Commenting changes coming


You know, this is an incredibly busy time of the year for me: the semester is winding down, students are freaking out, I’ve got vast scary piles of grading, and I’m committing to large amounts of time to small group tutorial sessions. I’m swamped. So when some fucking idiot named Chris decides to flaunt his inanity by spamming the site with German song lyrics in an attempt to a) drown out the conversation (selfish pig), and b) demonstrate his pathetic programming skills, requiring me to spend a half-hour tracking down and cleaning up his mess, I get furious. So furious at his arrogance and destructive efforts that I’m going to give you the information he used to login before he switched to an anonymizer. He used a pseudonym, [email protected], at the IP address 74.43.13.138 , static-74-43-13-138.fnd.frontiernet.net. He’s a spammer whose sole talent seems to be the ability to copy-paste repetitively.

In response, to prevent further abuse at the hands of brain-damaged morons like “Chris”, I’m going to have to implement comment registration. I’m switching it on temporarily this afternoon. Try to make it work. If it doesn’t, I’ll be switching it off at 4pm Central so you can voice your complaints and tell me what’s wrong. If you can’t comment in the next few hours, tinker and figure out how to register. If you can’t, come back this evening when the registration requirement is turned off again, and we’ll figure out how to make it work for all the honest, responsible commenters.

Comments

  1. carlie says

    GODDAMMIT.

    Yeah, I guess it’s working. I’m grumpy, but I understand.

    Since it’s wordpress, does that mean I can’t do my own thing at wordpress under this login if I don’t want them connected, or does it let you do things in different areas? (the question is that I’m toying around with starting my own blog, but I wouldn’t want it to be automatically linked with my name here)

  2. carlie says

    WordPress itself refuses to acknowledge that I have that username and password, so maybe it is separate?

  3. Dr Michael Hfuhruhurr says

    Odd. Even though I have (almost?) never commented on this site, changing over to requiring a login made me feel compelled – compelled, I tell you – to try it out.

  4. says

    You’ll all have to work it out among yourselves for a few hours. I’m about to go into the dungeon with about 50 first-year biology students and try to explain basic genetics to them, over and over. I’m not sure who’s being tortured here.

  5. Epinephrine says

    Seems to work for me, thankfully. I’m a bit confused, though. I seem to have two WordPress accounts, both with the same name. Is that possible? I registered once through Science-based Medicine (which seems to be using WordPress), but that wasn’t recognised here, so I registered here as well. Both have the same WordPress logo, both use the same login name, though I have a different password on each.

  6. Dhorvath, OM says

    Bloody hell PZ, I don’t need to tell you you don’t need the aggravation, but hey it might be nice to hear: you don’t.
    Is it on now?

  7. chigau (む) says

    I was already logged-in when this announcement was made.
    Does that make a difference?
    Is it ON yet?

  8. markns says

    I can’t register using my WordPress.com id. It keeps telling me: “You need to share your email address when prompted at wordpress.com. Please close this window and try again.” but there is no email address field.

  9. carlie says

    I registered once through Science-based Medicine (which seems to be using WordPress), but that wasn’t recognised here, so I registered here as well. Both have the same WordPress logo, both use the same login name, though I have a different password on each.

    When I try to login to WordPress itself, it tells me the password is wrong. But when I try to register again with the same username, it tells me the username is already taken and asks me to log in, and then tells me the password is wrong (which they sent me not ten minutes ago and has been copied to the clipboard since the first login.?)

  10. says

    Seems to work for me. I logged out, then back in, and everything seems fine.

    And for what it’s worth, PZ, I regret the part I played in Chris’s descent into asspamery. I turned a little mean there at the end, trying to provoke him. I generally try not to do that, even with trolls.

  11. carlie says

    It lets me log in here on FTB, but not on WordPress.com, as though the username/password combo is unique to FTB. But then it won’t let me register at wordpress.com because the username is already taken.

  12. alexsamaras says

    Logging in with my Google account seems to have worked fine for me. Sorry to hear about the hassle.

    Good luck with your students.

  13. Brownian says

    I’m still able to comment, so this particular attempt to clean the place up has been unsuccessful, PZ.

  14. carlie says

    Looking further, some other variants of my username (adding numbers and such) are also already registered, so I imagine that I get this username uniquely to FTB, and that it’s already registered to someone else at wordpress for their own account.

    Sorry to hog up so much thread space on myself!

  15. zachofalltrades says

    The a-hole appears to be in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania with an ISP called Frontier Communications. It’s a shame I don’t know how to torture remotely…

    But I can comment here, so yay for that.

  16. Pteryxx says

    FTB is using WordPress tools, but is not linked to WordPress itself, so FTB requires you to register here. Having a registration with WordPress.com is completely separate. Hope that’s helpful.

  17. magistramarla says

    It worked just fine for me.
    PZ, I feel for you. When I was teaching high school, the end of each semester was always more stressful for the teachers than the students. We went through a LOT of chocolate in the faculty lounge during those times.

  18. eric says

    30+ comments, no German lyrics. I would call that at least a partial success. (Not full until you turn it off and we see how many would-be commenters couldn’t respond.)

  19. janine says

    I understand and sympathize with the reason why PZ has turned on registration. Chris was a vile little spleen weasel. But I will have to change how I use my moniker. This set works for all of FTB. While the readership of all of the blogs overlap, the monikers I have used were joke specific to this blog. While most were rude and provocative, they had a point that many of the regulars got. I cannot and will not expect people at other blogs to get it.

    Also, I will drop the OM. That is also site specific.

    The joys of dealing with unreasonable spleen weasels.

  20. heliantus says

    Just registered. Connected through my e-mail account. Now testing to see if my post remains anonymous :-)
    If that goes through, no issue to report.

    Funny the length of technology I’m willing to tackle, when I fell motivated :-/
    Now back to my work.

  21. Pteryxx says

    janine: um, pardon me for being nosy, but why would you need to drop the nicknames and OM from your handle just because other blog populations won’t know what they are? Isn’t that their problem?

  22. janine says

    Pteryxx, please think about it. With out context, what is a person to think of me if my moniker is Janine Is Still An Asshole? And what is the point of bragging on other blogs that many of the regulars at this blog respects me?

  23. scriabin says

    Works fine, I think.

    Chris’ descent was disturbing. If real illness played a substantial part in that fall, I hope he gets help. His single-minded, obsessive focus throughout (even pre-cut-and-paste) was nothing if not bizarre.

    If it was mainly assholery, well…

  24. angelakingdom says

    A long time reader but the first time I’ve ever written anything here. The log-in works with Yahoo from the UK.

  25. says

    FTB is using WordPress tools, but is not linked to WordPress itself, so FTB requires you to register here. Having a registration with WordPress.com is completely separate. Hope that’s helpful.

    That explains it…

  26. ahs ॐ says

    Carlie: I’ll add one more thing. Each installation of the WordPress software is separate from each other. At WordPress.com they just happen to be running an installation of the WordPress software.

  27. CHIGAU (anything you want) says

    Once registered you can click on your ‘nym above the comment box, go the the “Dashboard” and update your Profile.
    As near as I can tell, you can display yourself anything you want.

  28. carlie says

    At WordPress.com they just happen to be running an installation of the WordPress software.

    Well, that’s weird. I think I get it now, though.

  29. cybercmdr says

    Works for me.

    Unfortunately PZ you are a target in the cyber domain. That means that countermeasures to attacks will be required. The Internet has long ago ceased to be that open forum where trust was assumed. Even with meager skills, idiots can cause havoc if they want to. The big boys (hackers with real skills) often share their tools and techniques with whoever wants them.

    I work in cyber security, and I’d say you’ve been lucky so far.

  30. Emrysmyrddin says

    Yep, the ‘you must be logged in to comment’ came up, whereas before you had a ‘name’ field above the comment box. Good luck with the lectures, PZ – have you ever thought of recording them for video podcasts btw? That could be all kinds of awesome.

  31. Mr. Fire says

    If someone with no brain like me can log in this easily, your security measures are clearly not good enough.

  32. Pteryxx says

    re janine:

    Pteryxx, please think about it. With out context, what is a person to think of me if my moniker is Janine Is Still An Asshole? And what is the point of bragging on other blogs that many of the regulars at this blog respects me?

    …Well, personally if I see a nickname like (is still an asshole)I’m going to note this is an outspoken person who isn’t wearing an obviously sexist insult, and compare it with the content of their posts. Similarly, if I didn’t know what OM meant, I wouldn’t put stake in it past “these several people with OM in their nyms probably know each other”. Looking it up would reveal a list of respected commentors over on this hugely trafficked anchor blog.

    Personally, I’d think random commentors who took offense at those things wouldn’t be doing a very good job of addressing the person’s actual views and style; but you’re probably right that it might be too much to expect.

  33. says

    I am now logged to comment, unfortunately when I try to comment on Ed Brayton’s blog I normally can’t so we will see what happens here.
    Preview works ok but it also works on Ed’s blog.

  34. christopherbooth says

    Script-kiddies are punks.

    What a waste of biological resources.

    Remember Lexx? There was a cannibal character who referred to Stanley Tweedle as “Waste of Meat!”

  35. ahs ॐ says

    Carlie:

    WordPress.com is a commercial arm of WordPress.org, who develop the free and commercial versions of the WordPress software which is then used by various blogs.

    WordPress.com thus functions as a technology showcase and revenue stream, where people who don’t want to bother running their own servers can use a free installation of the software, and pay for extra options if they like (such as the ability to significantly customize their CSS).

  36. unclefrogy says

    dam I hate having to do this registration. At least it works better for me using this word press compared to science blogs multiple systems which I could not get to work and reluctantly had to use a google mess.
    I resent fools who like to fuck things up for everyone by being so self-centered, inconsiderate and vindictive.
    I also don’t like door locks and lock and keys in general. I don’t like political upheaval either nor laws and law enforcement either. I also understand that unfortunately if we want any kind of civilization it seems to be required right now. I hold out a possibly vain hope that at some time in the future some of those things may not be needed but not today.

    uncle frogy

  37. Emrysmyrddin says

    frundsberg, mate, it’s ‘trolololol’. I know all the cool kids didn’t let you in on it, but I thought I’d take pity on you. Maybe it was an accident, you misread it on crapmemesdotcom or something, but you’re doing it wrong.

  38. says

    frundsberg/Chris,

    I hope you know that PZ only has to click delete once now that registration has been turned on, and all your comments will be deleted en masse. Your spamming is now futile. So long, frundsberg!

  39. janine says

    Pteryxx, I cannot expect people to react as you do. I do have a rather brutal sense of humor that I do tone down when I am on line. I do not want people to mistake my jokes for what I believe. Because I do have an established persona here, I feel free that most people do understand when I use “Vile Bitch” and “Still An Asshole”. But for people who do not know me, I do not want that to be how they first get to know me.

    I cannot expect different blogs with established protocols to just be accommodating of my habits. I have to be established enough for others to understand what I am doing.

    (Yes, I realize that there are new people at this blog all of the time. But if they are interested in this blog, they will pick up that my monikers are jokes. It would not surprise me that many of the newer regulars who interact with me were at first put off by what ever moniker I was using at the time.)

  40. janine says

    And all I have to do is create another account, hook it up with mechanize, then sit back and relax while the shitstorming continues.

    What a pathetic sack of shit.

  41. Pieter B says

    I was logged in with WordPress/Gravatar on Ed’s blog and was able to comment here without any challenge.

  42. says

    And all I have to do is create another account, hook it up with mechanize, then sit back and relax while the shitstorming continues.

    *shrug* You aren’t paying attention. You have to do tons of work now while all PZ has to do is clicky about three times. See? Futile. So long, sucker!

  43. shouldbeworking says

    What a piece of crap. Why would … Never mind, I was going to use he word reasonable, but fuckface doesn’t qualify. He should go pay on the autobahn.

  44. Gregory Greenwood says

    I am logged in. My first comment was swallowed up without a trace by FTB, but other than that I have no problems to report as of yet.

    I was hoping that we would get a better class of troll than Chris/frundsberg. At the very least I expect a bit of presuppositionalism garnished with some confirmation bias, with the ensemble completed with an extra helping of Dunning-Kruger, but all we get is some moron copy-pasting german song lyrics.

    It’s feeble.

  45. eleusis says

    $ whois 74.43.13.138

    NetName: FRONTIER-COMMUNICATIONS
    Comment: All abuse complaints for this block will only be answered by the Frontier abuse team and not the ELI abuse team. Use contact info from Handle ABUSE223-ARIN.

    RAbuseHandle: ABUSE223-ARIN
    RAbuseName: Abuse
    RAbusePhone: +1-866-474-7662
    RAbuseEmail: [email protected]

    — Just sayin —

  46. says

    @ janine

    Sorry to read this, janine. I find your monikers *amusing*.

    How long ago is that, when PZ had to institute logging-in the first time? That really changed the place, killed the Wild West Saloon™ atmosphere!

    Had to be done, though.

  47. sc_f2c7085029a34626165d3747758ba150 says

    Logged in with google. The login id I got stuck with is a bit strange but I can live with it.

  48. Louis says

    Gosh it seems I can!

    Well with that edifying revelation out of the way I shall commiserate with PZ plus folks for whom logging is an embuggerance, and go back to drinking a very large brandy.

    It has been an interesting Monday.

    Louis

  49. Gregory Greenwood says

    My other comment seems to be hung up in moderation, so this is me just checking in.

  50. says

    just for the record, the song lyrics weren’t just in German, I think it was Italian too? No way to confirm as they’re all gone now…

  51. quentinlong says

    Okay, I can post comments. Registration is working for me, and only minimally annoying. No objections from me if it you choose to make registration a permanent fixture, PZ.

  52. shouldbeworking says

    It’s quiet, too quiet. BRB………
    Chris has been incarcerated in the dungeon, bail has been set at a quadrillion cuttlefish.

  53. says

    I’m logged into my wordpress account thingie and appear able to comment. If this comment goes through. Otherwise, I’ll be merely screaming into the vacuum cleaner of space.

  54. chaspeterson says

    Yeah, you can change your displayed nym by
    1) logging in,
    2) clicking the ‘Logged in as [name]’ link just above the comment box, 3) editing profile.

  55. woodsong says

    Testing…

    I had to re-create my password, but it seems to be working now.

    And yes, I still have my Gravatar. Good enough!

  56. Sili says

    (selfish pig)

    I know we hate spammers, but really?

    Siccing Ken Ham on him like that is both cruel and unusual.

  57. sc_f2c7085029a34626165d3747758ba150 says

    The ease of Human Ape logging in is prove that it is not a filter for keeping out creeps.

    janine, I’m just curious. Why do I make you cry? Is it my atheism? My honesty? The fact that I don’t suck up to Muslim scum? The fact that I don’t suck up to Christian scum? The fact that I don’t suck up to Jewish scum? The fact that I don’t suck up to looney liberal scum?

    Just wondering. Many thanks.

    — Human Ape

    By the way, I noticed when I log in with google instead of facebook, I get stuck with the strange ID “sc_f2c7085029a34626165d3747758ba150”.

    http://darwinkilledgod.blogspot.com/

  58. Thomathy, now gayer and atheister says

    @ janine #120, true. The fact that Human Ape continues to post here at all is point enough. Still, it will have a marginal effect. The trolls will troll, but now it’ll be the determined ones. Unfortunately, we can’t call Human Ape a troll, because he’s actually just dull and disgusting.

  59. ahs ॐ says

    To change a nym:

    In https://proxy.freethought.online/wp-admin/user/profile.php

    First you have to put the nym you want into Nickname (required), then click Update Profile.

    Then go back a second time, and pick that name out of the drop-down box at Display name publicly as

    But this is not sufficient! There is a bug. It will not recognize changes only to the dropdown box.

    You must also change something in another field to make it notice that there have been changes to the page. Then click Update Profile.

    I added a “.” to the Biographical Info field while also choosing my new nym from the Display name publicly as dropdown box.

  60. janine says

    janine, I’m just curious. Why do I make you cry? Is it my atheism? My honesty? The fact that I don’t suck up to Muslim scum? The fact that I don’t suck up to Christian scum? The fact that I don’t suck up to Jewish scum? The fact that I don’t suck up to looney liberal scum?

    You think that you make me cry, fuckface? Makes wonder what else you believe without one shred of evidence.

    But this paragraph is typical of what a creep you are.

  61. sc_f2c7085029a34626165d3747758ba150 says

    janine, I’m so sorry. I will kill myself so you won’t have to suffer anymore.

  62. Gregory Greenwood says

    Human Ape @ 146;

    janine, I’m just curious. Why do I make you cry? Is it my atheism? My honesty? The fact that I don’t suck up to Muslim scum? The fact that I don’t suck up to Christian scum? The fact that I don’t suck up to Jewish scum? The fact that I don’t suck up to looney liberal scum?

    This passage of yours I have quoted above – that is you being a creep. The casual swipe you take at ‘teh ebil libruls’, and your liking of the word ‘scum’ tells more than I wish to know about you.

    Has it occurred to you that Janine simply finds you an annoying, inane, rightwing moron? She is far from alone in this, it is an opinion I myself share.

    Here, have a porcupine on me. I am sure you know what to do with it…

  63. wordsofawizard says

    Commenting to see if I successfully linked by blog and got the capitalization in my name to work out right.

  64. Don Quijote says

    Would anybody care for a Spanish song or two? Much more ritmo than those German thingys and we can FIESTA

  65. janine says

    janine, I’m so sorry. I will kill myself so you won’t have to suffer anymore.

    And, ideally, am I supposed to react to this. Shamed that I dare be unkind to a courageous person like you. Argue that I never told you to kill yourself? Plead that you do not take any of this so hard.

    I know what I will doo. Dismiss you for being an idiotic blowhard.

    Find the porcupine, fuckface.

  66. chigau (reallyanything) says

    Sometimes I have to try 2 or 3 times before the update to my profile “takes”.
    Next time, I’ll try the change something else, too.

  67. Beatrice, anormalement indécente says

    I’ve been registered all along, so this shouldn’t be a problem, but testing anyway.

  68. areffdoubleyou says

    Seems to work, but I will say that I’m unhappy having to register for yet another site. Color me unduly suspicious, but far too much of the internet and the web in particular is infested with morals-free marketing types who will abuse any information they can find and hang the privacy issues involved.

    Fortunately, Firefox will remember my user id and password so I don’t have to.

  69. marypoppins says

    Yahoo has limited how I appear – have tried it before but at least I no longer appear as a total yahoo mess ( I hope).

    Mary P

  70. Moggie says

    janine:

    Ing, what rape videos?

    Something showed up in the “recent comments” list with a nym referring to rape videos of Japanese porn stars. Particularly unpleasant spam, presumably.

  71. janine says

    Color me unduly suspicious, but far too much of the internet and the web in particular is infested with morals-free marketing types who will abuse any information they can find and hang the privacy issues involved.

    Yes! The actions of the latest spleen weasel was just a ruse so that PZ could get personal information for his marketing scene. PZ yers is merely the latest guise of MC Pee Pants. (ATHF joke.)

  72. Thomathy, now gayer and atheister says

    Lanfear? Really, now ‘Chris’ is borrowing names from irritatingly long fantasy epics? Wow.

  73. sc_f2c7085029a34626165d3747758ba150 says

    “rightwing”

    OK, so that’s it. Mr. Greenwood, and perhaps also Ms. Janine, have a strong dislike for anyone who isn’t a looney liberal. According to them everyone who visits this blog must completely agree with Greenwood and Janine about everything, otherwise that person is a creep, a moron, etc. And you liberals wonder why I call you looney.

    I suggest people should remember that this is just a blog. No need to go berserk or have a heart attack or cry like a baby just because not everyone in the world is afraid of capitalism.

  74. says

    janine:

    PZ yers is merely the latest guise of MC Pee Pants. (ATHF joke.)

    I ain’t no kid, I’m all growed up now. I don’t just want tentacles. I need ’em.

  75. janine says

    Thank you, Moggie, I missed that. And I have to agree, that is highly troubling.

    (I am officially a troll. I misspelled the name of PZ Myers.)

  76. Gregory Greenwood says

    janine, I’m so sorry. I will kill myself so you won’t have to suffer anymore.

    The martyr syndrome is strong in this one…

    What was that irritating Justin Timberlake song from a few years ago?

    Oh, right, cry me a river. Pretty much sums up my feelings on this self-pitying display.

  77. Fukuda says

    oh, here comes the fuckface spammer, we’ll luckily be able to remove him like a benign cyst now that he’s forced to login…

  78. rwgate says

    Ok. Tried to log in with new name and password. Took about four tries, but finally succeeded.

  79. Thomathy, now gayer and atheister says

    Human Ape, rather, perhaps it’s more likely that Janine and Mr. Greenwood don’t like you because of things you’ve said in the past that are vile? For instance, your unfounded and delusional belief that all pedophiles are gay men.

    You’re not even entertainingly stupid. When will you just stop posting here?

  80. janine says

    I suggest people should remember that this is just a blog. No need to go berserk or have a heart attack or cry like a baby just because not everyone in the world is afraid of capitalism.

    All I did was call you a creep. You replied by saying that you should commit siucide in order to please me. Who is going berserk, you idiotic blowhard fuckface.

  81. sc_f2c7085029a34626165d3747758ba150 says

    “For instance, your unfounded and delusional belief that all pedophiles are gay men.”

    That is a common misconception and I “was” guilty of it. However, thanks to somebody here who patiently and repeatedly explained it, I finally understood. I was wrong to assume priests who molest altar boys are gay. They just like to fuck children. I call those priests scum. Is that OK, or is scum a forbidden word in the looney liberal world?

  82. Gregory Greenwood says

    Human Ape @ 174;

    OK, so that’s it. Mr. Greenwood, and perhaps also Ms. Janine, have a strong dislike for anyone who isn’t a looney liberal. According to them everyone who visits this blog must completely agree with Greenwood and Janine about everything, otherwise that person is a creep, a moron, etc. And you liberals wonder why I call you looney.

    Wow, Janine, I had no idea that the two of us had such power! Time to rename the blog Janine and Greg’s Looney Liberal Utopia. Someone tell PZ he works for us now…

    As your fellow totlitarian ruler of this corner of teh interwebs, I must have priority access to your spanking couch, naturally…

    I suggest people should remember that this is just a blog. No need to go berserk or have a heart attack or cry like a baby just because not everyone in the world is afraid of capitalism.

    (Emphasis added)

    You really do live in your own little world entirely divorced from reality, don’t you? We aren’t panicking, we aren’t afraid of you, we just find you and your ideology vaguely repugnant.

  83. ahs ॐ says

    Chris

    If it’s affirmation you’re looking for, I can spare some for you.

    You have demonstrated that you know how to modify a spambot (or perhaps even write one from scratch!), and use a well-known anonymizer.

    This is more than most users are capable of. You should be very proud.

    In my humble opinion, you have made your point. I hope it was fun for you, but now I wonder if you understand the concept of diminishing returns.

  84. Brownian says

    Is that OK, or is scum a forbidden word in the looney liberal world?

    It’s forbidden. Go tie yourself to Human Ape and fall off a tall bridge.

  85. bobstevensson says

    I do not like the lowercase usage in name registration, I hate writing my name in lowercase as it is not correct thing to do, but hey, I guess I pay the price to get rid of the spammers.

    God Bless us Atheist eh? :)

  86. janine says

    janine, take a breath. This is just a blog.

    Idiotic blowhard fuckface, I am not the one who tried to shame a person with a disingenuous suicide threat.

  87. NitricAcid says

    I seem to be able to log in. Maybe I’ll eventually come up with a comment worth posting.

  88. Brownian says

    This is more than most users are capable of. You should be very proud.

    Why? The fact that we blow smoke up techs’ asses are why we have fuckfaces like Chris around in the first fucking place.

  89. rwgate says

    Since his spam was in German, a language I don’t speak, isn’t it a case of “If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” Just so many words, so easy to ignore. Now, try it in English, Spanish, or French if you want to truly irritate me.

  90. sc_f2c7085029a34626165d3747758ba150 says

    Brownian says:
    21 November 2011 at 1:58 pm

    Is that OK, or is scum a forbidden word in the looney liberal world?

    It’s forbidden. Go tie yourself to Human Ape and fall off a tall bridge.

    Brownian, please understand that sc_f2c7085029a34626165d3747758ba150 and Human Ape are the same person. When I logged in using google, google gave me that ID.

    You liberals really have forbidden words? Are you joking? I thought only Christians loved censorship.

    One more time to help dense people understand. This is JUST a blog.

  91. says

    rwgate,

    I can assure you, even for those of us who speak German, the verses are quite meaningless, or I have a very different appreciation of poetry than the spammer.

    I think his original German-Italian combo made more sense, it was just repeated a gazillion times…

  92. janine says

    One more time to help dense people understand. This is JUST a blog.

    And yet you insist that I have gone berserk and that you made me cry. I do not take you seriously at all. That is because you are the stuff I scrape off the bottom of my shoes.

    Do you understand?

  93. says

    Aratina Cage and others replying to the spammer:

    could you please blockquote his post too, as they keep disappearing and the context gets lost.

    Thanks!

  94. illuminata says

    janine, take a breath. This is just a blog.

    Translation: Human Ape wants to distract everyone from his failed testerical desperately-seeking-sympathy ploy by trotting out the sexist dogwhistles.

    Calm down, troll. Stop the whining, already. its pathetic.

  95. Brownian says

    You liberals really have forbidden words? Are you joking? I thought only Christians loved censorship.

    Well, that’s just one more thing you’re wrong about. That’s more than three strikes. Are you going to pop yourself in the oven, or do I have to send the black helicopters?

  96. janine says

    “If anyone would like to defile Human Ape’s body before we drop it into the pit, let them do so now or forever hold their pee”

    Ing, what if someone wants to Hot Karl the corpse?

    What? Did I go too far?

  97. says

    I don’t want to blockquote his posts because they are just garbage–verses repeated over and over with some scrambled characters at the end of about 50 lines.

  98. bobstevensson says

    pelamun, yeah? I speak swedish a bit, Well I studied it at college, I am suppose to but even my native language kind of sucks but I dont pretend otherwise, I just dont care.

    Anyway cant just the blog runners track the IP’s and ban it? Seriously, I have no issue with conflicts and and people with other opinions, its fun to exchange and discuss, but this is about destroying for the rest of us, it is not fun :(

  99. Thomathy, now gayer and atheister says

    Oh, please, Human Ape, have you also apologised for your statement about the existence of gays not mattering to you? It’s a shitty thing to have said.

    And don’t bother firing your liberal-speak canard my way. This has nothing to do with the language you used to say what you said.

  100. chigau (reallyanything) says

    pelamun
    The chris spammer is pasting 20-screeners of “german” “poetry”.
    No content.
    Quoting it would be bad.

  101. Brownian says

    This is JUST a blog.

    So go do something else then assface.

    Lots of people get all bent out of shape at stuff I don’t give a fuck about. I don’t seek them out to tell them their priorities are misplaced.

    And that’s the difference between you and I: people would be sad if I were to suddenly disappear.

  102. says

    Anyway cant just the blog runners track the IP’s and ban it?

    I don’t know if that will work. A persistent rogue spammer like this can get a new IP address with a little effort. Hopefully this particular spammer will realize that he is just wasting his own time now and accomplishing nothing.

  103. Brownian says

    “Human ape is survived by his widow Inflatable Ingrid, who is pursuing her dream of being re-purposed into an emergency flotation device now”

    Calm down with the eulogy, Ing. He was JUST a troll. The internet is filled with ’em.

  104. anteprepro says

    Ah. Never realized that Human Ape was a libertarian/conservative/whateverthefuck. That explains a lot, actually.

  105. Brownian says

    In fact, I would suspect the number of trolls online eclipses the number of blogs. A single blog is therefore more valuable than a troll.

    Look at the troll-to-blog ratio of Pharyngula alone: if a blog is JUST a blog (for whatever tautologies are worth), a troll like Human Ape must be worth even less.

  106. Amphiox says

    You liberals really have forbidden words? Are you joking? I thought only Christians loved censorship.

    And here you are, using the “forbidden” words without a hitch.

    Has your reactionary dinglefairy been up to mischief again, rewiring your brain against your will so that the definitions of “censorship” and “criticism” have been cross-switched in your temporal lobe, again?

    Poor, poor dear.

  107. Brownian says

    Ah. Never realized that Human Ape was a libertarian/conservative/whateverthefuck. That explains a lot, actually.

    Don’t forget coward. He’s terrified of Arabs.

  108. janine says

    Friends, horde, Pharynugites, lend me your ears;
    I come to poop on Human Ape, not to bury him.

    Take a breathe Human Ape, it is just a blog.

  109. ahs ॐ says

    Kristoff, the meds aren’t working. Time to go back to your mental health professional.

    *le sigh*

    You’re basically grinding in your boot heel, grimoire, considering how he already wrote that his negative symptoms were persisting in spite of medication. (A fairly typical outcome.)

    So there’s evidence that he’s already in contact with a mental health professional. You know they can’t fix everything, right?

  110. Rumtopf says

    @BobStevensson

    You can change your display name to have uppercase letters when you edit profile(I think that’s how I did it), it’s only your login that has to have all lowercase letters. C:

  111. Sili says

    Don’t forget coward. He’s terrified of Arabs.

    Well, algebra is scary!

    (At least when done solely with geometry.)

  112. grimoire says

    So there’s evidence that he’s already in contact with a mental health professional.

    Yikes! I didn’t read through his posts. He seems to have some very serious mental issues indeed. It seems best to simply let PZ remove his posts and ignore any further outbursts to avoid exacerbating the problem further.

  113. Mr. Fire says

    Why do I make you cry? Is it my atheism?

    Heh. We’re all secret goddists except for Human Ape.

    You remind me of a lobotomized Holbach.

  114. raven says

    Is Chris plus his sockpuppets the new Mab*s or Mark*ze?

    That poor guy spent over a decade spamming forums.

    We all know how that ended. He was eventually picked up by the Montreal police for evaluation. Dennis was found to be cuckoo and suffering from long term substance abuse problems.

    Or could he be the next venomfangX clinger on.

    rationalwiki:

    Anthony Powell, otherwise known on YouTube as Tony48219, was a mentally unbalanced Christian creationist and infamously known for his rude rants and remarks towards atheists, evolution, and black women. He was also a well known staunch defender and supporter of VenomFangX, calling him the “truth.”

    One day, Anthony took a firearm to school and killed a fellow classmate Asia McGowan (a female atheist) and then turned the gun onto himself.

    I doubt Chris is going to be stalking any ex-girlfriends. With his social skills, there aren’t any. AFAIK, Asia McGowan wasn’t even Powell’s ex-girlfriend, just some girl he was infatuated with.

    I’m seeing a bright future for Chris and the sockpuppets here.

  115. Sili says

    janine says:

    Ing, what if someone wants to Hot Karl the corpse?

    What? Did I go too far?

    Thank you, Urban Dictionary …

  116. Brownian says

    I come to poop on Human Ape, not to bury him.

    Seems wasteful, but okay: remember to hold the handle down an extra beat so it does the full flush for a number two. If you can’t get all of him to go down at once, break him into little bits with the brush while the tank refills.

  117. yarayah says

    I find it amusing that even the native German speaker didn’t recognize an old medieval German song for what it really is:

    http://www.reisige.de/lieder-esging.htm

    Apparently, in the “Skeptical™” community here, anything I post is automatically fake, up to and including things that are quantifiable.

    Anyway the blog is being policed too heavily for me to set mechanize loose like I wanted to. For now. But I’ll be back…

  118. Rasmus says

    Chris is an American and a self-taught Swedish speaker who’s been a regular poster at the VoF forums. He’s been open about his mental health issues over there and I see no reason to not believe him.

    This is not an attempt to excuse him for acting like an asshole, but I think it’s important to know that you’re dealing with a person with genuine and possibly serious issues, although I have no way of telling how serious they are and how much of it is just him being an asshole.

  119. 'Tis Himself, OM says

    Janine #217

    Ing, what if someone wants to Hot Karl the corpse?

    I made a mistake. I looked up Hot Karl in the Urban Dictionary. Now I know what’s meant by “ignorance is bliss.”

  120. Mr. Fire says

    janine, I can’t look up a Hot Karl right now, but I’m assuming it’s related to the Cleveland Steamer.

  121. Brownian says

    Thank you, Urban Dictionary …

    What’s wrong with Urban Dictionary? Why is it that no matter the entry, if it’s legal and consensual, I’ll have a friend who’s into it?

  122. says

    bob,

    he seems to be a poster at the Forum för vetenskap och folkbildning, but based in the United States.

    chigau,

    yeah I didn’t mean the poetry.

    jengiz,

    it’s just not my type of poetry

  123. speedweasel says

    Sastra said:

    test

    I have picked up the habit of twice reading anything Sastra writes. Including this.

  124. WishYouWereHere says

    No problem logging in.

    Chris is a minor player in the pantheon of jerks. Consider, for example, Lt John “I love the smell of Oleoresin Capsicum in the morning” Pike.

  125. Mr. Fire says

    Janine has come here to poop on human ape and chew bubblegum. And she’s all out of bubblegum.

    (BTW thanks for reminding of that line up some months ago)

  126. ahs ॐ says

    There is of course no reason to believe that Chris is violent.

    Reader take note: raven uses mental illness per se as an insult.

    This must be a glorious day for raven.

    Since Chris has already spoken openly about his mental health (indicating in a previous thread here at Pharyngula that he was in a manic state), raven gets to take some premises for granted, and now step up the rhetoric with unfounded insinuations about violence.

  127. Thomathy, now gayer and atheister says

    Brownian, poop ain’t cool, but yeah, Urban Dictionary never fails to describe something that someone is into …even poop.

  128. Brownian says

    This is not an attempt to excuse him for acting like an asshole, but I think it’s important to know that you’re dealing with a person with genuine and possibly serious issues, although I have no way of telling how serious they are and how much of it is just him being an asshole.

    Thanks, Rasmus, though situations like this bring up more questions than they answer.

    Consider that mental health, like physical health, isn’t binary—there’s not healthy and ill people, with a clear and identifieable boundary between the two groups. So Chris may be diagnosed, but what of Human Ape? The guy is a run-of-the-mill conservative troll: a cookie-cutter asshole. How healthy can that be?

  129. says

    There was no comment form here at all, so I had to register. But even after I registered, logged in, and returned to this post, I still could not see the comment form here. I had to hit the log-in link at the end of this post before the comment form appeared.

    I guess its early days for FTB and its still getting set up, or maybe I just don’t get how its supposed to work, but on the home page there is no log-in button or contact info for reporting problems or suggestions, which is why I’m adding these comments here. Other issues I’ve encountered include wanting to subscribe to individual bloggers on FTB, which can’t be done. At least PZ still sends out individual email alerts from Pharyngula, but I used to be able to get Greta Christina’s email alerts to new posts on her former blog, now I can’t. Instead, the email alert subscription for FTB bundles all the blogs here. The problem is that the email alert does not identify the individual bloggers and often the blog titles inadequately describe the post. It would be nice if each entry in those alerts had at least the blog and author name attached to the title, because I simply don’t have time to go to every link in the alert to find out who is saying what about what.

    Like I said, maybe I’m missing the point about FTB and how it’s supposed to work, but I can’t find any FAQ or About page to learn more.

  130. anubisprime says

    Well that was fun….!
    Had to change me login a tad and then some…but that’s evolution for ya!

  131. says

    bob,

    he seems to be a poster at the Forum för vetenskap och folkbildning, but based in the United States.

    chigau,

    yeah I didn’t mean the poetry.
    It’s also just not my type of poetry

  132. Thomathy, now gayer and atheister says

    In this one instance, I have to wonder what exactly the motivation of this particular troll is.

    Care to elucidate on that, yarayah? -You’re motivation, that is.

  133. raven says

    thinkatheist.com:

    However, you can never forget that there is a RISK to doing so. Sometimes… you put your life on the line to do the right thing. Youtube Atheist Asia McGowan was one of us… and she paid for her activism with her life. Let us not forget her. Although many news sources at the time may be ambiguous about the motives of her killer, Anthony Powell… from the way he spoke in his last video… I am less sure that some of the speculation going on is true. It was speculated that Asia was secretly seeing him… which her family doubted… and so do I. And apparently [for some unknown reason] he was her “friend” on facebook.

    It is believed that Anthony had a “fixation” with Asia…. although I’m not sure what to think. Anthony Powell was a well known youtuber himself… a fundamentalist with a real hatred for atheists. Whatever the reason… Asia paid for her videos with her life.

    I’ve been pointing out for a while that crazy trolls and fundie xians can be dangerous.

  134. ahs ॐ says

    Thomathy,

    Someone in another thread said he was a bad programmer, so he programmed a semi-automated spamming system to demonstrate otherwise.

    Well, he’s made his demonstration.

    So at this point, his motivation is more obviously the fallacy of sunk costs.

  135. ahs ॐ says

    I’ve been pointing out for a while that crazy trolls and fundie xians can be dangerous.

    So can anyone.

    What does not follow is your conclusion about someone who has said nothing about violence.

  136. says

    Someone in another thread said he was a bad programmer, so he programmed a semi-automated spamming system to demonstrate otherwise.

    Grammatically right. He’s a programmer who is bad in that he behaves in appropriately and is not wanted.

    If for some reason he wanted to demonstrate his abilities, he’s a fucking failure there too as he’s done nothing constructive.

  137. says

    yarayah/Chris

    Anyway the blog is being policed too heavily for me to set mechanize loose like I wanted to. For now. But I’ll be back…

    About time you realized that. And no, you won’t be back. I doubt even your coherent postings will be let stay by PZ after the shit you’ve pulled.

  138. Brownian says

    Brownian, poop ain’t cool, but yeah, Urban Dictionary never fails to describe something that someone is into …even poop.

    Actually, I was sort of kidding. (I’ve a relatively handsome urolagniac friend, though, if anyone here has a full bladder and is looking.)

    I find [some extremely high percentage] of the entries to be obvious attempts to be shocking by teenagers. It’s like listening to them talk about their weekend drug and alcohol use on the bus. “OMG, I got so wasted at the party; and then we did so much drugs that…” [looks around to make sure the adults in hearing distance are all suitably scandalised; none are; continues nonetheless] “I totally had sex with Z-Bone and Roarke…” [still, no-one cares] “…I mean, like Roarke, who’s totally in a gang and sells drugs…”

  139. Bob Stevensson says

    Rumtopf : Thankyou for telling me.

    I got an idea, erh, a possible idea…… : Could it be that these spammers and other types simple feel outside? I mean, perhaps they WANT to be part of us here, debate and express their opinions but cant because they feel like outsiders, foreign?

    Perhaps we could try to make them feel more welcome, forgive and forget and welcome back? I mean we have no reason to being grumpy at a couple of spammers right?

  140. 'Tis Himself, OM says

    Godbot Bob #286

    Perhaps we could try to make them feel more welcome, forgive and forget and welcome back? I mean we have no reason to being grumpy at a couple of spammers right?

    We’re welcoming as long as people are (a) interesting and (b) back up their points with evidence. When they stop doing these things, particularly the first, then we get out of welcoming mode.

  141. truebutnotuseful says

    Thomathy, now gayer and atheister says:

    In this one instance, I have to wonder what exactly the motivation of this particular troll is.

    Narcissistic attention-seeking.

    He popped into the merch thread with an apropos of nothing post about his performance in a programming competition. When he didn’t get the ego-stroking he craved, he escalated into a tirade about how PZ hasn’t published anything lately and how shameful a thing it is to be on the faculty at a “third-tier” school like U of M, Morris. The subtext of every post was “notice me! notice me! pay attention to ME!”

    Things kind of spiraled downward, culminating in him at one point telling me:

    I’d have no problem leaving you to die on the street either. Don’t forget it.

    I don’t doubt that he’s bipolar. But he sure seems sociopathic.

  142. Brownian says

    Could it be that these spammers and other types simple feel outside? I mean, perhaps they WANT to be part of us here, debate and express their opinions but cant because they feel like outsiders, foreign?

    Perhaps we could try to make them feel more welcome, forgive and forget and welcome back? I mean we have no reason to being grumpy at a couple of spammers right?

    DID ALIENS COME AND START REMOVING FUCKING LOBES FROM HALF THE FUCKING POPULACE LAST NIGHT OR WHAT?

    Chris, your adoring fan Bobby wants to suck face with you or some goddamn thing that idiots do or whatever-the-fuck.

    You fucking win, stupidity. Everybody, please homeopath each other until every last representative of this piece of shit species is goddamn fucking dead.

  143. 'Tis Himself, OM says

    You fucking win, stupidity. Everybody, please homeopath each other until every last representative of this piece of shit species is goddamn fucking dead.

    Goodness, it appears Ol’ Brownian is feeling a mite bit perturbed. Must be a lack of ghey sechs.

  144. Fukuda says

    Someone in another thread said he was a bad programmer, so he programmed a semi-automated spamming system to demonstrate otherwise.

    He could be a script kid after all, hell, he probably is. The net is overflowing with spambot code, this is hardly a way to demonstrate any coding proficiency…

    Who says that he programmed anything at all?

  145. ahs ॐ says

    I got an idea, erh, a possible idea…… : Could it be that these spammers and other types simple feel outside? I mean, perhaps they WANT to be part of us here, debate and express their opinions but cant because they feel like outsiders, foreign?

    It’s probably something like that, but the chosen method of spamming is essentially a vulgar display of power: “look what I can do, and you can’t stop me.”

    From an organizational standpoint, it is counterproductive to reward that kind of behavior.

    Assuming, just for the sake of argument, that PZ would allow reintegration (and I am not arguing that he should), then at a minimum what would be required for reintegration is, in this order:

    a public apology to the commenters and PZ, plus a private apology email to PZ

    a period of several months’ radio silence, to avoid getting on everyone’s nerves

    another round of apologies, acknowledgement of specific wrongdoing, and a stated plan for avoiding triggering conflict in the future.

    (Again, that’s all just for the sake of argument. I’m not saying it should be done. Rather, I’m trying to show how productive reintegration is not a trivial matter.)

  146. Pteryxx says

    I thought it was reflective of his inherent redundant.

    Ing: HEY I’M OVER HERE!!!!! says:
    21 November 2011 at 3:08 pm

    …ness

    Thanks to that, I just snerk’d out loud in an open computer lab. <3 Bah, dignity was overrated anyway…

  147. says

    It appears the comments are working(perhaps too good.)

    I’m actually having trouble- maybe it is just my warez but I am having a huge lag when typing in the comment box- so much so that I wrote this in word and copypasta’d.

  148. says

    @Geyher

    I have no clue why me and AHS are included in your inane rant. A rational person would see that ahs and my own comments of disapproval towards raven would be evidenced that such ableism isn’t approved of. You know, it’s what the “dis” would indicate.

  149. says

    Long time reader compelled to comment and test the Google login.

    Incidentally I’ve been listening to PZ’s talks on Youtube: great stuff! I agree he’s a nice guy even when giving someone flak for misapprehensions of science.

    The comment preview works too!

  150. carlie says

    Goodness, it appears Ol’ Brownian is feeling a mite bit perturbed. Must be a lack of ghey sechs.

    We’re trying, but we’re having problems logging into the queue system.

  151. sc_f34d31c0eb054f13969e9cb8ec8e73c0 says

    Yeah, using someone’s mental illness as an excuse to mock them is really bothering me too. But I’m not really a regular so take it as you will.

    Oh, BTW, Scriptastic Chris, when you dedicate as much time and effort as you have to shitting on someone else’s blog don’t be surprised when someone a wee bit more technical than you starts putting some effort into shitting on you. You’re not as smart as you think you are.

  152. KG says

    Bob Stevennson,

    You’re about as welcome as a turd in the punchbowl, you fuckwitted lying bigot.

  153. ahs ॐ says

    geyer,

    ahs, this is the Liberal™ Skeptic™ community. “Ableist” slurs are OK if they come from the “in-group”.

    I’m well aware of that, but in fairness, this is true of almost every group on Earth. I’ve seen no evidence that it’s more common here than among sports fans, economists, train enthusiasts, etc.

    It is a pervasive problem with society in general.

    Much like the surprise(!) expressed in the wake of misogynist slurs recently, in your comment I detect a hint of expectation that liberal skeptics ought to be more conscientious than the average person.

    Well, they can be, but only by consciousness raising and then practice, as with any other issue.

  154. 'Tis Himself, OM says

    Jason Thibeault #299

    Well, I seem to be able to comment.

    Then again, I’m a blogger. Whee!

    See, Godbot Bob, we’ll let anybody comment here, even Jason.

  155. truebutnotuseful says

    sc_f34d says:

    You’re not as smart as you think you are.

    Chris says:

    Let’s discuss that here: [Links to self-created thread promoting own ego]

    “Hey! Everybody! I’m SMAAARRTTT! Look at MEEEE!”

  156. ahs ॐ says

    Nono. This is the Skeptics™ community. We go on Evidence™.

    Yeah, well, I’ve thought about using some crude scraping to get a hint of whether such comments are more common per capita among skeptics, but I haven’t gotten around to it.

    I’m not much inclined to take your or my gut feeling as an argument.

    +++++
    BTW, Ing’s point is that when you go out of your way to bring attention to someone’s typos, you may in effect be picking on someone for dyslexia. Intent isn’t magic, etc.

  157. ahs ॐ says

    Yeah, well, I’ve thought about using some crude scraping to get a hint of whether such comments are more common per capita among skeptics, but I haven’t gotten around to it.

    I’m not much inclined to take your or my gut feeling as an argument.

    My point being, until you come up with some evidence of the difference you suspect, the null hypothesis holds: there is no difference.

  158. says

    @ahs

    The problem is that words like crazy have a stronger colonial meaning but still are tied some what to a clinical definition. When someone says crazy they typically mean irrational which they may say whether someone is just acting irrationally or if they’re acting irrationally because of a mental illness. I think you’ll have a harder time with this than with words like cunt etc because one can easily be established as slurs used for the intent of marginalizing while the other has a seemingly innocuous casual use. I think it’s a better strategy to decouple crazy from mentally ill and remind people that the “mentally ill are not crazy”. I think that’s why I tend to be less vigilant on the words use here than you but Raven’s active denigration has gotten under my skin.

  159. ahs ॐ says

    When someone says crazy they typically mean irrational which they may say whether someone is just acting irrationally or if they’re acting irrationally because of a mental illness.

    I know, but it’s via “irrational like mental illness”, like gay has acquired a meaning of “undesireable and annoying” via “undesireable and annoying like homosexuality.”

    I think you’ll have a harder time with this

    I’ve no doubt you’re right, but I’m still young.

    I think it’s a better strategy to decouple crazy from mentally ill

    I see no reason to expect that this is possible.

    It is difference itself which bothers people.

    For the well-intentioned, it is already possible for those who want to specify “irrational” unambiguously to do so, by saying “irrational”. There are reasons why they do not.

  160. TxSkeptic says

    Finally got registered after weeks of trying. I could never get my registration confirmation email. I finally realized my ISP (not naming names, but their initials are AT&T/Yahoo) was spam checking my mail even though I never use their webmail portal, I always POP my mail.

    Turns out, of all the mail I get on this account, including lots of atheist mail, the only handful that got blocked were from Freethought Blogs. (but not all FTB mail got blocked)

  161. crissakentavr says

    The log in button seems… Busted. And the buttons (which show up now) weren’t showing while commenting was off.

    So I couldn’t log in to comment.

    So it sucked.

  162. Mr. Fire says

    Oh cool I can even do it from the mobile site.

    I must surely be the smartest person on the internet.

  163. Pierce R. Butler says

    If you’re reading this, the same log-in which lets me blather at Brayton’s also lets me maunder at Myers’s.

  164. crissakentavr says

    People who go after ‘crazy’ as ableist are just selecting whatever word you used as a cudgel to raise their position in the pecking order. It’s a very simple and frustrating social signaling.

    Certainly it’s appropriate to mediate language you use to avoid sequestering people into corners or in such a way that alienates them – but nearly all words for inconsistent or unintelligent or poorly functioning will have a negative connotation that was used as a slur or incorrectly in the past. Even some words have at their roots oppression, such as ‘hysterical’. So we need to be selective about how to word is being used and which words we’d like to avoid using as slurs.

    It’s a process not without contention – but there will always be someone (in a given group) better at using this knowledge as a weapon, instead of as a way to actually make a group welcoming.

  165. ahs ॐ says

    People who go after ‘crazy’ as ableist are just selecting whatever word you used as a cudgel to raise their position in the pecking order.

    Except when they’re not.

    You’ve just declared that it is impossible to legitimately take issue with this.

    Go click on my link at #262 and see how deep the raven hole goes.

  166. Carlie says

    Oh look, crissa’s giving us what for again.

    Apart from trying to obliterate use of diagnosable conditions as slurs, in this case in particular it’s trying to keep people from being able to hide behind some kind of reassuring fantasy. “Oh, they’re just crazy”. No, they’re cruel. Or misinformed. Or any number of other things that you could be too. You don’t get to other people and dismiss them out of hand by calling them crazy. That papers over whatever problem is being pointed out by their position.

  167. Rasmus says

    Consider that mental health, like physical health, isn’t binary—there’s not healthy and ill people, with a clear and identifieable boundary between the two groups. So Chris may be diagnosed, but what of Human Ape? The guy is a run-of-the-mill conservative troll: a cookie-cutter asshole. How healthy can that be?

    Yeah, you can never really know. I think the only thing you can do on the internet, if you want to do anything at all, is to take people literally when they post things about their mental states.

    I understand that that’s not really emotionally and practically possible when someone like Human Ape posts an anonymous suicide threat, unless his next post contains the address of the place he’s at or something…

  168. Rasmus says

    Someone in another thread said he was a bad programmer, so he programmed a semi-automated spamming system to demonstrate otherwise.

    Nah, I think he just used Ctrl-A, Ctrl-V recursively to create an exponentially growing message. Boring.

  169. says

    I was going to do some nefarious things with the info provided, as per my comment earlier. But I was reminded by a family member of my pledge to only use my new powers for good. Carry on.

  170. Bob Stevensson says

    I am not quite clear on what a “Godbot” is still, but I am a real person if you think I am a program or something?

    Anyway, if you matured a bit and, well, matured and started acted a bit adult towards me it would be nice, most of you act like children insulting and calling me names. I only noticed a couple of fellow who act like decent people and talk to me like normal people would, maybe you should take after them and start act like matured adults.

    Now, I am done on this Post as there is nothing to say, so please id you speak to me in the other POST Boxes, act ADULT or say nothing at all.

    Bob

  171. says

    #300

    Compose in a separate app, then copy/paste into the comment field. I’m going to have to try that; especially with my blog.

    BTW, aren’t there Windows text editors that would do the job better than Word?

  172. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Anyway, if you matured a bit and, well, matured and started acted a bit adult towards me it would be nice, most of you act like children insulting and calling me names. I only noticed a couple of fellow who act like decent people and talk to me like normal people would, maybe you should take after them and start act like matured adults.

    Go fuck yourself with a bible Bob.

  173. says

    322,

    In my case the cause isn’t dyslexia (my mom took care of that via phonics), but fumble fingers. And the fact I sometimes think faster than I type. :)

    Remember, proofreading is your friend.

  174. Ing says

    Anyway, if you matured a bit and, well, matured and started acted a bit adult towards me it would be nice, most of you act like children insulting and calling me names. I only noticed a couple of fellow who act like decent people and talk to me like normal people would, maybe you should take after them and start act like matured adults.

    Now, I am done on this Post as there is nothing to say, so please id you speak to me in the other POST Boxes, act ADULT or say nothing at all.

    You’re mother’s licks goats.

    @Mythusmage

    You don’t have to prove that you’re a repulsive person. We all know that. REKILLFILE

  175. Bob Stevensson says

    Well, this is just great. Bob has discovered my contact form and thinks I’m 15 or 16 years old. FFS, I’m 30.

    I apologize djfav, NO INSULT INTENDED, I was reading through your sites and information as I thought (and it could be so) think we run into eachother a bit more personal then internet before, but reading all the information it would be hard for me to think you are 30? 15 or 16 would be my guess, insult not intended, just a logical conclusion I made.

    Are you mailing me as I would like to have a word with you? Your mailing system only allowed 250 characters :(
    Bob

  176. SallyStrange, Spawn of Cthulhu says

    To test my login and posting capabilities, I shall now commence with the traditional mic-check recitation, as taught to me by my father:

    A Tuscaloosan moose
    Missed missing Miss Melissa
    While raging through the cages
    In the bank that paid her wages.

    ‘Twas a teller’s trauma,
    in the corner.
    Now we mourn her.

    Everything seems fine so far.

  177. SallyStrange, Spawn of Cthulhu says

    I apologize djfav, NO INSULT INTENDED, I was reading through your sites and information as I thought (and it could be so) think we run into eachother a bit more personal then internet before, but reading all the information it would be hard for me to think you are 30? 15 or 16 would be my guess, insult not intended, just a logical conclusion I made.

    Are you mailing me as I would like to have a word with you? Your mailing system only allowed 250 characters :(
    Bob

    OMG, CREEPY!!!!!!!!

  178. Wowbagger, Madman of Insleyfarne says

    Just piss off, Bob Stevensson. You’re a barely coherent moron with nothing to say; all you’re good for is giving shit to.

  179. says

    @Ing,

    What, exactly, did I say that got you so upset? If it’s about dyslexia, I am dyslexic, and my mother handled it by teaching me how to read through phonics. I sometimes have episodes when I’m tired, but for the most parts I’m good.

  180. you_monster says

    crissakentavr,

    People who go after ‘crazy’ as ableist are just selecting whatever word you used as a cudgel to raise their position in the pecking order. It’s a very simple and frustrating social signaling.

    Has it ever occurred to you that some people say things because they believe them, not just to “raise their position in the pecking order”? Maybe it is a foreign thought to you, but don’t project your intentions onto others.

    But, of course I can’t actual be disagreeing with your point, right? I am just making this comment to raise my status around here.

  181. Rasmus says

    @mythusmage

    Oh. It’s you again. Have you returned to share more of your brilliant insights on the subject of activism, like the ones you casually left behind in the #NudePhotoRevolutionary comment thread?

  182. says

    @rasmus

    Why no, I’m here to annoy and bedevil you because you’re easy to rile and upset.

    Besides, I find the people around here interesting and easy to chat with.

  183. ahs ॐ says

    mythusmage

    Besides, I find the people around here interesting and easy to chat with.

    On that note, I left another message for you but you may have missed it.

    Or you may have ignored it. Which is fine. It’s just that I can’t tell the difference. If you don’t respond this time, I’ll try to stifle the urge to bug you about it again.

  184. says

    (Listening for an echo…) “HELLO!!!”

    (echo re-verbing…) ((((‘hello,…hello,…..hello’))))

    Yep,..it’s a’workin’

  185. you_monster says

    Why no, I’m here to annoy and bedevil you because you’re easy to rile and upset.

    No one likes a troll.

    Your not supposed to admit that your goal is just to piss people off for your entertainment. You are doing it wrong.

  186. pHred says

    Okay not sure if commenting is on / off – really weird
    I don’t remember signing into anything today

  187. daisydeadhead says

    If I’m logged in, where is my stealie?? I need my Deadhead logo, or my personal expression is being limited!!!! That’s MY religious symbol, equal time, equal tiiiime!

    Really, wondering where it is.

  188. truebutnotuseful says

    @Rasmus: Did you see this bit of mythusmagic from the Rick Perry thread?

    The Left is convinced that a black man would be best in the office of President of the United States, but Obama is not that black man.

    So along comes Herman Cain, who has the draw back of being conservative, but the bonus of being black. He also makes sense, and promises to correct the errors of the Obama administration. But how to support a Cain candidacy without seeming to support a conservative?

    Make wild and unconvincing accusations against him. Cain gets to shine compared to the bloviation now swirling around, the Left gets to deny their covert support for the man. By making the accusations so early in the pre-nomination race, and making them so wild and unconfirmable, the Left makes it just about impossible for any substantial charges to make any headway later in 2012. They get .plausible deniability, Herman gets further support for the right and the center and his candidacy is bolstered.

    Positively brimming with WTFitude.

  189. you_monster says

    Wow, reading through the Rick Perry thread, I realize I was too pleasant to mythusmage.

    Where the groping incident is concerned, while the woman in this case identified her assailant as Herman Cain, I have to wonder if it was indeed Cain, and not somebody who identified himself as Herman Cain.

    Fuck off you piece of shit.

  190. Rasmus says

    There may be a generational gap here, but I know of rule 34. But it doesn’t matter, because stockings would not be sex signals per se even if every piece of porn ever made was stockings porn.

    You sound like you have changed your tune a little bit about #NudePhotoRevolutionary. I’m curious, how do you decide which position to take on an issue?

    Spare me the passive aggressive stuff.

  191. ahs ॐ says

    BTW, you can make comments at the original.

    Again, if you’re going to hang out here, we’re going to make fun of you here.

    For our convenience.

  192. you_monster says

    Kamaka,

    Groping is not “sexual harassment”, it’s sexual assault.

    You are right. Thank you for pointing out my error. What a gaff. And I was making my point against someone minimizing sexual assault. Fuck me.

  193. says

    @ 393

    “Child molester”.

    This is the term the media has been using as of late for child rapists.

    So it is a process of downgrading:

    Groping=Harassment

    Rape=Molesting

    It’s a despicable re-imaging of the most heinous of crimes.

  194. davelatchaw says

    Just a cheap trick to get the lurkers to check in, I’ll bet. Well, it worked. (via google)

  195. Algernon says

    Hello. I’ve been busy. Really busy. I will continue to be busy for a while. I’m just checking in to see if I can log in.

    Is Chris here the same annoying guy who got into it with NtB on some thread? Man, I hate people who try too hard to show off their skills. I mean, if you make a decent salary off of it then that should be enough. Seriously. It’s just work. Like digging holes, designing layouts, teaching kids, or assembling parts… everything has some skill set.

    Damn people who flap their traps about gear and skills are almost as bad as people who won’t shut up about their religion.

  196. you_monster says

    It’s a despicable re-imaging of the most heinous of crimes.

    When I heard Sandusky refer to child-rape as “horsing around” I almost vomited. I forget which show he was on, I just saw a clip, but that interview was one of the creepiest things I’ve seen.

  197. says

    Kamaka, good observation. Whatsisname, Moynihan? Called that “defining deviancy down”–which should not be taken as an endorsement of anything else he said or did. (But I love alliterations and never forgot that term.)

    Okay, read the thread. I see now. My stealie logo is WordPress. I will have to log in with something else. :(

  198. Night Witch says

    . . . and now that I have delurked, i feel compelled to comment!

    @you_monster and Kamaka,

    As I see it, this is an important part of the social set-up that perpetuates rape culture – no one wants to call rape rape, or assault assault, because if we did so in all cases it was merited, then the full extent of the problem would become apparent (or at least, significantly more obvious). While I don’t think anyone goes around thinking, “Yay, let’s keep the rape incidence up,” I think being forced to really see the scope of the problem is something that most people shy away from, really. I mean, if you really turn over the rock on rape culture, we kind of all have to sit and think, “Have I contributed to this?” And given that to some level we are all involved in a culture that makes rape possible and invisible, I think for most people there are going to be thing that they wonder about.

    I’m not saying that this would be bad – actually I think it’s critical if we really want to address the problem. I just don’t think its going to happen unless many people are willing to be more introspective than they already are. And more willing to change.

    Suckily, this had the double whammy side effect of – (1) Victims have to sit there and wonder . . . “was it really rape? was it really that bad? maybe its me and I am weak and horrible . . . maybe i shouldn’t care . . . ” And the auditing if you tell anyone, the self doubt and isolation can be a very bad thing all on their own. Sucks, big time. It can be hard to make people listen if you don’t fit their idea of the cultural narrative. – (2) It disappears the problem, meaning that no one tries to make important systemic changes. Which sucks for future victims, and everyone, really.

    Sorry for the TL; DR, and I realize this is probably 101 type stuff, and you all almost certainly are capable of articulating it better. But I have been lurking for a few months, since Elevatorgate really, and I was really impressed how that was handled. Just wanted to try to live up to that! :)

    Anyway, back to lurk-dom!

    Night Witch

  199. Night Witch says

    ETA: Err, I mean, how Elelvatorgate was handled in terms of stomping on MRAs and sexists, and some really awesome explanations of why this was important to think about. Plus the stomping was pretty impressive to behold!

    -NW

  200. says

    @391,

    I listen to what people have to say, and be it convincing I change my mind. Mom always told me, when you’re in the right defend yourself; when you’re in the wrong, correct your error

  201. says

    Some people use terms like “harassment” and “groping” because they don’t want to upset people. I say it’s bogus and it needs to stop.

    People get raped and abused all to often and I think it’s damn time we got our minds off drugs and back on the harm people commit on each other.

    Rape hurts people.

    Abuse hurts people.

    Isn’t it time we put some real effort into fighting them both?

  202. says

    @ Night Witch

    As I see it, this is an important part of the social set-up that perpetuates rape culture – no one wants to call rape rape, or assault assault

    The christers don’t want to call sex sex. That’s where all this trouble begins. The christer’s extortionist sin scheme leaves the believers unable to discuss normal biological functions.

    And if normal biological functions can’t be discussed, well, rape is far outside the realm of consideration.

  203. you_monster says

    mythusmage,

    Does it give you jollies to accuse a black man of crimes?

    This one made me literally laugh out load. My cat was scared off.

    If you scroll up just 8 comments from your accusation, you will find me denouncing the child-rapist Sandusky.

    Your point about having to wait for a trial before you apportion any aprobrium is stupid. I’ll repeat my Godwin from the thread on Sandusky:

    People should be careful about condemning Hitler like they do. After all, Hitler killed himself before he had a chance to defend himself in court. What right to we have to denounce him unequivocally when he is still presumably innocent?

    People are allowed to weigh the evidence available. Multiple people coming out accusing the same person of sexual assault is pretty compelling to me. Obviously, there needs to be a trial before legal repercussions, but my condemnation does not carry the weight of incarceration and so does not carry the same stringent burden of proof.

    Does it give you jollies to accuse people that call you out on your idiocy of racism?

  204. you_monster says

    And again, piece of shit mythusmage, this quote needs some explaining (or rather it should be withdrawn and apologized for),

    Where the groping incident is concerned, while the woman in this case identified her assailant as Herman Cain, I have to wonder if it was indeed Cain, and not somebody who identified himself as Herman Cain.

    Yes, I am sure the multiple people who were assaulted by Herman Cain were all mistaken about who it is that fucking groped them.

    Why demand evidence if you will just assume the person giving it is lying? It is disingenuous.

  205. ahs ॐ says

    @388 and 389,

    Does it give you jollies to accuse a black man of crimes?

    You must be truly stupid || I’m this close to deciding that you really are nothing but a troll, mythusmage.

    I want you to go google for the discussions at Pharyngula about Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Julian Assange being accused of rape.

    Look at who took the accusations seriously: mostly socialists and liberals who support Wikileaks.

    Do you get it? These are men who we’d rather not think of as rapists. Politically, they are supposed to be our allies.

    We still took the accusations as prima facie believeable, because, empirically speaking, false accusations of rape are quite rare.

    From a Bayesian standpoint, it is likely that Julian Assange is guilty.

    From a Bayesian standpoint, it is likely that Dominique Strauss-Kahn is guilty.

    From a Bayesian standpoint, it is likely that Herman Cain is guilty.

  206. Night Witch says

    @Kamaka

    Hmmm… I think you are right. It becomes impossible to have a meaningful discussion about anything if you are constantly trying to talk around the matter at hand. Also, sometimes I wonder if many xtians don’t allow their feeling that sex (especially women having sex) is a serious enough moral wrong itself that it obscures their ability to see what is wrong with rape. I mean, if they think sex itself is evil, so evil many define it as original sin, issues of consents surrounding it are going to get obscured.

    Which should be lesson in how FUCKING STUPID it is to define normal body functions as stupid. Tell me, religion is benign how???

    **headdesk**

    This subject fucking frustrates me because I feel like so often, every single conversation on rape/ rape culture has to start at square one, where the entire theory must be re-derived from scratch. And it is very hard to make progress that way, and this is one issue where progress is very very much needed! Grrrr!

    Anyway, thanks for the reply!

    NW

  207. cmv says

    Janine – For what it’s worth, it only took a few seconds to change the nym I was posting under from cmv to Vince and back. You could still use all of your funky monikers here, then simply drop them when you post on the other areas of FTB.

  208. crissakentavr says

    Calling someone crazy is weak and simplistic, yes. And it can be used to demean or make a hostile environment for those who have trouble with coherent thought.

    But on the other hand… All the responses to me were insults. What would be the point of asking if English is my first language? Anyhow: You can disagree. I said it was contentious, which rather implies that people will disagree. But picking at people’s words and not their arguments is a high sign of trolling, not skepticism. Same for using insults.

  209. Thomas Sea says

    Testing out with wordpress.

    1, 2, 1, 2…

    “Three comes next”

    Okay! 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29…

  210. chigau (本当) says

    crissakentavr
    The point of asking if English is your primary language was to determine if your apparent lack of understanding of “how words can hurt” is due to a language problem or stupidity.

  211. ahs ॐ says

    But on the other hand… All the responses to me were insults.

    That’s not true. Carlie didn’t insult you either, nor did you_monster.

    I’ll insult you now, though: you’re a whiner and a bullshitter.

    But picking at people’s words and not their arguments is a high sign of trolling, not skepticism. Same for using insults.

    That’s not true either. Plus, you’re bullshitting here too. Carlie addressed your argument, as did you_monster, and so did I.

    I’m sorry you interpreted all criticism as insults, crissakentavr, but that’s really your fault, not ours.

  212. says

    Seems to work.

    Oh, and Chris: We care not about civility here, be-horned “collector” of pneumatic mistresses. Should our roughness offend, we as a collective invite you to depart, on the condition that you not permit your posterior to contaminate our fine doors.

  213. ahs ॐ says

    Monado

    I’m still fighting with the WordPress login. Supposedly I have a commenting account and a blogging account with different passwords, but I can’t get the commenting account to recognize either password. You may not hear from me again.

    Apologies if this is a silly question, but did you try making a whole new account just for FreethoughtBlogs Pharyngula, using this link?

    https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/wp-login.php?action=register

  214. What a Maroon says

    Would anybody care for a Spanish song or two? Much more ritmo than those German thingys and we can FIESTA

    Por un beso de la flaca yo haría lo que fuera….

  215. ChasCPeterson says

    I have to wonder if it was indeed Cain, and not somebody who identified himself as Herman Cain.

    on accounta they all looks the same ta me, dontchaknow

  216. you_monster says

    crissakentavr,

    Calling someone crazy is weak and simplistic, yes. And it can be used to demean or make a hostile environment for those who have trouble with coherent thought.

    But on the other hand… All the responses to me were insults. What would be the point of asking if English is my first language? Anyhow: You can disagree. I said it was contentious, which rather implies that people will disagree. But picking at people’s words and not their arguments is a high sign of trolling, not skepticism. Same for using insults.

    If you had made a racist comment and been called out on it, would you accuse those who chided you as “trolling you” or being unskeptical?

  217. vaiyt, the right leg of the Forbidden One says

    Login sucessful, as expected.

    Spamming is supposed to prove what, again? If spambots were a mark of anything approaching programming prowess, our e-mail inboxes would be proof that the ‘net is overflowing with geniuses.

  218. jasonhopkins says

    Sorry about idiotic script kiddies, I’ll do an audit on the site tonight and let you know about any vulnerabilities I find…

  219. Icaarus says

    This is a test of the new commenting system

    For the record the only problem I have with FreeThoughtBlogs is the lack of disqus support