The blog has been under assault by one disgruntled reader who hates post processing, doesn't understand photographic art, thinks of himself as an expert critic and has way, way too much time on his hands. Rather than spend my mornings being trashed by a totally anonymous commenter and then having to go post by post and excise his nonsense I've decided that I'll have to start having the comments moderated.
What does this mean for all my nice, happy, well adjusted readers? It means you'll have to sign in to comment and you'll have to do the little word verification thingy. It's a pain in the ass but so is the anonymous commenter. I'm sorry that there's not another way to handle this but I don't have the time or inclination to become a filter for someone's else's venal incompetence.
As always, thanks to the thousands of nice, civilized and well informed readers of the Visual Science Lab. We'll try unfettered comments again in a couple of weeks.
What does this mean for all my nice, happy, well adjusted readers? It means you'll have to sign in to comment and you'll have to do the little word verification thingy. It's a pain in the ass but so is the anonymous commenter. I'm sorry that there's not another way to handle this but I don't have the time or inclination to become a filter for someone's else's venal incompetence.
As always, thanks to the thousands of nice, civilized and well informed readers of the Visual Science Lab. We'll try unfettered comments again in a couple of weeks.
24 comments:
Understood. Unfortunately.
Signing in to comment is hardly a burden in exchange for all the work you put into this.
Let's face it: the internet is bursting at the seams with people who are either drooling or frothing at the mouth. Their minimal response to anything appears to be outrage.
Sadly, this is usually how it is on the Internet. A significant fraction of the planet has access to everything you post, and surely in all those milliions of people there will be a loudmouthed ass who sooner or later will decide to fixate on you. And since (naturally) he posts anonymously, you don't know who he is or where he comes from, so the risk of consequences is minimal.
Hmmm... thought something like that was going on, as most posts didn't allow comments as before. Sorry about that Kirk, pain in the butt but obviously the ransom of success. I'm fine with signin in to comment, altough the verification thingy generally has the better of my aging eyes, and I've been known to just give up after a few tries sometimes. The "mal baisé" (ill fucked, in poetic French) will go away, and the rest of us will stay. Hang in there :-)
I'm glad you are keeping comments open - the only thing less satisfying for a blogger than no feedback or discussion is a one sided commenter with an axe to grind!
Besides, figuring out a CAPTCHA makes me feel like I've passed the Turing Test on a daily basis!
Troll is as troll does, I'm afraid. Remember not to let it keep you up at night though. There is always someone who is wrong, on the internet!
http://xkcd.com/386/
Bummer. The CAPTCHA is a real pain with this one. The first was completely illegible.
Darned shame, but it beats turning off commenting entirely. BTW, those of us who live in metro Denver think the area's pretty photogenic -- feel free to drop me a line if you'd like suggestions on places to see / photograph when you're in town.
It's not a problem, not the usual commenter but don't mind going through more steps having something to say. Thanks a lot for your consideration for your readers, moderating comments is also in favor of us, plus you have the right of banning whoever attacks your blog or your self.
Don't feed the troll.
Not to worry Mr.T. The REAL people will still be here.
I just posted a comment on your next blog post, the one about "Janis". I noticed it has been changed so that comments must be approved before they are posted, just like comments on TOP. Do what you have to do. That "guest post" you put up and took down a few days ago makes much much more sense now.
Unfortunate to have the denizens of the muck and mire throw what stones they have at someone's work, where they don't have the "stones" to at least crawl out from under the Anonymous bridge to face the day. If they're not content to be polite and play nice in the sandbox then it's entirely within your rights to revoke their "Welcome mat". Your blog, your rules, your musings, your experiences and your right to say "Out of the pool"! They rest of your readers will find this a minor hic-up so we're not going to go away, and the word verification will keep our little grey cells challenged ; )
Your first stalker? Congrats!! ;)
Sadly, not the first. Just the most persistent. Like the itch one gets from poison ivy....
No problem with Captcha. These things are unfortunately bound to happen, being famous has negative sides too.. Hope he wont bug you anymore. :)
Hi Kirk, there are all sorts of people roaming the Internet, some with an irrepressible need to voice their opinions on just about any matter and draw attention to themselves. Unfortunately a site as well known as this blog is bound to attract quite a few of these, and sooner or later there will be a permanent need for some sort of authentication mechanism for reader comments. Don't let it get you down in any way, this kind of inconvenience is practically routine for any web site.
Hey, No problem. :-)
If authentication and moderation means civil conversations, I'm in!
Whatever it takes. Sadly there are people who need to tear others down to feel good about themselves and since they'd end up being beaten up if they tried that nonsense in real life, they have to resort to slinging mud from the safety of their mom's basement.
On my blog I just have the moderate comments first thingy checked and that keeps the trolls at bay. Although they do still try. But hey, it's our blogs, not a democracy!
I despise Captcha, I always seem to have to try two or three times to get Captcha to work, but it's worth it just to keep the super brave "Mr Anonymous" at bay, he was ruining my daily read of your blog too by way of raising my blood pressure.
Have a great day Kirk and keep 'em coming!
:-)
Totally. Worth.It
Illegitimi non carborundum...
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We Moderate Comments, Yours might not appear right after you hit return. Be patient; I'm usually pretty quick on getting comments up there. Try not to hit return again and again.... If you disagree with something I've written please do so civilly. Be nice or see your comments fly into the void. Anonymous posters are not given special privileges or dispensation. If technology alone requires you to be anonymous your comments will likely pass through moderation if you "sign" them. A new note: Don't tell me how to write or how to blog! I can't make you comment but I don't want to wade through spam!
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