…And the innocent days of blogging are over. Over the past few months I’ve deleted exactly two nutcase comments off my blog, both virulently antisemitic and adding nothing to the argument at hand (hey, this is my free speech zone, not yours), but at the very least they were personal, the work of individuals exercising their demented minds.
Yesterday, this comment appeared on my blog: “You are not the only one.” It came from a (no doubt) fake hotmail address with a link, not to a blog or a home page, but to a website selling US and Canadian zip codes for download, an obvious marketing scheme cum sales pyramid replete with spelling mistakes and worthless merchandise.
As a tactic, there could have been worse blogspam comments than “You are not the only one.” Blog posts are typically opinionated, so such a rejoinder would not usually stand out, and bloggers, who tend to revel in reciprocity, will likely click through to see who was kind enough to comment.
I wondered what to call the meshing of these two great internet memes. I searched Google for “blogspam”, and sure enough, 135 pages already carry this newest web term. It’s inevitable, perhaps, but also sad; blog comments are opportunities for strangers to reach strangers, much as bulk emails are, but whereas we have spent a few years building defenses against spam, blog readers (including me) are still wide-eyed innocents, ready to click through on comments in the anticipation of surfing to exciting new places. I’m sure spammers will find blogspam a particularly lush pasture for clickthroughs, though I doubt they will get much sales from bloggers and their readers, who are arguably the savviest, most spam-hating subgroup on the internet.
Thankfully, there are technical solutions to stopping blogspam completely. Unlike email, commenting involves an opportunity for the server to engage in feedback with the submitter. This should allow the server to determine if the submitter is human; some techniques are discussed here. So we will have to wait for the Movable Type plugin, or eventually pay for some kind of filtering technology, but while I can secure my blog, I will still be subjected to blogspam when I visit other, less sophisticated blogs.
Die, spammers, die.
FROM: MRS. MARIAM GEENS
C/O MANGOSUTU GEENS
LAGOS –
BELGIUM.
19TH FEB,2002
Fax: 234-1-759-0900
E-mail: givetogeens@eudoramail.com
ATTN:PRESIDENT/CEO,
I am Mrs. Mariam Geens, the widow of late Gen. Sani Geens, the former Belgian military head of state who died mysteriouly as a result of eating too many moules frites. Since after my husband`s death. My family has been going through immense harassment including being forced to speak Walloon watch Jean Claude van Damme reruns.
One of the witch-hunting search light of the government beamed on our account in a Flanders bank which had a sum of 25 euros. Threats of freezing and clamp on the account have been too much. How can we otherwise pay for broadband-access?
It is for this reason that I have decided to move the sum of 10 euros in defaced form packed carefully in sealed metal boxeds marked Property of Apple Computer Co. for reason of security. I humbly appeal to you on behalf of the entire family members to save us from starvation, poverty and having to use a PC for the next couple of weeks by assisting us move the money into your country where it shall be safe, since I cannot leave Belgium now because I can’t afford to live on my own and need the support of my parents.
You can reach us through our fax number above. Our Lawyer shall arrange a face to face meeting outside Belgium for effective and logical movement of the money and Airport FAQ. You can equally get in touch with my younger son, Shewu Geens (Mr) on his Wi-Fi, dual band, SMS-enabled cellular device, number: 234-1-470-9814 or his e-mail address: givetogeens@eudoramail.com.
We will disclose to you the country the security company is located in west Ardennes as soon as you show interest. For the anticipated co-operation, we have set aside 20% of our iTunes inventory while 75% shall be held on trust in case my hard-drive implodes again. Treat with confident and do reply to save us from the stifling grip of the merciless Belgian government.
Best regards,
Hajia Marian Geens (Mrs.)
I got the same spam here.
what is your definition of ‘anti-semitism’ stefan, for example if i call the current establisment running the show in the occupied territories an illegal zionist apartheid organization, would you be offended?
Don’t be silly. By anti-semitic I mean denying the holocaust and implying 911 was a Jewish plot.
mirriam webster offers these definitions for the word holocaust:
1 : a sacrifice consumed by fire
2 : a thorough destruction involving extensive loss of life especially through fire
3 a often capitalized : the mass slaughter of European civilians and especially Jews by the Nazis during World War II — usually used with the b : a mass slaughter of people
the word has a history of its own, although the original meaning refers to a sacrifice consumed by fire, later on the term is hijacked and became only reserved for a group of people, and is always used with the definite article. There were worse cases of mass slaughter of people in the history of this world, however the term is not used to refer to them, stalin alone oversaw the killing of 13 million people. The question is, when you can confortambly deny the alleged armenian genocide, why can not you deny the holocaust? why are you pursued, sued and put to prison for not believing a certain historical incident, and declared anti-semitic? i am not saying the holocaust did not happen, however for the sake of free debate, people should be able to deny a certain historical incident, and argue against it, without being pursued, and sued.
I agree with everything you say, and yet none of it explains why I can’t delete posts off my website. I don’t have the time or inclination to deal with people beyond a certain level of stupidity. Denying that Armenians, Congolese or Jews were slaughtered by the millions certainly qualifies. These people are free to congregate on their own websites. I am not so rude as to go spoil their fun, why should they spoil mine. But surely, you must be trolling, so I will shut up on the matter as of now.