Commentary
Let’s Get Michelle Malkin to Open Her Sites to New Members
Knock, knock. Can I come in? Conservative columnist and author Michelle Malkin runs a very successful blog called HotAir. Last week I wrote an aside about my unsuccessful attempt to register there. FYI - it’s still closed.
Here’s the message from HotAir to the public:
Only registered Hot Air users can leave comments on our site. Registration is now closed. That means if you haven’t already registered, you cannot comment. Sorry. We will let you know if and when we re-open registration.
I found Hot Air’s site description most interesting.
Our mission at Hot Air is to:
* Expose new viewers to the revolutionary world of videoblogging, animation, and Internet broadcasting;
* Recruit dynamic, enterprising people with creative skills from across the country to help us challenge (and CONQUER!) the dinosaur broadcast media outlets;
• Laugh. Report. Laugh. Entertain. Laugh. Inform. Laugh. Make money. Did we say laugh?I want to write and laugh while ridiculing dinosaurs too – it’s been my dream since childhood. How do I join the fun?
I’m a little perplexed. HotAir’s busy; many posts attract over 100 comments each. How can I hop the wall between me and this garden of laughing conservative dinosaur teasers? That’s the question I finally emailed Malkin. I wanted to comment on one of her articles on her home site and couldn’t figure out how. Most political sites – liberal or conservative – offer an easy way to join the discussion, and it’s usually pretty simple. Even the most complicated procedure just involves registering and then logging in. Not a big deal, really. But not Michelle’s sites. Searching turned up the reason why, on her “Terms of Use” page:
…Comments registration is now closed.
I may allow as much or as little opportunity for registration as I choose, in my absolute discretion, and I may close particular comment threads or discontinue my general policy of allowing comments at any time.Ok. Well, that sort of explains why I can’t register or comment. But, remember that Malkin makes her living as a pundit. You know, trading in opinions.
I reserve the right to delete your comments or revoke your registration for any reason whatsoever. Rarely will I do so simply because I disagree with you. I will, however, usually do so if you post something that is, in my opinion, (a) off-topic; (b) libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, profane, pornographic, offensive, false, misleading, or which otherwise violates or encourages others to violate these terms of use or any law, including intellectual property laws; or (c) “spam,” i.e., an attempt to advertise, solicit, or otherwise promote goods and services.
My Lord! All I wanted to do was comment, not declare war. You know, join the conversation, be a good citizen, further the dialogue in order to prevent further escalation of the culture war. Why shut down registration? It’s not like her site’s besieged by thousands of scary rude liberal voices throwing ’round the sand in her conservative sandbox. Considering how many pageviews she claims she gets, not only that, but I couldn’t help but notice the lack of dissenting comments of any kind, no less any flirting with off-topic-ness, not to mention profanity or threats. What’s the big deal?
Last week, I went to her contact page and sent off an email, requesting help with the registration process – it was a nice, friendly call for assistance. No response yet. (Maybe she’s in a state of deep despair due to Barack Hussein Obama winning the 2008 election.) I hope to hear from Ms. Malkin soon – I really do want to join in the discussion. We face many serious problems today – and a fossilized media is just one concern. If we’re going to solve those problems, we need to have open and honest discussion. No issues should be ignored, and no one should be denied the opportunity to participate.
If am denied access, or I don’t hear from her at all by the end of the week – I will be disappointed. And I will start a petition requesting that she admit new members to her sites. I hope to add your name to the list if I am ignored or rejected – please leave a comment if you’re interested in participating. When I reach 100 names, I’ll send it over to her – I guess by carrier pigeon – or maybe a YouTube video will get her attention. If you get a chance, send her an email this afternoon.
I’ll send her another email today. Better yet, I think I’ll try to link to bloggers that comment on her site! Genius. I’ll let you know how that goes. I can’t register, so I can’t leave comments. Please - send some suggestions my way – I’m very open to new ideas on this one.I have listed information from both sites below, and I encourage you to visit the links to see for yourself.
While you’re here, sign up for my feed so you can get some of the best in original political cartoons and commentary.
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Tags: 2008 election, Commenatry, conservative columnist, conservatives, culture war, HotAir, liberal voices, liberals, Michelle Malkin
Discussion
4 comments for “Let’s Get Michelle Malkin to Open Her Sites to New Members”
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[...] Last week, I went to her contact page and sent off an email , requesting help with the registration process – it was a nice, friendly call for assistance. No response yet. (Maybe she’s in a state of deep despair due to Barack Hussein … Original post [...]
Malkin’s got every right to keep her site closed to new people. maybe she’s getting to many comments from liberal jerks
Then she shouldn’t complain about the “liberal” media if she doesn’t want to engage in an honest dialogue. She is behaving like a hypocrite right now.
Who cares besides you?