TQE | That Queer Expatriate

I’ve been meaning to do this for a few years – but have been too lazy to actually do it. However, some external events have prompted me to lay out a few things so that in the event anybody has any questions, I can point them to this blog post.

First, should I ever blog about something that I’ve received for free or for a discounted price because I am a blogger, I will disclose that fact clearly and prominently. In fact, I probably have mentioned one or two things along the way that I have received for free, and every single time, I’ve made clear that it was a gift that I was reviewing.

Secondly, I do not delete legitimate comments made to my board, except under some very specific circumstances – and regretting calling me an asshole isn’t one of those circumstances. So far this calendar year, I’ve deleted exactly one legitimate comment made – but only because the poster hit submit too quickly and ended up making two comments in a row that were essentially the same. And when I deleted it, I left a comment to the effect that I’d made a special circumstance deletion.

Thirdly, I don’t let commercial comments get posted. There’s some asshole who occasionally leaves comments that attempt to be on-topic (but aren’t), but link themselves to “Expatriate Tax Services” or some bullshit like that. Those comments are not legitimate (nor are penis enlargement comments) and are rejected.

Fourthly, I do not, currently, accept advertising for my blog. I pay for my hosting out of my own pocket. I also pay for my own Flickr account out of my own pocket. Personally I abhor commercial crap – I will (and do) pay more for products that are free from commercial advertising – and I will not inflict it on my readers at this time. (That said, I could imagine in the far distant future that maybe I might consider placing Google ad words on my blog. But I can afford hosting and my annual Flickr fees, so I don’t actually see the point of allowing advertising on my blog.)

I do not begrudge those that are trying to monetize their own blogs and their own lives – people are entitled to do so. However I rarely allow commercial businesses into my personal life, and when a so-called friend starts having excessive numbers of commercial posts in their blogs or Twitter, I am quite likely to stop following their blogs or their Twitter.

There’s a fine line here – I try my best to error on the side of ethical behavior, and on the side of having to cough-up money out of my own pocket, rather than rely on commercial interests to fund my hobby.