A reader comments on the Links Policy

Regarding a recent Comment:

Anonymous said:

"Even though you provide the links and (as other bloggers have stated) it is up to the individual to ascertain its relevance and whether the content is Catholic, why have this type of stuff? My question is, what is the purpose of providing "linked" material? I might add that it seems bloggers get caught up in the "newness or fun" of putting info out there and just get giddy, posting all sorts of stuff. They distance themselves from linked material, however,just as you outline, however, one can not escape even the slightest degree of connection or association with unacceptable and inappropriate information.

You might ask - how did I participate in this endeavor - I got there by YOUR link.

First off, I prefer that commenters give themselves some sort of a name, whereby they can be addressed more conveniently, even if it is just one alphabetic letter, please identify. Second: Links are posted that might have some material on that site that might have some relevance, at least, to Traditional Roman Catholicism, usually, this is done via the interesting posts from other sites section, where certain topics of interest bearing relevance to some topic of Traditional Catholicism is posted, those can be so targeted, they are the ones that the reader is directed to because they illustrate one or more points or contentions of one or more perspectives of one or more factions within the traditional Catholic movement. We sometimes post other links, such as to other blogs, other blogs that might be considered Traditional Catholic, or just plain Catholic, or who frequently posts posts that bear relevance toward the same. They are posted so to catalog certain opinions that some people have regarding Traditional Catholicism, not because we agree with them.

We don't always distance ourselves from linked material, but simply expound that we are not responsible for their material, because we have no control over it, and secondly, we post a disclaimer to illustrate this, and also the fact that we do not regularly read all of the linked sites, that's over a hundred links, and a lot of material, material that I know that I do not have time always to screen, so I advise readers to be prudent; it's why I say "viewer discretion is advised".

I offer this only as a constructive comment. Personally, you are a dedicated and informed writer.

You set blogging rules - why not set rules of engagement? There are links you provide that take a person to novus ordo, counterfeit church sites. Is that where you want readers to go? I have a suggestion. Have no "blog" links and only provide links that pertain to your objective. Christ's Church is currently diminished, would you not agree? But She exists still. Help Her shine for all mankind. Appreciating your hard work, Thanks

We set them because of the reasons mentioned above. It is where there are sometimes some information that is relevant to Traditional Catholicism, but is not always the case, though we do try to moderate them as best as we have time, clearly because most of us here run more than one blog, which we have to keep track of, regular readers may have noticed that such has been done, and is also the reason why we do ask readers to inform us of the status of a link linked from this web log, sometimes they go dead or something worse happens. I'll expand on the issue of links to other blogs some time in the future.

Well, we don't just link sites that agree with us, many are posted that some of us at VITW vehemently disagree with, and some that we do agree with, but our personal opinions are not what are always posted here, mainly, the doctrines, histories, morals, and contentions of Traditional Catholicism. One may notice that we have links from one extreme end of the spectrum and then from the other end of that same spectrum, but are present to demonstrate that spectrum, and to provide witness to some of their contentions and some of the views are espoused by some Traditionals, however, we do try to keep the links relative. Thank you for your interest and your thoughts,

Leo