Inciting a Flame War

I was going to call this post "Eating Crow," but I'm still trying to figure out how bad I screwed up. And yes, blogging on blogging is the last resort of someone with nothing to say. Or write. Or blog. Or whatever verb is correct in this case.

Anyway, for those new to the site, this is my take on blogging: this is my home. This is Jeff the Baptist. Not Delaware Baptist blog. Ultimately, it's about me. Don't come into my home and insult me. I don't put up with that from my sister in real life. I won't put up with it from Joe Username on the internet. But if I do actually know you and like you, then I'll put up with some elbows in the ribs and kicks in the shins. Proverbially. But that's up to me, not up to you.

My take on comments is that you are welcome to say what you want as long as you don't (1) insult me or my friends (2) use language any fouler than I do (3) troll/spam my site. It's in The Rules which have been around for a while. In the end, I don't go to your site and act like a jerk. I actually avoid doing so, even to crazy people like Mainstream Baptist. I mean it would be so easy to play with him. But I don't. So don't come to my site and do something I wouldn't.

When Mike M. from Down with Absolutes wrote what I took to be a troll, I went to his site to see who the heck he was. I was pretty sure I didn't know him. I was also pretty sure that he was actually trolling. So I figured I'd troll him right back. But not on his site. I don't insult people in their homes. I'd just edit his comment here "appropriately." I'd show you exactly what I did, but unfortunately when I edited his comment his original one was overwritten. If I haven't done it already, I'll take the new one down too.

Why? Because sometimes reciprocity is appropriate and sometime it isn't. Mike says I was rude. He's probably correct. Two wrongs don't make a right. And if I say don't insult me, where do I get off insulting other people? Shouldn't I be above that? Yes. Yes I should. Oops.

Now look, I'm not Rush Limbaugh. I don't have his money, drug problems, score of ex-wives, or physical girth. I also don't have his inability to apologize and insatiable need to always be right. In fact those things kind of piss me off about Rush. So Mike, sorry I edited your comment. If it was a troll I should have just deleted it. If it wasn't a troll (which I still kind of doubt), then I should have let it stand.

Mike, I'm sorry. I'll be a big boy and fess up. You're right I was a jerk. I apologize. If you want to tell all your readers that I caved under the might of your electronic onslaught in only an hour and a half, then go ahead. (UPDATE: His electronic onslaught currently stands at one comment. Ouch.)

And if anyone has suggestions for how I can be less of jerk and write a better blog, the comments are open.