18 comments

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  davidhaimes

  11 months ago

  I initially moderated comments on my blog and stopped after about a week because I found
  
  1) Askimet seemed to be catching all the spam
  2) I realized I was slowing down the conversation
  
  Sometimes I get comments that rankle me, such as this one the other day
  
  http://davidhaimes.wordpress.com/2007/12/08/com...
  
  I try to give a respectful answer and I think that gives the blog more credibility than if I deleted any comments I didn't agree with.
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• 

  Jake

  11 months ago

  Completely right. People won't always agree with what you say, but that's life.
  
  One reason we don't provide a delete/edit comments capability on Mix or Connect is to prevent editing the thread. One person mentioned that this was needed to remove any negative comments.
  
  This gets back to the "what if someone posts porn?" question; first off, how often does that really happen? And second, it violates the spirit of the community to censor people with whom you don't agree.
  
  Of course, we oversee the community and take care to make sure people play nicely. This model seems to work.
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  Matt Rasmussen

  11 months ago

  I've had comments edited by removing a sentence or two because the author didn't like them. (Not here, obviously!) Frustrating that someone would remove something instead of addressing it. And since my email address is always required when I comment, why didn't they mail me to let me know of the edit?
  
  I personally think people who run their blogs this way are full of themselves or are just a bully. I rarely read/visit them after that.
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• 

  Jake

  11 months ago

  That's weak. I've not had that happen, at least that I can remember. I usually lose interest in the conversation while waiting for my comment to appear, effectively ending the dialog.
  
  I'd like to add paranoid to that list of people who moderate. I think there's an element of fear that people will post porn (recurring theme) or flame the blogger, the blogger's company, family, etc.
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  Doug Burns

  12 months ago

  I agree with you about comments. Another couple of peeves about moderation
  
  - When *everything* is moderated, how do I know why it hasn't appeared? It could be because someone didn't like the comment or they just missed it. Maybe the odd comment will be moderated because it looks like spam, but *all* of them?
  
  - This one happened to me recently. Someone asks 'does anyone know how this works?'. There are no comments yet, so I take a little time to answer. But the blog owner is in bed, so they can't approve it. So the next person comes along, spots that there are no comments yet, so they take a little time to answer .... Eventually the various comments appear, but until they do, there's no way of knowing whether it's a productive use of your time.
  
  - Oh, one more, and I've raised it with the one example I've come across - first you have a captcha (an excellent one, but that's not the point) *then* the comment is moderated! What's that all about?
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• 

  Jake

  12 months ago

  Yes, all very good additions to the overall point, thanks.
  
  Your first point is most annoying to me, and I can't believe I forgot to mention it. Just like anonymous commenting is suspicious, moderation seems fishy. Maybe less so, but still, you're right. You have no way of knowing what has been censored and why.
  
  Don't get me started on captchas. I'm a big fan of OpenID and us Vidoop to manage mine. No complaints yet. Bonus for me, I know a lot of the people at Vidoop, and I trust them to handle my identity. And I know where they work.
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• 

  Andrew B.

  12 months ago

  Hi, this is Andrew from Disqus. Just stopping in to let you know that we've supported OpenID for several months.
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• 

  Jake

  12 months ago

  I know you do on your website, but the blog widget that I display on posts only has username and password. How can someone sign in to comment here using OpenID? Do I need to tweak the widget?
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• 

  Dan Norris

  12 months ago

  We see things through the same lolcats lenses, dude. When you only write one blog article per month like me, it's pretty easy to keep up, though :).
  
  For the record, I like www.gizoogle.com as much or more than lolcats, but not quite the same way.
  
  As usual, a thought-provoking and on-point post--thanks!
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• 

  Jake

  12 months ago

  Nice, very funny and totally incomprehensible. I do love an AYBABTU reference every now and again. That always makes me lulz.
  
  BTW, saw your rant today. Does Dell sell a SAN? Can I buy one on Amazon?
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• 

  Dan Norris

  12 months ago

  "You are on the way to destruction!!"
  
  For the SAN, please send me the money via paypal and I'll send you a whole SAN in a single box (warning: I may light it on fire...guess what's in the box). I'll let you know when you've sent enough money...keep it coming :).
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  Jake

  12 months ago

  A SAN 419, I love it. Make your time.
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  Dan Norris

  11 months ago

  You can has SAN.
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• 

  Jake

  11 months ago

  We've wandered way off topic for this post. Good news.
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• 

  everythingsteve.com

  11 months ago

  Jake--IMHO you're a teeny bit full of it, but as usual I like the post anyway.
  
  1) Moderation: Agree with you 100 percent. It's annoying. And editing someone's comments is absurd.
  
  2) Censorship: In the extreme, I'll continue to censor. Not that I get a lot of comments on my blog, but I had one that made a vague sexual reference to my wife. Even though she thought it was completely harmless, I pulled it. And just a few days ago, after a post on General Motors, someone posted a reply with an obvious sexual reference to one of their car lines (hint: gas hog, begins with the letter "H"). Sorry, but I pulled that one too, and I stand by that decision.
  
  3) Anonymity: This is a tough one for me. I choose to remain relatively anonymous, but gimme a break. It's pretty easy for someone to find out who I am. I simply choose not to plaster my first and last name all over the Web. My blog site link is another matter, of course. Now, if someone is out there day in and day out replying in the most extreme form, I agree--why hide.
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  Jake

  11 months ago

  How can anything be a teeny bit full?
  
  Regarding censorship, I am sorry that someone made rude comments directed at your wife. Did that person post anonymously?
  
  I would completely agree with your actions if you included a note saying the comment was removed, who left it and why. Censorship also removes accountability. You lose the opportunity to let your community support you. So, from the blogger's perspective, my approach would be to remove the really nasty bits, but make sure there was a record of who did what and why it was removed.
  
  People get mighty pissy when you change history, and changing blog content and comments without any updates is bad form. The worst type of censorship is removing opinions you don't like, e.g. you said I'm "full of it". Sure, there's a somewhat attached, but what's to stop me from editing you? And any future comments?
  
  Regarding anonymity, I have no problem with your approach. As you say, anyone can easily find your true identity. I don't care for pure anonymity or pseudonyms.
  
  Handling these issues right helps with credibility. At the end of the day, it's all just a bunch of opinions.
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  everythingsteve.com

  11 months ago

  Jake--Insightful. I'm just learning this stuff... So....
  1. I'm allegedly friendly from a business perspective with the guy who made the remark about my wife. I emailed HIM and put him in his place.
  2. In terms of the GM post from the other day, I just threw a comment up on my blog telling folks that someone posted a comment and I removed it because it "crossed the line" given that I have the occasional 10 year old nephew who reads my blog.
  
  Good advice, and thank you as always!
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  Jake

  11 months ago

  These are my peeves, so they should be taken as just that. Again, sorry that people have been rude to your family. That's definitely out of bounds.
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