Saturday, April 14, 2012

Sunday Housekeeping Volume 8

As readership grows, we seem to be attracting much more attention, not all of it good.
It seems that there are those for whom this blog is disturbing and who have decided to 'gum up the works' by posting a lot of junk.
 
Due to the high number of comments we are receiving, many of which are idiotic trolls and inflammatory junk, I am going to tighten up the rules.

I cannot moderate two or three hundred comments a day. It isn't feasible. I have a job. 

As of tomorrow, I am asking all of you to let go of the gratuitous insults both on the English and French side, but clearly much more on the French side.
Many of these comments are nothing more than one line drive-bys, meant to disrupt.

They won't be  posted anymore.

I want all readers to make an effort to clean up their language and refrain from ruining an interesting post with a nasty French or English insult. It isn't necessary to use foul language or nasty insults to make a point.
One can still get the message through and even show rage or frustration without being gross.

If we've got to go down to twenty or thirty thoughtful comments, so be it. I'm not writing this blog to run up the score.

I urge everyone to participate, but if you are here to piss in the soup or to deliver stupidities, please keep away.

Each  comment should contain an original thought, a counter argument, or information about a subject that others would be interested in.
It would be nice if you guys responded a little more often to the main post, but sometimes we do go off on a tangent, which will be allowed if it is of interest.

Stop the insults.
Make your point without referring to seppies or angouilles.
I don't know any Nazis in Quebec and don't want to see the word in the comments section. It debases us all.

Each comment will be judged on its merit, if it doesn't get published take it as a sign that it doesn't fill the most important criterion, that is to be interesting without being mean or insulting.

You can still rant, but leave out the insults. Be inspired by the greatest rant ever, that of newsman Howard Beal from the movie network.;

Enjoy. I hope it inspires you;



I am turning comment moderation on once again, which means I'll have to approve comments before they go out. It will mean a delay in seeing your comments published, but I haven't been left with much choice.

I hope that readers will get the message and that moderation will be become unnecessary once again.

Thank you for your cooperation and I earnestly hope to see you in the comments section, it's up to you!

45 comments:

  1. Can I put emoticons here? Guess I can not. If I do, I would like to put an applause emoticon.

    Keep it up, Editor. And thank you for taking out the garbage.

    ReplyDelete
  2. C'est ce qu'il fallait faire. Je vous félicite.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Je suis heureux de voir que vous prenez cette direction.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Editor, may I make one more suggestion. All anonymous posts should be prohibited, in fact, go one step further and ban all comments from individuals sans profiles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hear, hear!

      I find it frustrated to try to digest Anonymous vs Anonymous discussion since it is difficult to dissect which one writes what.

      Delete
    2. I wonder if the Editor could weigh in on the pros and cons of his allowing anonymous posts.

      Delete
    3. Re Anonymous posts;
      For whatever reasons, some people just want to write anonymously, either because they are more comfortable or because they are unfamiliar as to how to create a profile or worried they will become known.

      I don't want to shut them out.
      Every time I see a very good post by an Anon, I'll take the time to explain to him/her how to create a profile.

      Delete
    4. Editor,

      But one does not need to create a profile to be known. Even if one does not want to put the name in posting, one can easily sign one's post with a unique identifier. Just end the post with yu864, for example, and do that consistently. That way we know what is yu864's position, what is her general opinion and we are sure that we are replying to yu864. I am not sure how we can track someone using a handle as random as that.

      Delete
  5. Editor,

    "I'm going to return to moderation for a while in order to get rid of trolls and drive-bys.
    There will be a delay in seeing your messages, for which I apologize for."

    If I may suggest something : Moderation will slow the pace of the discussion. Instead of moderating messages one by one as they come, perhaps you should let comments be posted unmoderated and review them by batch once in while and erase problematic comments. The pace of the discussion would be unaffected, it would be a little more time efficient for you and it would still get rid of undesirable comments.

    Heavy erasing instead of moderation would not slow down the pace of discussion. It might get a little longer for trolls to get tired but would it not be a good compromise?

    Just a suggestion.

    Michel Patrice

    P.S. I am posting anonymously, just now, in order to avoid being insulted for being a troll myself, or called hypocrite for trying to play nice, or be accused to try to pose as a moderate to hide my true hate of anglos, or, ... well, you get the picture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I seems to me that what you are suggesting is precisely what was in place before, which wasn't working out very well. How is what you're suggesting different?

      Perhaps another idea might be that if someone makes X number of posts that get deleted by the Editor, that person become banned from participating?

      Delete
    2. My suggestion was simply heavier deleting.

      Delete
  6. I completely support this move Editor. Better to slow things down than move quickly and do/say the wrong thing.

    Emotions can get the better of me when I'm here reading and commenting. On Friday I even used some pretty harsh language that I now regret. So, at the end of the day, this is helping me protect me from myself! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Michel's not wrong, but neither are you, Ed.

    I suppose what it comes down to is what your vision is going to be about our participation in your forum.

    Your point about wanting us to comment about your posts rather than going off on wild tangents is certainly a fair one, and I apologize for partaking in and occasionally leading such tangential... let's call them distraction snippets. More often than not, it's not a commentary on your posts (which are generally excellent), but rather the obscurely related response it elicits from me which is to blame. Mea culpa.

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  8. Yesterday the editor said that he banned the first commentor for abuse. I can't help wondering which commentor it was. It was probably one of the alter egos of the individual posting as OQLF/Seppie/Abrasif 404/101 ou 401/etc.

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    Replies
    1. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised it took as long as it did.

      Delete
  9. Time and again, no matter how much I review something I write before posting, I find that as soon as I hit the Enter key, I spot mistakes. Apparently I read what I think I wrote rather than what I actually did, so I find it a minor annoyance at not being able to edit my own posts.

    I'm not very familiar with what the options are on Blogger (is self-editing one?) but I presume there must be a reason why non-anonymous postings can be deleted but not edited. Deleting one's post in order to repost a corrected version unfortunately leaves a message behind that suggests possibly something else entirely had been posted there.

    Is the reason for not having self-editing privileges for one's own posts to prevent people from changing the gist of what they wrote? Or is it simply not an option available with Blogger?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Is the reason for not having self-editing privileges for one's own posts"
      Wait a darn second!
      If you are writing from the same IP address, you can delete any post you wrote!

      I'm not sure most people know this.

      I suggest that you all keep a copy of lengthy posts in which you put in a great effort.
      If you made some mistakes, just rewrite or correct the errors, deleting the original.
      When I see a post which has been withdrawn by the poster, I usually remove all traces in the comment section.

      Delete
    2. Editor,

      If one is using dial-up, for example, one's IP address changes each time one logs in.

      Delete
    3. "If one is using dial-up, for example, one's IP address changes each time one logs in."
      Hmmmm....
      Did not know that....
      If that happens, just drop me an email or include a message in the repaired post and I'll remove the original.
      Thanks Troy for the info..

      Delete
    4. My connection is not dial-up. And for some reason, I can't find how to delete my own comments. I have tried from the same computer (therefore same IP) just a few seconds after posting my comment.

      I have seen in blooger help that there is supposed to be an icone for that purpose and I just don't see it. My understanding is that one has to have a blogger profile to delete is own comments. But this only my technical opinion and, honestly, Bozo the Clown's technical opinion would probably be as worthy as mine...

      Delete
    5. @Editor, I think you misunderstood me. I thought I was clear that we can delete but not edit our own posts. However, now that I see you remove traces of deleted comments, it works for me (six of one, half a dozen of the other!). More work for you, but thank you!

      @Troy, any idea how many people still use dial-up anymore?

      Delete
    6. @Michel, I notice that some non-anonymous accounts have the name appear in black (like yours) and others are coloured (like mine). I'm not sure but I believe this might be a sign of why you can't delete your own posts. I suspect that if you go into your Dashboard and click on Account Settings, there is a checkbox that you may have unchecked. Unfortunately, it seems to have changed yet again so I'm not sure which box it is anymore.

      Does anybody else know what the difference between coloured & uncoloured account names is?

      Delete
    7. @Editor, I think you misunderstood me. I thought I was clear that one can delete one's own posts but not edit them. Now that I see you remove the traces of withdrawn posts, that works for me (six of one, half a dozen of the other!). It's more work for you, but thank you!

      @Troy, just curious, any idea how many people still use dial-up?

      Delete
    8. The name appears in red if you fill the URL blank space below the name blank space when selecting if you want to post anonymously or choose a name, etc.

      Delete
    9. But I still can't delete it...

      Delete
    10. @ The Cat, If you log in using Google Account, LiveJournal, WordPress, TypePad, Aim, or OpenID, you have logged in using a specific account and so your name/ monicker will be in red and you will be able to edit your post.

      However, if you log in as Anonymous or by choosing Name/URL in the drop down box and then typing in a name (as I do under Roger Rabbit), then you are not logging in under an account and your name/monicker will be in black and you will not have the same editing options.

      Delete
    11. Not just dialup but also customers of Bell Canada's DSL services will see a new IP address everytime their modem disconnects/resets.

      Delete
    12. Brownish-red-machin is the color of a link that you previously clicked on, I think.

      We are beginning to sound like my mother and my ant on the phone trying to figure out how to do something on the computer.

      "-But what software are you using to read you emails?
      - Windows. And you?"

      (It drives me nuts when she phones me for help on the computer. I am just not that patient.)

      Delete
    13. The Cat at 16:32,

      No idea. As for 3 years ago a colleague of mine said that his home was rather far from the city and it was a rural area, and he did not have cable internet or DSL through his phone jack. I do not have any idea exactly where his home is.

      Also, some McGill students (at least several years ago) did not bother to subscribe to external internet. When they were at school they connected to McGill network and when they were at home they dialed McGill network up.

      Delete
  10. Thanks for erasing some of the racial slurs from Friday the 13th. If everyone can keep away from that and just stick to meaningful content instead, this blog will be much better. Heaven knows you post a lot of links that we can comment on.

    As for ranting, which I am glad to do when given the chance, I appreciated the "I am mad as hell and won't take it anymore" clip, lol.

    The recently deceased George Carlin was good at rants. It was always a part of his comedy routines. I think this video makes cogent points (with a bit of colourful language) and I think we can also apply what he is saying about media etc to Quebec/Canadian society.
    (Not Safe For Work) Nobody Cares About You (George Carlin)

    For Canadian Content: Rick Mercer Rant: Be Afraid
    Rick Mercer Rant: Be Afraid

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Roger Rabbit!

      Rick is "the bee's knees", if I can use an anachronism. I love me a fellow gay comedian!

      Now if only Harperites would listen to George's message, although of course they won't... grumble grumble...

      Delete
    2. I discovered George Carlin this morning after watching the "I am mad as hell" video (Carlin was among the related videos).

      I have been hooked for half an hour listening to him. Telling the plain truth to people, that's radical stuff.

      Delete
    3. Come on The Cat! You can do a better rant then that! How do you REALLY feel? lol

      You know, they say that comedians today are the philosphers of our time and while I don't agree with everything George Carlin says, I find that he REALLY is a philospher and puts alot of thought into his routines. He makes you think.

      And about Rick Mercer, what can I say, you gotta like those Newfies!

      Delete
    4. I sure do... not to mention that if anybody here has genuinely gotten over being colonized, it is the Newfies!

      Anyhow, this one is one of my favourites from George (obviously, NSFW):
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o

      If only politics could be as honest...

      Delete
    5. Well, wouldn't it be funny if he is up in heaven right now looking down at us and saying "Damn, I was wrong! Get me off this f***** cloud!" LOL

      (Not that it's important but I am atheistic with gusts up to agnostic)

      Delete
    6. As awkward as it is, I would like to think that he just may be doing so... although I'm sure that his seven dirty words skit will forever remain a classic!

      Delete
    7. LOL! I saw a bunch of his videos. And I'm sure you've seen this act from Russell Peter:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIFIhn5idZU&feature=related

      Delete
  11. Plus, since it's Sunday and if this blog needs anything, it's levity... how about some Lord Gaga? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWxTGJ3TK1U

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    Replies
    1. Sorry, I can't help it... even though it's such an oldie, it's still so funny... so for those who somehow may have missed it, here's an introduction to Rick Mercer's "Talking to Americans"... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUE6Sl79rw8

      Delete
    2. LOL there's one with a Kesha parody and another one with Justin Beiber that I found funny

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7n8GqewJ2M&list=SL&feature=sh_e_top

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?src_vid=d7n8GqewJ2M&feature=iv&list=PL1C90BDF46E6EACFD&annotation_id=annotation_239610&v=W_cGo0q7krk

      Delete
    3. Hee hee... um, just how old are you? ;-)

      Delete
    4. Yeah it's funny about that video with Justin Beiber and his braces, lol.

      Have a great week everybody!

      Delete
  12. Just ignore me, I am experimenting with commenting functions trying to figure out something.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I commented using my WordPress account, and I still could not delete my comment.

    I used my Google account (comment 4:12) and I was able to delete my comment.

    So the solution seems to be having a Google account.

    ReplyDelete