LJC Comments Policy

Last Refreshed: September 18, 2023

Kindly note my Comments Policy, which applies to all comments on this site and the LJC Forum

Open Mic.: Comments are welcomed and encouraged.

No prior registration is required in order to comment, no Captcha box to prove you are human (some struggle to pass that). You can post anonymously, though I encourage you to adopt a consistent “name”. My advice is to get a free Gravatar identity.  To avoid email harvesting bots on the internet, I recommend posting from an alias account (a secondary hotmail or gmail account) and not your prime email address.

Older blog posts remain open for comment, as are all the static pages of information. If you have something to say, even in reply to older comments, it will get attention. The fifteen most recent comments are always listed in the right sidebar, visible to everyone.

Comments are published immediately, unless they contain multiple html links, (usually though not always a characteristic of spam) or contain offensive words or phrases. WordPress Askimet filters automatically redirect spam into a spam box, which I empty without reading, or a moderation queue, where I have to approve or delete them.

As a consequence of this extremely relaxed policy there are some circumstances where comments may be redacted or deleted.  You don’t enter someone’s home, as a guest, and start to insult your host or other guests. Please remember this is my blog, not a public square. Politeness is required, even if you think I am a complete plonker, and even if you are right. Be cool.

LJC  is read by people all around the world, some of whom have issues with Britain’s colonial history. During the timeline of the British Empire, broadly 1600 to the mid-1950s, I was not even born. At the tail end of it, I was still a minor, I haven’t “oppressed” anyone. I question the motives of people who apologise for something they haven’t done, or demand others apologise for something they didn’t do. For the record, Britain was at the forefront of the abolition of international slavery,  and I’m still waiting for reparations from the Roman Empire.

LJC COMMENTS POLICY

This is an Anglophone blog. Comments must be written in English or sufficiently passable English, in order to be understood. The only exception is residents of the planet Saturn, who are welcome any time.

1.  Comments should be relevant to the post topic and the blog subject material.
2. . Comments promoting products or services, or sale of records, will be deleted.
3.  Feel free to disagree (politely), I welcome honest differences of opinion, but ad hominem comments, personal attacks on me, other posters, or just someone on the net you don’t like, I don’t debate, I delete. (See more on LJC etiquette below)
4. LJC is non-political site. I do not give platform to any political viewpoint: there are plenty of other sites around where people can sound off.
5. Regarding Ebay sellers – if you have an issue with a particular seller, this is not the place to air them: take your issue to Ebay, who police their own transactions. Harming someone’s reputation on the internet can result in legal action.
6. Commentors are welcome to include hyperlinks to other web material but need to be aware of WordPress’s automatic spam filters (see below) which tag posts containing multiple hyperlinks, though one link only will usually pass.

Comments – LJC etiquette

Music stirs the emotions, and many opinions about music are passionately held. To enable civilised exchange of opinion, the following principles apply to comments on LondonJazzCollector.  You may not agree with all of them, but please respect them: they are my opinion.

1. No one else knows what you hear, you do not know what someone else hears.
2. No two people have the same listening history. The “best you have ever heard” may be true for you but not someone else.
3. A record is silent. Sound is the product of a record and a hi-fi system, which influences how it sounds.  A record can sound great on one hi-fi system, and weak on another system tuned to other priorities.  Not all hi-fi are equal.
4.  Different copies of the same record can sound different. Your experience is only a sample of possible outcomes, other people’s experience may be different to yours.
5. Sound quality is subjective, there is no scientific measure of sound quality (setting aside defective engineering processes).  However there are lousy recordings and brilliant recordings, lousy hi-fi and brilliant hi-fi.
6. Sound preferences differ. Some listeners prefer mono format, some stereo; some like lots of bass, some prefer more controlled bass. Your preferences, your opinion.
7. Your opinions are valid for you. Other people’s opinions are just opinions like yours, valid for them. There are few if any “facts”.
8. State your opinion, that’s it, you are done.
9. I don’t like “fisking” – where someone quotes another poster’s words, and then proceed to take it apart. That discourages people from contributing their opinions, which impoverishes us all. That’s my opinion, you can quote me on it.
10. Respect other people’s right to an opinion if you expect others to respect yours.

If you have got to the end of this list and are still in your comfort zone, well done, you are ready to type.

There is a lot of pleasure to be had exchanging opinions, learning new things, respect differences in opinion, have a civilized discourse. LJC is for grown-ups, play nicely and we will get on fine. If you don’t like what you find here, there are plenty of other blogs which may be more to your taste, or you could always start your own.

LondonJazzCollector  reserves the right to redact or delete any comments submitted to this blog. In the last resort, where every reasonable means has been tried, I reserve the right to be unreasonable. By commenting here, you accept these policies.

If commenting is not in your comfort zone, the LJC Forum is a little more informal, try it.

LJC