bignoseduglyguy

Comment at your own risk

As I wrote in the 'finger on the pulse' below, I was surprised at the number of places that 'bignoseduglyguy' was mentioned on the web. I mentioned this as an amusing aside - much in the same vein as when most of us searched for our names when we used a search engine for the first time.

One of the links the BlogPulse displayed was for Gary Murphy's wide ranging Teledyn blog. On opening the link, I noticed that there was a link to this post of mine concerning spam which, I have subsequently discovered, is also of great concern to Gary. In response, late last night, I posted the rather lazy and brief comment below (as I try to thank all those who comment on or link to this site):

Thanks for the link! Posted by bignoseduglyguy at October 18, 2003 07:38 PM

Upon checking my site this morning, I found the following comment:

Comments: A finger on the pulse

Do you suppose perhaps one of the reasons you made he BlogPulse top list might be because you spam other blogs with senseless comments just to get yourself a free link? [1] Do you suppose perhaps?

Just wondering, y'know, finger on the pulse of what's happening and all, and especially knowing how easy it is to end up on someone's blacklist [2] I'd really expect people to be a tad more engaged than an off-topic "thanks for the link"

Or maybe I misunderand your connection to McDonald's new viral marketing campaign?

[1] http://www.teledyn.com/mt/archives/001260.html
[2] http://www.teledyn.com/mt/archives/001388.html
Posted by mrG at October 19, 2003 04:11 AM

Upon checking the comments for the [1] link above, I then found this comment:

I'm glad you figured it out, but, you know, as I "posted to your blog": http://www.bignoseduglyguy.com/archives/000161.html (and there you go, you now have two links) in these days of people with hair-trigger blacklists, it is customary to at least explain your connection to this McDonalds viral ad campaign ... unless, of course, you truly were just spamming my comments for the sake of bumping your PageRank. Posted by mrG at October 18, 2003 11:15 PM

Despite only having a faint idea what I did to occasion these two comments, I mailed Gary with the following apology, though for what I'm still not sure.

Dear Gary

I am not sure what I have done to annoy you so much but, if I have given offence, I apologise. As you can see from my archives I am, at best, a spasmodic and recreational blogger posting bits and bobs that are, for the most part, of no consequence to anyone other than myself or close friends. Contrary to your assertion, I'm not really bothered with how many hits my blog gets (though I can see that having a counter might seem to indicate otherwise) so your comment credits me with a Machiavellian streak I don't actually have. I confess I don't understand the McDonalds reference (I don't patronise their 'restaurants' either) but, after reading the links you posted in your comment, I guess that you view my comment on your post as some sort of spam. In retrospect, I suppose my comment was a late night, dog-tired lazy way of saying 'Thank you for taking time to read my blog' and I should have taken the effort to say so rather than type what I did. I must admit that I don't really follow the email/usenet/blog netiquette debate and suspect I have trangressed some rule somewhere.

I hope that this answers the question/s in your comment - or were they rhetorical?

Regards

bignoseduglyguy

I suppose my point is that, for some, even blogging seems to have become a high-risk, full contact sport and I think that is a shame. As in life, folks will take one action and will know you by that one action alone. The lesson I draw from this experience are don't bother with comments unless you're sure you'll meet the exacting standards of the recipient. What those standards are, well, you'll just have to guess.

UPDATE @ 1600hrs 19TH oct 2003

I have received Gary's reply to my mail:

>Gary Lawrence Murphy wrote:

>understand that MovableType has become deluged by comments exactly as
>you had, nothing relevant to say except the link to their own blog.
>You had posted "thanks for the link" which is, according to the
>language I know as English, not the same as "thanks for the blog"
>and when I checked that story, sure enough, it doesn't link to you
>anywhere except where you placed the link yourself.
>
>Thus my warning: The MT-Blacklist module is probably the fastest
>deployed plugin in MT history, and when blog owners see posts such
>as yours, they are able to blacklist your URL with a single click.
>
>I refuse to ban open comments to my site because I have met too many
>friends that way, but as with any welcoming policy, no one likes to
>have their hospitality abused. That's more than nettiquette, it's
>just common sense. If you have some comment about the Macdonalds
>viral marketing campaign, then it's just common courtesy to add
>something more than a link back to your own site.

and have responded in kind:

Gary

I find it a sad reflection on the world that comments posted to your site have left you so distrustful of other's motives that you see aspertions and 'warnings' as the only way to deal with those less 'web-aware' than yourself. I hope that I am and will continue to be more forgiving of those that post in haste and tiredness as I did. As I have pointed out, whilst the post you linked concerned my attempts to limit the spam I receive (nowhere near as advanced as your, I admit), I am still none the wiser about the 'Macdonalds viral marketing campaign' despite searching your site and others. As I intimated in my earlier mail, I am no supporter of the chain concerned.

In a different world, I would go on to say how much I have enjoyed reading various posts written by kee-may and yourself today and how I can empathise (to a small degree) with your financial situation, having be down a similar road in the past. However, I suspect that now, as a blacklisted persona non grata, my empathy would come across hollow for you.

That said, I will have a good thought for you and your family, hoping that a change in circumstances and fortune comes to you soon.

Kind Regards
bignoseduglyguy

'Fear arises when we view everyone else with suspicion' - His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Does technology really bring us closer? Or simply offer more avenues for misunderstanding?

Do visit Gary's blog as he has posted thought-provoking stuff on subjects that touch on some key areas of modern life.

Posted by bignoseduglyguy at October 19, 2003 01:45 PM | TrackBack