Commenting on the comments: a bit of housekeeping
With the proposed reenactment of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham now cancelled (more will follow in a few days), phase 2 of the protest against the City of Montreal’s proposed anti-mask law still being planned (a petition will be online very soon and the theatrical jam happens this coming Monday) and the controversy over new arts funding measures still simmering, what better time (and quite possibly the only time we’ll get in the next little while) to talk a bit about this blog and fill new readers in on just what it’s purpose is and let everyone know how we treat comments.
The OTL Blog began this past November (2008) with a mission to speak about not only Optative Theatrical Laboratories and related projects, performances and culture-jams but also of various issues in the realm of activism and the arts. Our posts aren’t just re-posts of stuff that you can find elsewhere online. We publish new original content such as analysis, reports, stories and announcements of what’s coming soon all written by our writers. We add new material every Monday, Wednesday and Friday without fail and may offer additional posts if stuff happens that can’t wait to be published.
The OTL Blog is part of a series of online grassroots media projects such as the infringement’s Talking Stick, Le baton de parole and infringement TV that hope to build an original online response to corporate media dominance. To keep up the pace on this blog and increase the pace elsewhere, we’re looking for new contributors to this and other publications. If you feel you have something you can add to the discussion, then please contact media@infringementfestival.com
Another way you can join the discussion is by commenting on the posts. We believe in free speech and will not censor comments that disagree with our writer’s viewpoint. You may notice that the comments are moderated and there is a very good reason for that. Every day we get at least ten “comments” which are nothing more than spam. We’re talking flat-out nonsensical paragraphs with tons of hyperlinks to places like online pharmacies and other smaller comments that say something like “love your blog, now check out my online casino site!”
If your comment or your robot’s comment is nothing more than an ad, please look elsewhere to post it, or see if you meet the infringement’s criteria for ethical sponsorship then contact us. That’s not to say that you can’t include a link to your art project, community group, blog or personal website in your comment, in fact please do so, just make sure you actually have something to say about the post you are commenting on.
We will publish all comments that aren’t spam, are on topic (hint: a post about the Plains of Abraham may not be the best place to express “Car Stories rocks!) and contain no overt sexism, racism or homophobia, we’ll publish it regardless of whether or not you agree with us. So hopefully some of you will get writing and all of you will get commenting and our discussion will grow.
