I have always liked the comment policy here, but it really does seem like the mean comments are sneaking through regardless, and it’s a shame.

Note from Danielle, CBB Publisher: First of all, had you left your real email address, we would have responded to you directly.

We don’t have a problem with any of the comments in these two posts you mentioned.

In http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2007/07/british-star-ja.html
in response to Jade Goody’s feeling that God has punished her with a miscarriage, a reader named Josie commented that God loves and does not punish and some readers said they were offended and explained that they have had miscarriages and deal with them in different ways. One reader said she was appalled by her comment, but we feel that she argued her points respectfully.

Regarding the Oscar Jackman post (about black hair), and that was a response where the reader didn’t think he should straighten his hair and like the natural look, and ‘let the self-hatred begin,’ to which people responded that he probably just wanted to try out different looks.

We’re fine about people disagreeing, as long as they do it respectfully.

I agree that it must be really hard to balance between having an interesting comments section and downright boring. To be honest, I am not interested in reading 30 people saying “He’s so adorable!”, “She’s so cute, I could just eat her with a spoon!”, “They look like great parents!”, or “This is my favourite celebrity couple!”. If that’s all a blog has for comments, it’s boring. In my opinion, if people want to debate a comment, that’s fine, but do it tastefully.

You likely wouldn’t have the nerve to say to someone’s face that their point of view was “stupid” or that you can’t believe they are a parent (which I’ve had said to me on here when I let it slip that I was pro-choice). There is a polite way to debate without name-calling and being rude.

If you’re so upset with what someone said that you feel you can’t control yourself, maybe it’s best to either back off and let it go or contact the poster directly instead of grand-standing.

danielle, with you admitting it here i am totally satisfied:) i just like to have things as they are and most of the readers think you do it only because you are soooo nice. so most probably i would do it similarly, although it would hurt like hell never to judge anyone – being pc is hard. anyhow beside this little sting i admire you, since i follow your developments for years now and you did very well on the narrow edge of being refreshingly amateur and professional at the same time.
victoria, i feel the same reading the comments and agree with you:)

Ultimately it’s your site and you can make whatever rules you want. That said, I don’t think one of your examples falls outside of the standards you’re trying to set. Some of my favorite pictures of my son are from when he’s 3 1/2 months old and I think he looks like an elf. He’s adorable! I think it’s ridiculous to consider “elf” an insult. Same goes for “spoiled” Look around at a few t-shirts and bumper stickers and you’ll find some people are proud to proclaim themselves “spoiled.” I think any point of view should be welcome so long as it’s expressed tastefully and without direct hostility to other commenters or the site and it’s representatives.

Also, there’s a mention of Elisabeth from The View above. If a topic like homophobia is off-limits, perhaps posts about an avowed and open homophobe like Elisabeth simply shouldn’t be made.

Kadarm, I kind of agree with you, there’s a fine line between keeping the worst of the bitching off the site, and between sanitising it to the point where it’s fawning, boring and totally vanilla. It does occasionally lean that way…but at the same time…it’s a hard line to walk and they are not always going to get it right every time. There are times when I think I’ll gag if I have to read another post along the lines of “she’s so cute I could just pinch her little cheeks!”, but…we all know it’s about work and money, they’re not doing it just for fun…the main point is that they’re adult enough to admit it, and hey, occasionally they are prepared to let a little more spice show through. And I guess we all still read, don’t we.

“Lauren – whether comments are directed at one person or not is irrelevant – this is a forum where, if a person chooses to post their opinion, everyone reading it here is entitled to respond. It doesn’t matter whether they have ‘anything to do with it’ – this is a discussion forum.”

I completely understand that. My point is that when a poster attempts to post their opinion on a certain subject, readers will get fresh with them for no reason except to be rude or contrary. One specific example is the post showing Heidi Klum taking her kids to Lakeshore Learning Materials. One poster made it clear that she wasn’t trying to be rude and just wanted to ask a question regarding Heidi’s continually going out with nannies, yet she got two unnecessarily snarky replies back and more saying that she had no right to “judge” Heidi when she made it perfectly clear that that was not what she was trying to do. That is what I’m talking about. If it were an isolated incident, I’d let it go, but it happens all the time, and it’s really ridiculous. There is a difference between being rude and expressing an opinion, but many people don’t seem to realize that.

Kadarm good post, and I agree with everything you said.

Thank you for keeping your blog kind and friendly. I visit here many times a day. No matter how one feels about an adult, a child is totally innocent and beautiful!! I love your commenting rules! Keep up the good work!

Danielle’s note: You are absolutely right that keeping the site and comments positive will help us attract celebrity interviews. What’s bad about that?

Besides, the majority of our readers prefer positive comments, and have told us that time and time again.

I wish more sites would regulate comments like this. Nice work.