March of the Trolls

As an adamant advocate of freedom of speech, I've had to rethink my position regarding censorship recently, in reaction to comments left by one or two angry visitors. Amazingly, their anger was not provoked by anything I've written — discussing values or controversial topics — but instead by pricing.

Pricing and construction techniques.

To paraphrase the content (albeit not the tone) of the comments: "Hand built custom instruments are pointless because it's cheaper to purchase a mass produced instrument."

Because the written word is always a reflection of the writer's value judgments and moral structure — a revelation of character — I thought it worth contemplating possible motives for wanting to leave a derogatory comment. Why would someone (vehemently) object to the concept of a custom instrument?

1. Price — Not everyone can afford a custom instrument. Completely understandable, and no disparagement will be forthcoming from me. I've been there. If however, circumstances or priorities change, let's talk. I want to put instruments in the hands of musicians who are making a difference. But mass produced instruments, as we all know, are not necessarily less expensive.

2. Education — Lack of knowledge about the benefits of custom: personalized fit to increase skill or reduce injury, distinctive tone or aesthetic representation to differentiate your art in a competitive field, investment appreciation due to accrued value. One purpose of this website is to educate.

3. Tradition — Some prefer familiar and established norms (valid perspective). And some do not. I'm interested in building instruments for those who are seeking to push in new directions.

Perhaps I've missed something.

Perhaps these are just angry people who just want to wreak havoc for pleasure, trolls in net vernacular. Really, though, I can't help but think most "true" trolls — though unseen — would be easily identified by one prominent physical characteristic:

"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on..."

— Shakespeare

So, to return to censorship...I've enabled moderated comments. Not to stifle dissenting points of view, but to limit our discussion to the topic at hand: exploring the design, construction and ergonomic nuances of custom instruments.

This community was established on the assumption custom instruments are merited.

Comments

[Casuale lettore italiano]

I think you have censorship when an authorithy limits information spreading - also, when a communication channel is under total control of someone else.

I don't call moderating comments "censorship"; also, I think that when words are misused or abused they lose a bit of their meaning, so we should try to avoid it.

You manage this blog and let your readers comment here. You're going to hide/delete the comments you don't like. But your readers can also open a blog where they can express themselves as they prefer. I don't see any censorship in this.

By the way, I never read before this blog and I landed here by chance. Hey, please keep on building musical instruments. We need them, playing music is cool.

[Aaron Dahl]

I know exactly how you feel. In the web design business, people get angry at me for charging more than a couple hundred dollars. Like you, I do custom jobs as well. I hand-code everything from scratch. So, if someone wants a website done right, then you will have to pay more for it. You are paying for quality. You can't have both quality and price.

So, I feel you.

[Rick Toone]

Two thoughtful comments.

Perhaps "edit" or "moderate" would be a better word than "censor." It was a new experience for me to want to control the flow of information.

Thanks (non-musicians) for dropping by.

[Robert Irizarry]

I think you did exactly the right thing, Rick. You have every right to set the expectations and ground rules for discussion on your site. Moderating is necessary to keep things on topic and productive.