are you baiting cb? he’s gonna geeeeT you. fair warning.
selahV
Bernard: yes we are funny. That is one of the blessings of being made in the image of God. He wants us to have a sense of humor and lightedheartedness. If He didn’t, He would never have used such phrases as “strain at gnats and swallow camels”.
Also, which one of us could ever have dreamed up sticking one of our rebelling children in a great fish for three days to teach them a lesson in obedience and then having that great fish vomit them up on a shoreline stinking with the reminder that God will not be mocked?
Peter is not a hillbilly, nor is he a hillgirlie.
He is an educated man with a mind far superior to most of his adversaries. He just sounds like a hillbilly and eats like a hillbilly and enjoys things hillbillies enjoy. With one exception—he don’t do moonshine. selahV
Les, you misquoted me. It’s a robin on an unearthed worm.
Yes, we all need to remember we are sometimes pots as well as kettles, don’t we?
It’s that doggone rebel in us all that gets us into trouble, no matter where we go.
Seriously, many blogs are not open to us because the host or the readership of the host have already presupposed who we are and how we think and that we have some sort of an agenda when we simply want to talk along with the others. I think if we really could imagine we’re all sitting in a living room with appetizers before us that some like, some don’t like, we could better communicate and learn to love one another.
Much like this comment stream is at this moment. selahV
Selahvee’s advocate.
Rob
Selah, somebody, help me out. What is a taboot??? Do they come in male and female?
SelahV,
It really is nice to just fool around. Many times, we are simply ‘too tight’ which, in my view–here I go, doggone it!!–is misinterpreted as negative aura. And with Forrest, “that’s all I’m gona say bout thot”.
Grace. With that, I am…
Peter
ahhh you guys and girlies are all ratbags
Its a full moon somewhere in the world.. isn’t it?
Thanks SelahV good stuff as always!!
And don’t you worry I hunt down those SelahV Opponents.
Tony, “taboot” (as in comment #14) in this context means “and a lady besides”, or “and besides being your elder, Dr. Lumpkins, I am a lady”.
I could have said, also and it would have been the same thing but not nearly as colorful or fun.
selahV
Rob, now there’s a man after my own blogging heart.
selahV
Peter: some folks don’t like humor because some folks don’t get humor. And some folks don’t get humor because they don’t get another person’s humor and that is because they think that other person is an arrogant, obtuse, sarcastic dummy with a condescending attitude unbecoming of a stupid hillbilly.
Every now and then it is good to laugh at ourselves, I believe. selahV
Steve, “ratbags?” I haven’t heard that since I was a kid.
Tony–a ratbag is an Australian paper sack made out of rat’s skins. Not.
Thanks, Steve. I’ll just give all my pineapples to folks over here. selahV
I go off and do “abuncha” missional stuff and come back to see my friends “has” ragged on me without no mercy and ‘nat jist ain’t right.
Sometime later, “aterwhile” when y’all ain’t lookin’ I will come back here and rag some of y’all down to the ground, especially the likes of Tim and Peter. I aim to also just throw a few rocks through SelahV’s “winder” too and also.
Now, y’all jist sleep on nat for awhile.
cb
cb…”Wrath is cruel and anger is an overwhelming flood, but who is able to stand before jealousy?” Proverbs 27:4
selahV
be careful now, cb, I have an advocate named Rob and an Aussie that hunts down my opponents like Crocodile Dundee.
SelahV,
Now you have ruined it for me… I will have to delete my blog, change my name, and start all over again… Where were you before I started making an “idiot” of myself in the blog world?
Seriously… If only I could learn to follow at least some of you advise I would not have as many knots on my noggin…
Ok, I am off to the church to unlock it on a Friday night to repent… Thanks!
Hi Greg, Where was I? Probably making an “idiot” of myself somewhere. Don’t despair, my brother, even if you followed all this stuff to the letter, someone, somewhere would still be knocking ya on the noggin. C’est la vie. selahV
selahV advocate
i lurk around but this time…i had to just laugh…thanks for the rules.
d
ps – i always respect my elders!
Dora, well…hello, Dora! so glad to have another advocate. look, lurk and learn. ha ha. the latter may be questionable.
selahV
SelahV:
I’m probably unique or at least one of the very few in saying that I do not wish I had read your rules of engagement earlier in my blogging life.
Why? Because I would have at best ignored them at the time, or perhaps even scoffed a bit at them. It’s not until my knuckleheaded self sowed some fruit of my ways and reaped a harvest of “knocks on the noggin” (and most of it long before you ever knew me) that I acquired any sense.
Now, I realize you are right. Now, I agree with you. Now, I am at least realizing that one needs to be gentleman when disagreeing. I think I’ve learned the concept, but I’m still struggling in making it practical.
Thanks for a good article!
Well, I’m drinking and blogging…high pulp orange juice! Also, I’m posting on a blog where everyone has been generally sassy, but have agreed with SelahV.
I’m not sure that anyone here knows enough about any single thing to take a shot at commenting. The result? A really good laugh. And after the week I’ve had (no one knows what I’m talking about except SelahV), I needed a really, really good laugh. Is talking about something that everyone doesn’t understand breaking a rule?
Byron, we’ve all been in a place where we can’t be told anything and must learn for ourselves the lessons of life. All too often, the hard way. Oh that I could have learned more with less of the noggin-knocks. Keep your wading boots on as you walk in those icey streams…the rocks are slippery at times. selahV
Karen, This post was written to help us find the humor in our weaknesses and find a place to summon the strengths we might employ in the future to overcome temptations.
All in all, I think we’ve had a good time with this post. I know I have. I’ve appreciated each and every person who has commented. It’s been fun. selahV