KF writes of discovering a possible comment spammer technique: using Google to search for phrases like “remember info,” “post a comment,” “comment,” etc. You know, the typical, default stuff that appears in the comments section of an MT-based blog.
So if you change these phrases to something non-standard, it seems you would be less likely to be hit by the automated scripts that search for them and then post comment spam.
Just a thought.
I’ve been enjoying reading Mike Watt’s tour diary as he, Jerry Trebotic, and Pete Mazich (dubbed “The Secondmen”) play some shows opening for the Flaming Lips and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It’s not exactly a blog, in that he does not use special software to update, but he does write dated entries pretty regularly and has been doing so for a number of years. He writes with a disarmingly personal voice and uses some cool lingo.
Well, they’re nothing as ambitious as what that rascal Chuck is up to, but I am experimenting this semester with using blogs as my course websites. Mind you, I’m not calling them blogs in my class. Each class has a main site, where I just post announcements or followups to class discussions, and students can comment or ask questions using the comments feature of MT, but then each class also (now) has a blog for students to discuss the readings, if they are so inclined. I expect a lot of in-class participation, but for those who are less than comfortable being on the spot in meat-space, they will now have an online space in which to hold forth, either under their real name or a pseudonym. I warn you, though, there’s nothing interesting there, yet:
Many thanks to Jeff for providing the server space and the technical assistance in getting MT running properly in the first place.
As Elouise has just posted while I write this entry, it seems that what started as relatively innocent thoughts on blogs by Elouize and Liz (as well as a comment by Chuck in Elouise’s blog) have led to some rather heatedly sarcastic comments by others in the blogosphere. I believe this all started, believe it or not, more than two weeks ago with some thoughts by Elouise that led into a discussion about blogging and identity that pinged around the Word Herders and others for awhile through what I’ve been calling the “identity thread” (most recently here). The most recent responses have been puzzling.
I think you reveal a great deal about yourself in the way that you respond to what other people have to say. You might think you’re really getting in a good zinger when in reality others are watching you quizzically, wondering what the hell happened in your past to cause you to carry around such bitterness. And if you ignore all of the detailed and nuanced posts that have taken place over the last 18 days in order to pounce on the one that allows you to get your digs in, well, don’t be surprised if people don’t take you seriously.
The accusation (paraphrased): You’re elitist because you don’t want what you have to say on this subject to be linked to who you are. The accuser: a person who posts under a pseudonym.
Mr. Kettle? There’s a Mr. Pot on the phone for you.
Hmmm. Does that sound bitter on my part? What does that reveal about me?
Exam day. Last 5 minutes of class. Finished the task I had set for myself while students take the test, so I thought I’d write an entry on my Palm. This is not moblogging, I assume, because I’m not posting from a portable device, just composinq. Will sync & post later from my laptop in the office. What do you call this?