In the light of today’s big news story, I’d like to gently ask readers not to speculate in any way at all about the legal proceedings against Alex Salmond in the comments section of this blog. As you probably know, now that Mr Salmond has been charged, contempt of court rules apply to comments made online. I’m not a legal expert, so I’ll be erring on the side of caution and deleting anything that might even conceivably be problematical. I’ve already had to delete a couple of comments on the previous thread for that reason. For your own sake and for mine, your restraint will be appreciated. I won’t be making any comment myself until proceedings are over, except to emphasise the basic legal point that Mr Salmond is innocent until and unless proved guilty. That’s a principle we all think we understand, but it’s easy to lose sight of the full implications of it.
This might also be a convenient moment to make a couple of other housekeeping points. I’ve been wanting to say this for some time: could people please, please, please refrain from using filthy language in the comments section. I know that using the word ‘filthy’ makes me sound like a latter-day Mary Whitehouse, but anyone who has dipped into the comments of late will know that I’m not exaggerating. It’s not uncommon for me to have delete well over a dozen comments per day now. Obviously there’s one culprit above all others, and that individual does not have the best interests of this blog at heart, but nevertheless I would hope I can make an appeal to his own self-interest. Heaven only knows why he wants to devote his entire life to winding people up on this blog, but he clearly does, and that being the case I presume he would also like his comments to remain visible for more than a few minutes. There’s no way on Earth I can leave up the sort of comments he’s been making in recent months. What I’m asking for would be a win/win situation for all concerned – I wouldn’t have to waste half my life deleting comments (and it’s really not easy at all when I’m on the move) and others wouldn’t be wasting their lives writing comments that aren’t going to stay up anyway.
On a happier note, Scot Goes Pop is now doing better than ever in the Traffic Estimate rankings of Scottish alternative media sites – not only is it still in fourth place, it’s in a strong fourth place. The following figures are estimates for the last 30 days…
1) Craig Murray: 246,100 unique readers
2) Wings Over Scotland: 172,600 unique readers
3) CommonSpace: 102,400 unique readers
4) Scot Goes Pop: 86,800 unique readers
5) Talking Up Scotland: 69,700 unique readers
6) Wee Ginger Dug: 58,900 unique readers
7) Bella Caledonia: 58,400 unique readers
8) The Ferret: 29,800 unique readers
9) Random Public Journal: 23,600 unique readers
10) Indyref2: 20,400 unique readers
2) Wings Over Scotland: 172,600 unique readers
3) CommonSpace: 102,400 unique readers
4) Scot Goes Pop: 86,800 unique readers
5) Talking Up Scotland: 69,700 unique readers
6) Wee Ginger Dug: 58,900 unique readers
7) Bella Caledonia: 58,400 unique readers
8) The Ferret: 29,800 unique readers
9) Random Public Journal: 23,600 unique readers
10) Indyref2: 20,400 unique readers
Traffic Estimate’s figures are just ballpark estimates, so who knows how accurate the rankings are. But if they’re favourable I may as well shout about them!
Scot Goes Pop fundraiser: If you’d like to help this blog continue during what could be an epic few months ahead, just a reminder that last year’s fundraiser is still very much open for donations, and hasn’t reached the target figure yet (although it’s been inching closer in recent weeks). Thanks so much to everyone who has donated so far – it’s genuinely made all the difference.
