Yesterday, I left a comment on Critical Mass which was soon followed by several other people weighing in on the way the NBCC has been portraying itself on its blog. As of this morning, all of the comments on that thread have disappeared and there's no way to leave a new one.

I hope it's a technical glitch. If it isn't, then it's more confirmation of my thoughts from yesterday: "it appears as though they care more about expressing one-way opinions than engaging in dialogue, can't take our criticism, and have no regard for their site's audience." I can't help but feel censored and am thankful I have a forum for my opinions, even if Critical Mass finds them less valid than their own.

Here's a copy of the comment I left:

Although I'm sorry you've been the undeserving recipient of angry emails, I am frankly, as a blogger, tiring of what I read here. You say that what's posted does not represent the views of the NBCC, but this is the NBCC's blog. It represents your organization to the blogging world, whether or not the opinions expressed are held solely by each individual poster.

Besides being word play on your occupation, "critical mass" refers to the sum total of many things needed to fuel momentum. From what I read here, your momentum is headed toward alienation from the very people you need in your corner if you truly want to save newspaper book reviews.

Many of you are editors, and some editing here would do you good. The frequent vitriol against bloggers does not earn sympathy for your cause, especially since we likely comprise the majority of your readers. One reason often cited for the decline of book reviews in newspapers relates to them being out of touch with the books most people want to read. I'm inclined to believe it, considering how out of touch this blog is with its audience.

Although I wasn't paid for my opinion and have now self-published it in a lesser medium than print, I still think I have a right to it. Of course, those of you not reading this—since no one reads blogs—might think otherwise.

Update: The comment thread to the post mentioned above has reappeared. Whew.