When I posted an entry about Shiloh Shepherd Dogs (“somebody’s doing it right”) a couple of days ago, comments started to turn up! That’s okay, that’s what the comments feature of a blog is for, so people can offer their perspective on a topic that interest them. It’s useful feedback.
The first two comments were very critical of Tina Barber. Well, everyone has a right to his own opinion. BUT. (You knew there’d be a “but,” didn’t you!) One comment was, I felt, slanderous. And there was a curious feature common to both. Both of them typed “n/a” in the Name field; one was from the e-mail address “Joe@sympatico.com” and the other from “Joe@aol.com”. Curious and suspicious, I e-mailed both addresses for confirmation that they had originated comments to the blog. Well, you guessed it — both e-mails bounced.
Now I am an unashamed advocate of free speech on the Internet. I stand firmly in opposition to those who would impose Internet censorship. But let's take a good look at the idea of free speech in the context of weblogs and of the dog world. To my way of thinking, free speech means that you stand up and own your words. You take personal responsibility for what you say and you are ready to take whatever flak comes your way for saying it. That’s what SledDogBlog is about. It’s J. Jeffrey Bragg talking at you (hey, I just realised I haven’t put my name on the banner — gotta fix that) and there’s a comments feature so you can talk back. All open and honest.
Free speech doesn’t mean you may slander people anonymously and hide behind false e-mail addresses! And I won’t tolerate that kind of thing here. The dog world is full of acrimony and back-biting. Much of it is directed at those who have accomplished the most, like breed developer Tina Barber. Guess what — Tina’s dogs aren’t perfect. Guess what, too — neither are mine, and neither are yours. We all like to think they are. But that’s illusion and kennel-blindness.
To my mind, it’s the worst sort of ingratitude to slam and smear someone who has given the world a breed that many people love. Every breed has problems; the responsible thing to do about that is to roll up your sleeves and help improve the breed. Backbiting does not help the dogs in any way. Participating in breed development and improvement does!
So, “Joe@sympatico.com” and “Joe@aol.com”, your anonymous comments have been deleted — and the back o’ me hand t’ yiz!
Posted by jjeffrey at July 31, 2003 03:25 PMWell you know, there are a lot of jealous folks in the world and often they show that by spreading viscous rumours about people they know nothing about :o( Tina Barber has put her heart and soul in her Shiloh Shepherd's. Some folks looked at the Shiloh Shepherds as a way to make a fast buck BUT they didn't want to abide by any rules, so decided to go off on their own. We all know where that is going :o( Pretty sad when peoples greed takes over all common sense!! Tina has put out MANY flames, and will continue to do so, all for the love of her Shiloh's - and we THANK her for that :o)
Take care and smile lots from Debbie @ Shiloh's Northern Lights Kennel - Terrace BC Canada
Fabulous articles! Tina is a great person who will be the first to tell you of any problems. I don't know how she deals with the negative forces that constantly attack her. She never sinks to their level. I have my first Shiloh and it is the most incredible dog I have ever encountered. People are so impressed with his temperment and beauty that they go to great lengths to find out what he is. I even had a fireman in a parade stop the truck and get out to see what kind of dog he was!
Posted by: Keri Ellisson at July 31, 2003 04:57 PM