JapanToday: Japan News and Censored Discussion

It's always nice to have an audience for one's work, so I'm happy that a photo of mine selected to appear on JapanToday's Picture of the Day. But after I posted some comments of their site, about the photo I took, the editor ask me not to please not comment anymore. Saying:

...some readers have already challenged you with insults, which I have removed.

I'm afraid we cannot allow a direct dialogue between readers and yourself because it will get nasty. We wish readers simply to discuss what is going on in the photo.

I only wish you not to participate on discussions where you took the photo. If you hadn't identified yourself, it would have been OK. We apply the same rule to writers as well.

Chris

Personally, I can't think of a single better use for a website forum than as a place for the authors to engage in discussion with their readership. But apparently JT only permits reader-to-reader discussion. Am I the only person who thinks that is a bit odd? Seems like they let the bad apples spoil the cart. Just get rid of the abusive accounts instead of prohibiting your own contributors from engaging in discussion with the readership...

It gets stranger. Yesterday's Picture of the Day, a photo of girl crying at the site of Sunday’s stabbing spree in Akihabara, someone made this comment:

...Then there are all the people taking photos of the three victims as they die in the streets ! Question ! What exactly are you going to do with those photos ? I mean how sick is that !... Sick folks ! Really sick !!!

To which I replied:

Many of those amateur photos made it into the mainstream news. Only so many people can help a victim. Do you know how to stabilize someone and provide first responder medical care?

You never know what purpose an image might come to serve. Perhaps they document the valiant efforts of rescuers. Perhaps they could be useful in court. Do you suppose that photograhy of war atrocities is equally sick?

You could make the same criticism of journalists in China after the earthquake...taking pictures instead of helping with search and rescue. But that isn't their job. If no one plays that role, the stories would not get out.

On April 16, 2007, a 23-year-old man shot and killed 32 people at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. As the shootings were taking place students reported what was taking place on blogs, mobile phones, instant messaging, Flickr, Wikipedia, and social networks.

Is taking a photo of a crime scene inherently wrong? I don't think so."

Then I got this email:

This is to inform you that your message on JapanToday.com has been removed for the following reason:
Off Topic

">there are all the people taking photos of the three victims as they die in the streets ! ...

On April 16, 2007, a 23-year-old man shot and killed 32 people at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. As the shootings were taking place students reported what was taking place on blogs, mobile phones, instant messaging, Flickr, Wikipedia, and social networks.

Is taking a photo of a crime scene inherently wrong? I don't think so."
--
JapanToday.com Moderator Team

Good grief! I don't understand the logic of that...

My reply to the JT Editor:

How can comments about taking pictures at a crime scene be deemed "off topic" on a Picture of the Day page about a recent killing spree?

As a small business owner myself, I thought I should tell you, that based on my experience having my recent comments edited and removed I don't plan to comment again on your site. It's simply a waste of time for me to spend any time engaging in discussion and constructing thoughtful comments when they might instantly disappear for no clear reason. It's impossible to even guess what you might deem as "off topic" considering what was just deleted and considering what does get past your moderators.

When visiting your site to check the progress of discussions, I'd spend time reading news articles which caught my attention, so having a comments section is definitely a way to make a site "sticky". But your moderation policies are too frustrating. I don't mean to sound unpleasant, but just wanted to let you know--as someone who knows how hard it is to run a business--that you just lost a customer.

I'm flattered that you're selected to post my photos, and you're welcome to continue, but asking that I don't engage in discussion regarding my own photo seems very strange to me. I can't think of a single better use for a website discussion section than for the readership and the authors to engage in dialog.

I think a better way to deal with trolls is to give them a warning and site the specific Terms of Use which they are violating and kindly remind them to read the Terms of Use. If they don't get the message and continue, just delete them.

You're Terms at JapanToday are over 3000 words. Do you think people actually read them? The Terms of Use at TED.com--a favoriate site of mine--are about 200 words (9 and 10 don't count).

Sincerely,
Max