When this happens at my blog I just try to remember that the jerk in question is probably doing more damage to their point of view through their stupid, rude or condescending comments than any of my posts could.

That's just my two cents though. I haven't really been following any of the comments here.

As a kid, my mom would give me "that look" when I was rude in our home. But when I was rude in someone elses home, she'd send me out to find a switch. Hope I never forget that.

Boss, I swear I didn't know those postings were loaded... they just went off on me.

J.

Funny... out of the three authors, Jay Tea is the one I'd least expect to attract this kind of commenting.

I'm too lazy to look, where are the nasty comments taking place?

"the jerk in question is probably doing more damage to their point of view through their stupid, rude or condescending comments than any of my posts could."

The irony here is that it applies to posts & posters as well as comments & commenters.

It isn't Paul Derangement Syndrome after all -- it's Wizbang Derangement Syndrome.

Careful, Kev -- I have the feeling you're next. JimK's got that look in his eye.

My only blog related rule: I don’t read blogs that don’t allow comments.

Funny, I mentioned no names.

- Jay T - this is probably preaching to the chior. But when I would adress My freshmen English lit classes on the nature of their reading lists I would always impart this. Mind candy is fun. Filling and satifying in many comfortable ways. But you have to set aside a portion of your reading time to delve into the contra-beat areas. All vanilla flavored reading lists will not make you think. Comment thrashing, yes even unhinged rhetoric, has a surprising way of making people stretch and go where they might not. I can't think of a better blog site for making that happen than the efforts of the three of you in concert. The echo chambers of the big three or four are nice for ego stroking. But this gendre that you all adhere too is hands down more interesting and stimulating. Just My two cents....

I've got no quarrel with Kevin or Jay Tea. I simply was taking Julie to task for her very un-Christian behavior in other comment threads. She clearly never stops to ask "What Would Jesus Do?"

Tsk tsk.

As for the authors of this site, aside from Paul, I still take a true interest in what they have to say.

Hmmm.

What I'd like to know is how to deal with trackback spam. What a pain in the rear end.

Wow, first the LDS, then the Catholic Church. Jay you really are on a run. Too bad I had to go into work today where I can't troll Wizbang...

Andy the extended entry Note applies. I'm not talking about any person in particular. A big part of it is the volume of comment and trackback spam that must be dealt with before even worrying about the actual contents of the comment section.

- Has anyone come up with an answer to this spamming tactic Kevin. They're attaching to every active link on peoples blogsites....not just the comment section. So far just spamming out the emails and adding the seemingly endless morphed spam addies to the site ban list is the only recourse that I know of. Any suggestions from readers would be most welcome....

Kevin - no worries, wasn't responding to the extended entry (didn't see it, if it was there). Was more responding to some earlier comments.

As for people looking to control blog spam, a short-term solution is to rename your cgi files, alter your MT config as necessary, and rebuild your site. Takes a while, but took my spam from 200 a day to maybe 3 a month.

Comment Spam, Trackback Spam...so far, it's all from the same spammers (not hard to find their I.P.s and more). I set all comments/trackbacks on threads older than (certain length of time here) "moderate" and that way I can despam them before they're posted on the site, and I always ban the I.P.s responsible, along with the entire domains for some.

MovableType is pretty comprehensive about allowing banning by word, strings, I.P.s, domains, emails, and combinations of all that.

My preference would be jail terms, however, for Spammers along with them not being allowed near the Internet for say, twenty years afterward. They are truly the lowest of the low, below ooze.

No offense to oozers everywhere.

OK, OK, I'll confess...I'm a snark!

I tend to agree with Big Bang Hunter.

Comment thrashing, yes even unhinged rhetoric, has a surprising way of making people stretch and go where they might not. And I’ll add; that is not all bad.

I have also found the spirited debate of the last two days very interesting, much like driving by an automobile accident. You just cannot look the other way!

Problem with this forum as it is with email (nature of the beast) , is that you cannot read a writers body language in his/her post, and can easily be offended, which I was not. No ... really I was not offended ... I mean it.. really truly I was not offended .. someone please believe me!

Maybe we need mood symbols that attach to our remarks..... On the other hand maybe I would rather guess at what others think of me.

Oh God, I think I'm scyzo! :-p

Too bad blogs don't have a sweeps month, JayT yours would have won hands down.

Has anyone come up with an answer to this spamming tactic Kevin.

Yes, its called "Wordpress" and "Spam Karma."

I use both of those. I get about 1,000+ trackback spams a week with only about one spam getting through every other week.

Maybe this has something to do with it?:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4441333.stm

Bogus blogs snare fresh victims

Many web logs are like electronic diaries and are updated daily
Cyber criminals are starting to use fake blogs to snare new victims.
The bogus web journals are being used as traps that infect visitor's machines with keylogging software or viruses.

Filtering firm Websense said it had found hundreds of bogus blogs baited with all kinds of malicious software to snare the unwary.

Websense warned that the baited blogs could get past traditional security measures that try to protect people from malicious programs.

Hidden harm

The company said blogs were being used because they inadvertently offered lots of help to computer criminals.

Blogs are free and simple to use, offer users lots of storage space, can be used anonymously and most do not scan stored files for viruses and other malicious programs.

Websense said it had seen examples of some computer criminals creating a legitimate looking weblog, loading it with keylogging software or viral code, and then sending out the address of it through instant messenger or spam e-mail.

"These aren't the kind of blog websites that someone would stumble upon and infect their machine accidentally," said Dan Hubbard, Websense's research director. "The success of these attacks relies upon a certain level of social engineering to persuade the individual to click on the link."

In separate cases some blogs were being used as storage lockers holding chunks of malicious code that the controller of a network of zombie machines wants those remotely-controlled computers to use.

In late March, Websense found a fake e-mail message that tried to direct people to a blog that was hosting keylogging software.

Now it estimates that there could be more than 200 bogus blogs in existence that are being used to attack net users.

By comparison blog-watching service Technorati estimates that there are more than 8 million blogs in existence.

Anyone visiting the baited blog and falling victim to the keylogger could find that they have bank accounts rifled by the phishing gang behind the bogus website.

Websense warned that viruses hosted on weblogs might be a danger because they get round the filtering systems many firms have created to ensure malicious programs do not reach employees.

Users were urged to keep anti-virus and patches up to date, regularly scan machines with anti-spyware products and exercise caution when reading unsolicited messages sent via e-mail or instant messenger.

My only blog related rule: I don’t read blogs that don’t allow comments.
Posted by: jmaster

True. It's a bit frustrating to not be able to comment or even email the author.

I block I.P.A.s. And entire domains. And some servers. Only way I know to throw out the trash and/or keep someone from dumping theirs on my property.