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Thursday, January 19, 2006

I'm with Meryl on this one...

<Rant>

An open letter to anyone who wants to use my comment board to troll for traffic, promote an agenda or for any other purpose not even tangentially related to the current treppenwitz entry:

Dear Self-Absorbed Commenter,

Do I know you?  Have you ever visited my site before?  Have you ever commented here before?  Am I even listed on your blogroll?

If the answer to most or all of those questions is a resounding 'no', then what would give you the idea that it would be OK to just show up here without so much as a "Hello, nice blog you have here..." , and start posting external links on my comments board?

Please don't take the fact that I deleted your comment as an indication that your petition, blog post, manifesto or personal prophesy direct-from-G-d-Almighty is unworthy of publicity.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  In fact, I'm certain that whatever you were linking to is far more important than any of the vacuous crap I churn out here very day. 

But manners are important too, and by spamming my comment board you have exhibited a shocking lack of them.

Let's make a deal, mmmkay?  If you have a post that supports or disproves something I have written here and you are a regular part of the discussions here on treppenwitz, by all means feel free to post a link.  Such external references immeasurably enhance the quality and scope of the discussions.  Same goes for something you may have seen on a news or commentary site that directly relates to the topic at hand... please feel free to share.

But I work hard to churn out the vacuous crap that appears here on a semi-regular basis... and dagnabbit, my comment board isn't there to help drive people over to look at your brand of vacuous crap!  It's there so people can discuss my vacuous crap!

Love,

'Treppie'

</Rant>

In a recent post, Meryl Yourish discussed her ire at people who exhibit some or all of the anti-social behavior I've mentioned above.  I couldn't agree with her more!  Smart lady that she is, she's even gone and posted a list of rules for commenters... something I keep meaning to do but never seem to actually get around to.  That and updating my 'about me' page are at the very top of my 'to do' list.  Really.

Anyway, I recently received a polite email from a reader who asked if I could check out a site with which he is involved.  The email was cordial and informative (and addressed only to me!) and described the content of his site quite nicely.  He then went on to say that if I thought it might be of interest to readers of treppenwitz, perhaps I'd post a link.

See, that's how it's done. He said hello... he related to me as both a person and a blogger/journaler... and he left it up to me to decide whether the content of his site might be of interest to my readers.  Pure class!

As a reward for such exemplary behavior and adherence to netiquette, I am pleased to post a link to a fantastic free site that is a goldmine for anyone seeking to increase their vocabulary of fully conjugated Hebrew verbs.

Go learn something new!

220_18

Posted by David Bogner on January 19, 2006 | Permalink

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I'm glad I've so far been aware enough of my limitations to not start a blog. I couldn't handle the problems let alone the good stuff.

Just commenting from time to time on the three or four blogs I think are worth a good GD is addictive enough. L-rd help me if I ever started my own blog. It would be the end of me.

Posted by: Scott | Jan 19, 2006 11:15:34 AM

What happens to commenters who importune the blogger for bee pics?

Posted by: Rahel | Jan 19, 2006 12:11:36 PM

I think we need to clarify some terms on this blog.

Trep = alias for Mr. Bogner

Treppie = a fan of the site, parallel to Trekkie

Posted by: Dave | Jan 19, 2006 1:59:12 PM

If I don't delete the troll spam, I enjoy changing the links to something humorous or even insulting to the troll... editing the troll's comments can be satisfying too.

But the Hebrew verbs link... TERRIFIC, thanks to you and your reader.

Posted by: Ocean Guy | Jan 19, 2006 2:42:47 PM

I've been getting a lot of that lately as well particularly from some rather unsavory J-Sites.

I got so disgusted I wrote up my own standards and practices a little while back.
http://askshifra.blogspot.com/2005/12/standards-for-blog-promotion-and.html
It's good to know there are other people on the case as well.

Posted by: Shifra | Jan 19, 2006 3:13:00 PM

Basic manners are lost on some people. You've got a great way of reminding people to use them.

Posted by: Essie | Jan 19, 2006 4:02:13 PM

I forgot to comment yesterday on your Magic Settler 8-Ball! Where I can I get one? :)

Posted by: Shayna | Jan 19, 2006 4:08:06 PM

You should be touched that your blog is considered prominent enough to be used for self advertising! ;-)

I know exactly what you mean, and I often delete shameless plugs if they have nothing to do with the subject under discussion, though I never delete the "I agree with every word you say!" comments, which are really self plugs in another form. It seems too cruel.

Posted by: Frummer??? | Jan 19, 2006 4:53:30 PM

Ok, ok. I'll see what I can do with Hebrew. (I foresee this being a lot harder than Russian.) How many letters are there, again?

Posted by: Tanya | Jan 19, 2006 4:57:57 PM

You haven't lived until you have been hit on by "Datingaster, Jerusalem" and from what I understand, he's hit on half my blogroll (guys included).

Posted by: Stacey | Jan 19, 2006 6:02:36 PM

You have a nice site. You ought to try coming over to my new blog store where I sell beekeeping equipment, sausages and coffee. It is called www.crapyououghttobuy.com and it is brought to you by the Ronco and KTel.

Oops, did I overdo it a little. ;)

Posted by: Jack | Jan 19, 2006 8:02:59 PM

Thanks for that link Dave! I can now speak fluent hebrew :) all kidding aside I think it is a very helpful site.

Posted by: Jewish Blogmeister | Jan 19, 2006 8:18:22 PM

Fortunately, I'm too obscure for these self-promoting spamsters. Occasionally, some of my readers link to their own posts dealing with the same issues, which is a good thing. To be honest, I don't think I would mind "free advertising campaigns" as much as I mind trolls. I mean, they want to waste their time linking, it's their business. As long as they don't start insulting other readers, I honestly don't care. Now, if they link to very offensive material for promotion purposes (and I've seen it happen on another blog once), I definitely wouldn't be happy.

Posted by: Irina | Jan 19, 2006 10:19:36 PM

Scott... You certainly seem to have plenty to say... I'm sure you'd have no trouble keeping a blog well fed! :-)

Rahel... They get invited for visits with my buzzing charges where they can take pictures to their heart's content (although sadly, not in the winter).

Dave... I only grudgingly go along with being called 'trep' aournd the j-blogosphere, but I was simply charmed when RenReb called me treppie in her last comment. I couldn't resist using it for today's rant.

OceanGuy... For some reason I feel dishonest playing around with someone's comment while I feel perfectly within my rights to simply delete it. I have no idea where I came up with that reasoning. :-)

Shifra... Like I said, I have to do that one of these days... like right after I organize my closets. :-)

Essie... Coming from one of the most polite and thoughtful commenters in the history of the blogosphere that is high praise indeed! Thanks!

Shayna... At Prophesy-R-Us. Where else?

Frummer... People have been pulling that shtick for as long as treppenwitz has been open for business. These idiots are indiscriminate.

Tanya... Here you go... see for yourself.

Stacey... Whenever I see one of his piggish non sequiturs on someone's blog I picture this guy.

Jack... Just a tad. :-) Thanks for the laugh.

Jewish Blogmiester... Not only was the guy who sent me the link a mensch about it, but the site is a free service to help people with the language. How could I not post it?

Irina... Like I said to Frummer, I really don't think most of these people even take the time to figure out who are the high traffic sites before passing out the links. All they know is they don't have the traffic they want and they think everyone else does. I like your attitude, though. I need to adopt some of the "I don't care" frame of mind. Thanks.

Posted by: treppenwitz | Jan 19, 2006 11:41:44 PM

Ranting is fine- I'm a big believer in preventative venting. It's better than holding it all in until there's an explosion. Not that you would be one to explode; that's just what others may do. Stay cool, Mr. B...

Posted by: tnspr569 | Jan 20, 2006 5:38:42 AM

one more thing- you might want to link the commenting rules to the straw man picture in the right hand column (add the rules to the post to which the picture is currently linked, or something like that). just a thought...

Posted by: tnspr569 | Jan 20, 2006 6:29:22 AM

Dave - your image of the datingmaster made me laugh out loud.

Posted by: mata hari | Jan 20, 2006 5:48:31 PM

Hi David:

I've been reading your blog off and on for a while.
I found it while looking for Jewish blogs to add to the blogroll, and have since added it.
The term preventative venting is great.
I'll have to remember that one when in a meeting with the boss.

Posted by: Amanda Rush | Jan 20, 2006 10:58:34 PM

tnspr569... Oh, I wouldn't say that... I've been known to go ballistic on more than a few occasions. I like your idea about adding the commenting rules to the strawman pic. Now all I have to do is sit down and write up some rule. :-)

Mata Hari... I kiss you?! ;-)

Amanda Rush... Welcome aboard! I'm glad you de-lurked. I also enjoyed that idea of preventative venting. I'm sure in your line of work it might come in handy.

Posted by: treppenwitz | Jan 21, 2006 7:32:58 PM

Great post (been reading here and there for a while, found through PsychoToddler).

I actually linked a while back to your strawman picture and post - thought it was great.

Anyway... thanks for this kind of post - it's a great reminder that people shouldn't be jerks. Sure, people can moderate comments, but that's annoying; or delete spam/jerky comments, but that's even more annoying. People should learn and use common sense and manners on their own - it's not our responsibility to force them to learn.

PS On occasion, I've posted external links in people's comments threads, because they were very relevant. If I rarely comment there and/or don't know how they feel about external links, I usually write s/t like 'please delete this if you don't want/like external links, and I apologize'. I think it's a good approach for those situations where you're pretty sure it's proper, but not quite positive.

Posted by: Ezzie | Jan 22, 2006 2:11:25 AM

My 2 cents: IMHO, link-whoring is part of the blogging experience. And though I do very little of it myself, I tolerate a great deal of it on my blog. At worst it's harmless; at best it leads me and my readers someplace interesting. To each his own.


Posted by: DovBear | Jan 22, 2006 7:14:56 PM

In a way, DB is right: I actually enjoy when people put good links up. But they need to have a good reason for being up there, or it's just rude.

Posted by: Ezzie | Jan 22, 2006 10:02:46 PM

Well said...though I am a little embarrassed to have just poste a link in the comments on your most recent post. It related to the topic at hand, but please delete it if you think it inappropriate - and I am sorry for not asking you first...

Posted by: mcaryeh | Jan 23, 2006 9:16:29 PM

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