In the early days of Youtube, the Youtube comment section was a bottomless pit, a cesspool of darkness, emotional rage put into words. Things got a lot better since then. Youtube viewers noticed: even in writing we are socialising with sentient, fellow beings. We not only have the capacity to be aware of feelings, but we actually do live through our feelings.

I thought of a list for your own comment section, to let others know what you’re comfortable with and not. Of course, tongue in cheek. But I like my idea of it. It came to me after watching a Youtube video where an author – after his book presentation – was verbally attacked by a person from the audience. Q&A is not a feedback session. A comment section underneath another person’s work is not a place to vent. Here’s the form:

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I welcome you to point out the following in a disapproving, critical voice:

☐ my spelling and grammar
☐ the way I express myself, my choice of metaphors, adjectives, and figures of speech
☐ my findings, opinions, and conclusions
☐ me as a person
☐ my gender, name, family, or culture as a whole
☑︎ NONE OF THE ABOVE
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