Reggae: Past, Present and Future

This note showed up in my mailbox last night.

Anonymous has left a new comment on (one post or another) saying,

“it isn't that easy to put your name to every idea/thought that you want to post when you live in a community like southern humboldt. why don't you stop censsoring so many posts, Mr.Arcata????????”

Since you asked, I’ll try to explain. First, I must point out that I do not reject all that many comments. I don’t actually get all that many, although things seem to be picking up in the last few days with the important new developments. I’m guessing the fact that Eric has asked for a moratorium on name-calling and rants may have moved some of that over here. (Not that it worked on his blog.)

It’s pretty easy to sit down at your keyboard and crank out an angry letter lashing out as some person or force you don’t like. In fact, I’d say it’s all too easy. The result is a battle of insults and falsehoods, unsubstantiated rumors and often downright cruelty. You say it’s hard to put your name to something like that, well it should be. Each comment that comes to this blog requires a judgment call from me: Publish or Reject. I read what shows up in my mailbox and decide if it’s something that moves the discussion forward. Most of the comments I reject say something like so-and-so is an asshole or a greedy something-or-other, or worse. I don’t see any need to publish such thoughts. If that’s censorship, I’m guilty.

You refer to me as “Mr. Arcata,” which is suppose is intended as some sort of insult, or is meant to imply that I’m not from SoHum, so I can’t possibly understand what you face. It may be that all you know about me is what you can read in the upper corner of this page. Let me fill in some details.

My full name is Bob Doran and I’m a journalist by trade. I am employed full time by the North Coast Journal where among other things I write a music column called The Hum, and edit the arts section of the paper. I’ve been covering Humboldt’s music scene for a long time; I have attended Reggae on the River for 15 years, always with press credentials. I’ve known Carol Bruno for over 15 years, same with Boots Hughston, and P.B. and Mossman and Doug Green, and pretty much all of the players in this drama. I’ve known Taunya Stapp since she took the job at E.D. for the Mateel. I also know a number of the playa-haters in the conflict. I’ve spent hours at Reggae talking with all sort of people about how the whole thing works, and more recently I’ve spent hours on the phone talking with various parties about what’s going on in SoHum, both on the record and off the record. I’ve tried to use the information I’ve gathered judiciously and not to become a tool of one side or another.

I did not set this site up as an unfettered forum for anyone who wants to blast someone they don’t like with an uninformed rant. Frankly I don’t see a lot of value in publishing “every idea/thought” you might want to post anonymously. The bottom line is, this is my blog, it’s my party, I set the rules. You got a problem with that? Take your business and your nastiness elsewhere.

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Posted by (moderator) Bob Doran (shown above in a vendor's booth at Reggae 2006) to Reggae: Past, Present and Future