As a rule of thumb, when in doubt don’t publish it. Ultimately a simple “no” may well be the kindest option.

Don’t post it.

This layout isn’t like that of the forums, where everything is categorized by topic.  Here, it’s just chrono with the latest at the top.  If you try to avoid excluding anyone, you could end up with a bunch of topics you don’t agree with filling up this page and running people off.  Pulling stuff like that can be more time consuming in the forums for them and is easier to ignore. 

You are very open about posting comments, and make it clear that all views are welcome to comment.  If I want to get into a topic I totally don’t agree with, I know where to find them.  I just don’t want them “taking over” here.

It’s your blog, Les.  You are the SEB, and you get to pick and choose what gets posted as a topic.  If they don’t like it, then fuck’em if they can’t start their own blog.

Ditto, you two.  Me three

Les,

Given that you are considering posting the entry at all, it would seem that there is some merit in it.  Or am I just reading too much into your doubts?  I’ll be different from the other commenters and go with a “post it” with a disclaimer if you wish.  It might be interesting to see how the other side approaches the issue.  Whether the opinions and arguments within the entry are sound or not, at the very least it should be entertaining.

If you do post it, don’t put it on the main page. Just put a link to it and put an editorial remark before his entry with a disclaimer.

Personally I agree with Ragman. If you start posting everything submitted, you are going to start getting every little nut that would like to take over a site like this. You are quite generous to be even considering posting it.

As Todd says you could post your thoughts as a preface, then put it in an extended entry. Or don’t post it. Lotta help I am huh?

Ultimately, Les, this is still your weblog. By becoming a free-for-all, SEB would risk losing the unique voice you’ve given with your own work over the years. I think you are well within your rights to exercise some editorial control on this matter. If the author really wants to get his views out there, he could always post them on a blog of his own.

Just my 2 cents.

This isn’t an editorial board, or a message board, but a blog with a few themes. Posting this guy’s article would, as you said, be totally against the grain of everything else here.
Then again, if its a thought provoking piece that made you think twice, perhaps its worthwhile.

Les brings up a very intersting point.  I have considered writing a topic or two re: the election for SEB (Hey, I LIKE the place), but decided against it because I differ politically from a vast majority of the board’s readers, though I share a similar love of games/tech and a similar distaste for religious freaks.

I decided against submitting anything here because it’s HIS weblog… and I really think any guest posts should share his tendencies.  In other words, guest posts should pretty much be in line with what Les himself would post.

Besides, I have a blog of my own, ya know?  Make the bum go to blogger! 

Purely and simply at the end of the day Les, it’s your blog, and any views expressed here ultimately reflect on you.

So if you post articles that you don’t agree with, out of a sense of being fair or something, then you are really doing yourself and this great blog a disservice.

I have considered submitting articles myself, but as you know I am one of them there ‘pagans’ so a lot of stuff I’d submit would not be on a par with your views.

Bottom line, ‘it’s your blog’, do as thou wilt an harm none

Hi Les,

Not only is it your blog, but you’ve built one of the most intelligent and informed readerships out there. (I’ve generally, upon looking at what seems to be all around me, concluded that I’m a relatively smart person. Then I came here and started reading and thought “shit. I’d better shut up and listen. These people know what to do with a set of synapses.")

(but then, uh oh. watch. she’s going to tell you what she thinks now...)

I think that if you’ve been using your own judgement all along to build this place, and it’s with this that you’ve gathered this community, which has further helped it become what it is, then that’s not a bad argument for “staying the course.”

Even if you’re a little stuck on some feeling of obligation to give space to a view you don’t share, maybe it’d be worth holding out for a piece of writing on said view that, er, well, makes sense. Otherwise, in addition to the concerns you have about compromising your blog, there’s also the disservice to thinking people who share the opposing view.

Just my take.
Amy

As others have already said, if the piece is really only opinion and no real arguments are in there, don’t post it.

However, with a suitable preamble, everybody would know that’s not your point of view, and you wouldn’t even have to sprinkle the post itself. And if it’s thought-provoking and somewhat grounded on solid arguments, I’d actually like to read it.

If it’s part one of a two-part-series, you could also just wait for the second part and see if he further extends those points you mentioned, like the pledged similarity between Al Capone and quantum theory.

Do you have an email address of the guy/gal who sent the post? You could also contact him/her and ask him/her if she/he could explain that similarity a little more before you post it…

Thanks for the input. I suppose the reason I’m so conflicted on this one is simply because I am having a hard time making sense of it. It’s the sort of entry that had I come across it on another site I might have made an entry about just to poke fun at it. The entry makes a lot of claims, but cites nothing to back them up. It’s relatively short and relies on implied links between its topics instead of taking the time to spell out just why the author feels these items are connected or what evidence he believes supports those connections. It starts off with a statement about how “paranormal science” is considered a pseudoscience by skeptics and then quickly becomes an attempt to establish the veracity of ESP claims with anecdotes about a couple of Popes who believed in prophetic visions.

It’s the sort of entry that, if I were going to publish it, I’d do so as an example of how nutty some people can be.

I’d have no problems with an entry that might disagree with some of my basic stances on issues if it’s well-written, thoughtful, and has some good points to make—so, Ben, feel free to submit if you think you have something you’d like to share. I posted Bachalon’s entry not so much because I agreed with it, but because it got me thinking and I thought it might do the same for others. One of my goals with SEB is to get folks to think a little about some of their long held beliefs and assumptions. It’s called Stupid Evil Bastard because so many people have a hard time understanding why anyone would call themselves a Stupid Evil Bastard and that gets the brain working for a lot of them. But the entry in question is more amusing than thought provoking. Well, other than making you think about what different kinds of drugs this fellow may be taking.

You know, you could always treat this as one of those odd emails and then publish it but subject each part to criticism.

I’m a little late on this one, but agree with the not posting idea in keeping with the SEB theme.

Maybe those people that have ideas of this sort, that they would like to see discussed amongst this group, could submit them to you in an open email stating as such.  That would bring back some of the feel of the forums without losing the overall integrity of the site.

Hi Les,

You can either keep the personal tone of your blog, or you can throw it wide open and become an opinion journal that would not be your own personal hobby-horse anymore.

In the first case you must exercise a strong editorial presence where you check for content as much as you check for typos or errors in grammar. In the second case, a simple disclaimer along the lines of “This post does not necessarily reflect the views of SEB, blah, blah, blah...” would work in addition to traditional editorial duties like grammar, spelling, and story layout.

Do you really want to become a multi-author opinion journal? Guest authors are cool, and they sure help with the workload, but don’t let them take over.

Just my 2 ducats.

Les,

I suggest that you take any interesting submissions like these that are way out there but at least interesting and post them up in batches somewhere.  Sort of a freako gallery, but off of the main page.

There could be some gems in there.  But they shouldn’t make it on the main index page.

What everyone said. 

Les, don’t be afraid to be a fascist on your own site.  There’s no requirement for freedom of speech; the First Amendment applies to what the government should do, not individuals with their own publications, as it were.  You’ve set the tone from the beginning on this site; don’t let it stray just because you’re trying to be a nice guy.  (That would belie the site’s name, wouldn’t it? )

I’m a little late to this thread, but IMNSHO you should not publish it if it isn’t to your liking. 

The guest contributor thing is nifty and will continue to be an attraction but I think you’re right to be selective.  Given the size of your readership it’s a bully pulpit, which is a result of the high quality you maintain.

I agree. Don’t post it… well… unless you want to make fun of it line by line. I always like those.

Nobody ever said a blog was a democracy. It’s your corner of the internet, and people that don’t like the rules can leave.

I agree with Amy.  I have withheld guest posts when I considered, “do I have enough here to back my opinion or am I just rambling”.  There is enough trash out there I can find if I want it.  maintain the high standard you hold your to your own work when considering ours/others. 

The tips provided to new posters are also greatly apreciated.  Perhaps send it back and ask for more substance before you’ll post it.

Looks like I’m a little late here, but as it sounds like it’s been said before…

This is your website. You have ultimate power to post or not post information. Wether that info comes from a news article or from a reader submitting an article.

If you hurt the feelings of the person who submitted the article, well that’s unfortunate, but that’s the real world for you.

Again, thanks for the input. Hearing some other opinions did help frame my perspective better.

To be honest, I found it really surprising the first time I went to this site to see there were guest posts on the front page.  At the time, I only saw an entry from Brock and one from Eric Paulsen, so it wasn’t all that shocking.  Otherwise, I would have been worried that the individual beauty of this site (the fact that it was mostly inspired by the mindset of ONE individual) were lost.  Despite the fact you have other people posting opinions, it’s still entirely your creation, and you keep domain over it, which is just as it should be.  But you should NEVER feel obligated to post something stupid just because you might be criticized as exclusive.

Besides, we’re looking for political and philisophical discourse here (except, of course, for the tech/funny entries), not nonsensical ravings on irrelivant subject matter.

The lower the Les-ness quotient on this blog gets, the less I come back. In the end, blogs are personal expressions of the author, and they succeed or fail based on that. I might be different than everybody else, but I mostly just skim the “yellow” entries now.