I've generally stopped reading the NYRblog, but today I went back to look at the comments on Pico Iyer's article relating Proust to Buddhism, and I noticed that they had deleted all of my comments that had been there previously. A few months ago they did the same thing on another article on which I had made comments. This must indicate something. The comments I wrote on Iyer's article were carefully considered and received a lot of "likes." Moreover, there had been a discussion between me and another commenter that is now unintelligible, since they completely removed my comments but left his intact.
The main reason that I started this blog was for personal freedom of speech. I found it frustrating and unfair to subject my thoughts to moderators whose policies extend no rights to their readers. Ever since I became critical of the NYRB, which had been one of my primary sources for web articles for over 3 years, they have stopped replying to my emails, have deleted some of my comments at the moderation stage and have deleted others after initially posting them. I urge anyone who cares about free speech to boycott the NYRB and stop reading the NYRblog.
I got into the habit of reading the NYRBlog only because I followed your comments there.
ReplyDeleteJohn
It's a little too early to say for certain that I'm going to like 3 Quarks Daily indefinitely, but so far I'm impressed by the quality. Above all, it is so open that it feels liberating compared to the NYRblog. You can post a comment with no moderation and the author may even enter the discussion! Comparably speaking, the NYRblog is like a concentration camp: if you dare address Pico Iyer, a thug comes up and punches you in the stomach. I don't think Charles Simic, Pico Iyer, Tim Parks, or most of the writers have ever responded to any comment (Elizabeth Drew and Jeremy Bernstein have).
ReplyDeleteAs I said, though, I have become disaffected with literary journalism in general and am now leaning more towards scientific journalism. This may not appeal to a translator, but for the time being I'm finding it refreshing, and it's consistent with my recent interest in astronomy.