I have taken the liberty of shutting down comments on the “Had a feeling” thread, not because anyone was saying anything unacceptable–indeed, Marv’s comments were particularly welcome–but, Marv’s posting notwithstanding, it appeared to have run its course and instead was serving as a magnet for a particularly virulent spambot. So I’ve turned off comments on that thread in hopes that it will dispatch the spambot to whatever cyberhell spat it out.
Second, just as a general reminder, this board will not tolerate people endeavoring to pose as, or post as, other people…particularly well-known people. Bad enough that it takes a certain degree of cowardice to snipe from hiding; endeavoring to impersonate others, no matter how hamhandedly and obvious such attempts are, is beyond the courtesy I wish to extend to posters. Indeed, such rude behavior deserves no courtesy whatsoever. So any counterfeit idiots will have their comments deleted. In the future I would appreciate more sensible board denizens refraining from responding to such yahoos because you’ll just be perpetuating comments that I will have deleted and I’ll probably have to wind up deleting your comments too, in order to avoid confusion.
Thank you.
UPDATE: And just so you know, if you’re an idiot/one of the idiots who thinks that it’s clever to post slams under fake names. Those comments aren’t merely being deleted. They’re being junked. What that means is that they’re being kicked into a special folder which takes note of them. And if there are enough junked e-mails from one source, the program translate it as spam and blocks the origin point. Which means that such individuals will wind up effectively banning themselves.
PAD
• 
Not even two hours wow that sucks…
Anyway have you considered instituting a real names policy? Bill Willingham does it and I think Warren Ellis does too. Granted his board requires people to register…
Are you going to do the Superbowl commercials comments again?
I was wondering if this site had the capability for IP logging. Odds are the spammers aren’t going to be changing locations, so it would be easy enough to just ban the IP the crap is coming from. Even tho this is technically a blog and not a message board, many boards do it and usually show a nice liitle “IP Logged” at the bottom as a subtle warning 🙂
Michael
Ðámņ. And there goes my hilarious plan to impersonate both Hilary Clinton and Barak Obama and have them debate the Skrull Invasion. Dammit PAD. You’ve ruined everything!!!
Anyway have you considered instituting a real names policy?
This site used Typekey or something like that for awhile, but that service had a habit of displaying e-mail addresses or not wanting to work at all.
Posted by michael t
I was wondering if this site had the capability for IP logging. Odds are the spammers aren’t going to be changing locations, so it would be easy enough to just ban the IP the crap is coming from.
Actually, it’s a bit more complex than that – spammers are, in fact, constantly switching domains and IPs. There’s a process known as “domain tasting” that allows someone to register a large number of domains temporarily, use them for a day or so, and then cut them loose. It’s supposed to help people decide precisely what domainnames they want, but in practice it’s become a spammer’s paradise.
And it’s possible to spoof IP addresses or post completely anonymously – if you want to try it, there’s a little goodie called OperaTor, which you can load on a USB stick and carry with you to use tracelessly from any computer with an accesible USB port, which includes a copy of the Opera browser and software to connect to a world-wide anonymising service, which not only hides your home IP, it even disguises what *country* you’re in.
Peter, do you have any problem with long-time posters using one-off usernames for single posts for the purpose of humor? (Just wanna be sure.)
Peter, do you have any problem with long-time posters using one-off usernames for single posts for the purpose of humor? (Just wanna be sure.)
Well, you run a risk of my dumping a post because I don’t realize that’s what you’re up to.
PAD
PAD, this is a little off topic, but I thought I’d ask you about the writers strike.
Once it is done, could you provide some final thoughts? You’ve given an interesting point of view so far, so I’d like to hear what you have to say once the final deal is announced. Whenever that happens.
The thing that’s really interesting to me right now is that the studios have actual representatives of the studios at the table for the current talks instead of the lawyer who’s been representing them so far. I wonder if that was planned or if the studios decided that the lawyer was doing more harm than good.
Peter: Well, you run a risk of my dumping a post because I don’t realize that’s what you’re up to.
Luigi Novi: Okay, I understand. I made a humorous post a few weeks ago, under the name “Vic Chalker”, and figured that it would be obvious that it was intended as such, not only from the name, but from the comments, (and I think I included a smiley), and the IP, but you responded in such a way that indicated it was not. So, no more sock puppetry, even for humorous posts. 🙂
Since I came here after the original threat was gone, I can’t offer any comments on it ‘cuz I don’t even know what was being discussed!
As for idiots posting stuff, I *hope* the mnethods used will work — but I doubt it. There will always be morons (or, as they’re known on the Internet, “trolls”) who will return time and again to make a nuisance of themselves and ruin things for the rest of us; and, to paraphrase a famous quote, it’s hard to create something foolproof because it’s hard to predict the ingenuity of fools.
Good luck!
I posted an innocuous comment (not a slam) under the obvious fake name of “Barak Obama”, because I thought it was sort of funny. Guess it got junked.
I’ll stop trying to be clever. (Something, I’m sure PAD says to himself from time to time:-)
I posted an innocuous comment (not a slam) under the obvious fake name of “Barak Obama”, because I thought it was sort of funny. Guess it got junked.
Oh, that was you? See, I didn’t know. Yeah, I junked it.
PAD
Luigi Novi: Peter, do you have any problem with long-time posters using one-off usernames for single posts for the purpose of humor? (Just wanna be sure.)
You could always sign the post with the alias while leaving your own name in the “Posted by:”. Seems to me that would avoid mis-understandings while still allowing the use of another name.
– PAD 🙂
Well, it would defeat the entire purpose of using another name in the “Posted by” line.
Luigi Novi: Well, it would defeat the entire purpose of using another name in the “Posted by” line.
Didn’t realize the point was to have the signature in a specific place. Thought it was to sign the post with an “obvious fake name” “for the purpose of humor” in a manner that wouldn’t trip the junk filters.
IMHO, signing with fake name accomplishes that. Joke made (and recognized as such). Posting not deleted.
– Sean
Gee. I send in a letter and seconds later the entire thread closes down. Say, does anyone have Ann Coulter’s blog info?
This didn’t post the last two times I tried, but the Marv Wolfman post just went through, so maybe the third time will prove the charm.
Apologies if multiple copies of this post appear:
Luigi said, “I made a humorous post a few weeks ago, under the name “Vic Chalker”, and figured that it would be obvious that it was intended as such, not only from the name, but from the comments, (and I think I included a smiley), and the IP, but you responded in such a way that indicated it was not. So, no more sock puppetry, even for humorous posts. :-)”
Luigi, speaking strictly as a bystander, I got the impression PAD’s response was meant to be as much of a good natured jest as your post (I assume you refer to the one from the Dec. 6 thread on the Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born graphic novel).
To review: on that thread Joe Nazzaro “lamented” that no one told him people could “log on under different aliases and say really mean things.” You, as “Vic Chalker” described that as “awesome” because, “I really have some stuff to get offa my chest about this David Peters guy, or whatever his name is…..”
Which led to PAD’s response: “Yes, you do have that option. Of course, I likewise have the option of doing fast research and see who I’m talking to, Luigi.”
Then followed comments from “Don Incognito,” “Norm De Plume” and “Sue D. Nim”, the last of whom agreed with “Norm.” To which PAD wrote, “From what I hear, Bill Mulligan agrees.”
Again, all those exchanges— including PAD’s response to yours— strike me as having been in the vein of good natured jesting among friends. Both you and Bill Mulligan are, after all, known commodities at this site. Had either of your posts been made my newcomers, I suspect PAD’s responses might have been different.
Also, PAD… I mean Sean D. Martin, has a point. You could always sign innocuous joke posts with your real name. In fact, the signature itself could be part of the joke, if you word your post just right. As an example of what I mean, consider the Calvin and Hobbes strip where Calvin “kidnaps” Susie’s doll and sends a ransom note demanding $100. In the note he writes:
“You cannot find us. You cannot trace us.
“Sincerely, Calvin.”
On a related note, should you feel the need to post as “Vic Chalker” again, you could always put your real name in the “name” box and sign the post with “Vic’s” name. And if the post were a “rant” about… oh, say… people not knowing how to make fake posts (or sending “ransom notes” about dolls to little girls), so much the better.
As to people endeavoring to pass themselves off as other real people (especially to post attacks against others, whether personal or otherwise), I’ve never understood that mind-set. If, for example, I think the next issue of Fallen Angel is the worst thing PAD’s ever written, and decide to tell him so, I’d sign my own name to those comments, not, say Stan Lee’s. There’s something wrong with people who’d do the latter. To paraphrase Terrence Mann in Field of Dreams, such people should be seeing a whole team of psychiatrists. PAD is right to come down hard on them.
That being said, I suspect someone using the name “Genghis Khan” might merit a raised eyebrow, but be allowed to post (as long as they’re not personal attack posts, of course); while someone calling himself “Jim Kirk” might need to prove that yes, that’s his real name. Though personally, I don’t get why someone would call himself (or herself) “Genghis Khan.” A nickname that includes those words? Maybe; but the name itself? Again, I refer to the team of psychiatrists.
If someone doesn’t want to use their real name, they can make one up (but not one somebody’s already using). I mean, would it really matter if it turns out “Luigi Novi” is a pseudonym and your real name is Don Diego de la Vega? I don’t think so. Likewise, I doubt it would matter if you’d posted under your first name only, like Iowa Jim. As long as you use the same name all the time.
True, an individual’s posts— especially critical ones— would probably have more gravitas if he or she used a real name rather than an alias or nickname, but I suspect that 99 and 44/100 percent of whatever reputation we enjoy amongst our fellow posters at this blog comes more from what we say than the name by which we sign our posts. At another site I used to frequent before it went down (temporarily, I’m told), a well-respected poster was known only as “Professor.”
No, it wasn’t either Sylvester McCoy or Russell Johnson.
Plus, no matter what name someone uses, if they were to start making inappropriate posts, PAD (and Glenn) would know where they’re coming from and can act accordingly.
Rick.
That should, of course, be: “both you and Bill Mulligan are, after all, known quantities at this site.”
I knew there was something wrong with that sentence, but couldn’t figure out what it was.
Rick
I hope you don’t instigate the same policy as John Byrne over on his forums. I have a yahoo address that has served me well for 13 years but can’t post there because of it. These bûggërš that screw it up for the rest of us…