Monday, September 20, 2010

Not Fair!

When I first started blogging I got attacked unfairly a couple of times by anonymous bloggers. Being new to blogging, I felt that I had to defend myself. I spent hours (yes hours) composing a good reply to the unfair remarks. I was particularly annoyed that the person didn’t even have the courtesy to sign their name. As I spent more time blogging, it occurred to me that there was such a thing as a “Blog Troll”. The blog troll is a person that will say anything, even lies, without fear of retribution. The more annoying they become the more gleeful they get. Nothing makes them happier than to get into a persons head, and make them think that they have to defend themselves.

Some of the more experienced bloggers advised me to simply ignore the trolls, but, I found that a percentage of the people out there will believe the rantings of even the most insane person. The experienced bloggers told me that a certain amount of people will believe anything, right or wrong, credible or not, and that there would be nothing that can be done about it. I swore that I would never believe anything from an anonymous blogger. Later I started reading some of the more intelligent of the anonymous blog comments. I found some of them to be very wise and pertinent. So, I could no longer ignore the anonymous bloggers, but I very often wished that I could have the privilege of knowing WHO was so wise as to make some of the comments that I admired so much.

Very often, knowing who is making a comment will put it into context for you, when otherwise, it would make no sense. Some of that happened recently on my blog, where something completely innocent was taken as a death threat. Emails behind the lines flew, until everybody found out that a “choker” is a cable that a log is pulled with, and not very threatening at all. Funny how after we knew who the “death threat” was from, an old logger, it became quite humorous.

Sometimes you get to know a blogger by his/her “nom de plume”, or made up name, where they don’t reveal exactly who they are, but give you the courtesy of knowing that they are the same person that used that name the last time. When people just sign “Anonymous” nobody knows one from the other. Some of us spend a great deal of time trying to sort out who is who.

Most of the “nom de plume” bloggers are people that want to build a mirror identity. Usually they espouse some great cause or ideology. They think of themselves as Zoro. Batman, Superman, or some other anonymous crusader. If they see a wrong in the world, they whip out their false identity, put on their capes, sit down at their keyboards, and type as if the world depended upon their rantings. They set about righting all the wrongs in their silly little worlds. Usually they just cause turmoil. In my opinion, Nixon would have been exposed without “Deepthroat”, but who am I to say.

I admire people like Eric Kirk, Hank Sims, Fred Mangles, Rose, Dave Kirby, Bunny, and others that sign what they have say. Sorry to all of you that sign their names that I forgot, but I also admire you! The ones that I don’t admire are the ones that pontificate about others wrong-doings when they themselves don’t even have the-courage-of-their-convictions to sign their names. I don’t mind gentle opinions, but personal, named attacks, should be signed.

My grandmother often said that “you are the person that you would be, if nobody ever found out about the things that you do.” I often refer to the wisdom of my ancestors, and after a few un-signed attacks on me, I vowed that I would always sign my name to anything that I say on the blogs. If I say it, I sign it. You would be amazed at the things that I have thought about saying anonymously, but didn’t. In the end, I feel better about myself knowing that I avoided being mean, or hurting someone’s feelings. Sadly, I seem to think that “Anonymous” is fair game, because they have no personal investment in what they say. Incredulously, they seem to be insulted when I fly into them, like they were personally invested in an unsigned comment! Go figure, they take "Anonymous" personally, like that was their real identity!

Now, to the root of all of this rhetoric. An anonymous blogger (The Joe Blow Report) attacked Dave Stancliff for writing about the unfairness of doing a very vulgar demonstration at the funeral of a fallen soldier. Dave, a writer and a journalist, believes in free speech, above and beyond what the average person has even thought about. Many journalist agonize over what, and when, it is the right time to say things. Like, “You can’t shout FIRE! in a crowded theater”. An old cliché, but a good point. Dave spent a considerable amount of time, and gave a great amount of thought to the rights of the church group that demonstrated at the soldiers funeral. It was Dave’s opinion that the family of the fallen soldier had the right to a respectful, quite funeral, without disruptive disrespect. Many would agree, including the courts. But, the decision was overturned, and it is now going to the supreme court.

To add to the confusion, and possible unfairness, Dave is a veteran of “The war that didn’t happen” he was a soldier in Cambodia. The war that Nixon denied, the war that caused the Kent State riot, and the student deaths. I don’t know what demons that Dave still carries around with him, but I would guess that they are considerable. To have “Joe Blow” openly taunting him, from behind his cowards curtain of anonymousness, seems to be patently unfair. I think that the unfairness would be easier to swallow if he had the courage to sign his name. Don’t get me wrong, Joe Blow often makes valid points, but plain viciousness, for viciousness’s sake, is just plain unfair. Dave deserves respect. Even when you disagree with him.

If you want to familiarize yourself with this subject, please use the following links:
 Dave Stancliff, offers a reward for exposing the identity of "Joe Blow".
 The Joe Blow Report.
Free speech, maybe

44 comments:

Ross Sherburn said...

Thanks Ernie,I still have my tail,between my legs!!!

Mr. Nice said...

Ernie, I enjoy reading your tidbits of Eel River Valley history. Let me share some anonymous troll history.

1970s - 1983: Computers are mostly used by scientists. Folks like me know about computers mostly from Space Invaders.

1984 - 1993: 2600 begins. Normal people start buying computers with a 300 or 1200 to 56 hundred baud modems to dial up (and run) bulletin board systems AKA BBS. 95% of everyone uses pseudonyms or multiple pseudonyms. Even the sysops use pseudonyms when they call you on the phone and talk to you to verify your account. Except for the elite who verify by having one verified sysop verify them with another and so on. Like hookers weeding out cops. Like this for years. BBS covers every political subject from hacking to drugs to sex to drugs and hacking.

1994 - 1998ish: AOL takes over and millions of lamers start using computer networks.

1999-2003ish: People generally believe any type of random bullshit they read on the internet. Elite folks have fun trying and succeeding to get fabrications mistaken as real news and picked up by legitimate news feeds.

2003: 4chan begins. News networks wise up and stop posting internet stories. Myspace and friendster start up. People start having comments on their personal blogs.

2004 on: Total chaos.

I could care less who Joe Blow is. He writes in clichés. Good disguise unless he writes in clichés all the time. I also could care less who Ernie is.

Anonymously authored blogs are top rated. Professional blogs use authors with real-sounding pseudonyms. Only blogs written by non-electronic journalists care about this issue. Like Dave whatever his name is.

Fred Mangels said...

Don't recall seeing it lately but, what used to get me, was an anonymous blogger attacking another anonymous blogger for posting anonymously.

\ said...

Fake names totally blow.

Mr. Nice said...

Ernie, I enjoy reading your tidbits of Eel River Valley history. Let me share some anonymous troll history.

1970s - 1983: Computers are mostly used by scientists. Folks like me know about computers mostly from Space Invaders.

1984 - 1993: 2600 begins. Normal people start buying computers with a 300 or 1200 to 56 hundred baud modems to dial up (and run) bulletin board systems AKA BBS. 95% of everyone uses pseudonyms or multiple pseudonyms. Even the sysops use pseudonyms when they call you on the phone and talk to you to verify your account. Except for the elite who verify by having one verified sysop verify them with another and so on. Like hookers weeding out cops. Like this for years. BBS covers every political subject from hacking to drugs to sex to drugs and hacking.

1994 - 1998ish: AOL takes over and millions of lamers start using computer networks.

1999-2003ish: People generally believe any type of random bullshit they read on the internet. Elite folks have fun trying and succeeding to get fabrications mistaken as real news and picked up by legitimate news feeds.

2003: 4chan begins. News networks wise up and stop posting internet stories. Myspace and friendster start up. People start having comments on their personal blogs.

2004 on: Total chaos.

I could care less who Joe Blow is. He writes in clichés. Good disguise unless he writes in clichés all the time. I also could care less who Ernie is.

Anonymously authored blogs are top rated. Professional blogs use authors with real-sounding pseudonyms. Only blogs written by non-electronic journalists care about this issue. Like Dave whatever his name is.

Eric Kirk said...

Would that bloggers followed the basic rule that you don't say something online that you wouldn't say to the person's face. Unfortunately, the power of anonymity is a huge temptation. You say what you want and there's no accountability.

But, it's their right. And I do think that most people reading anonymous statements take them with an appropriate grain of salt.

Mr. Nice said...

Ernie, I enjoy reading your tidbits of Eel River Valley history. Let me share some anonymous troll history.

1970s - 1983: Computers are mostly used by scientists. Folks like me know about computers mostly from Space Invaders.

1984 - 1993: 2600 begins. Normal people start buying computers with a 300 or 1200 to 56 hundred baud modems to dial up (and run) bulletin board systems AKA BBS. 95% of everyone uses pseudonyms or multiple pseudonyms. Even the sysops use pseudonyms when they call you on the phone and talk to you to verify your account. Except for the elite who verify by having one verified sysop verify them with another and so on. Like hookers weeding out cops. Like this for years. BBS covers every political subject from hacking to drugs to sex to drugs and hacking.

1994 - 1998ish: AOL takes over and millions of lamers start using computer networks.

1999-2003ish: People generally believe any type of random bullshit they read on the internet. Elite folks have fun trying and succeeding to get fabrications mistaken as real news and picked up by legitimate news feeds.

2003: 4chan begins. News networks wise up and stop posting internet stories. Myspace and friendster start up. People start having comments on their personal blogs.

2004 on: Total chaos.

I could care less who Joe Blow is. He writes in clichés. Good disguise unless he writes in clichés all the time. I also could care less who Ernie is.

Anonymously authored blogs are top rated. Professional blogs use authors with real-sounding pseudonyms. Only blogs written by non-electronic journalists care about this issue. Like Dave whatever his name is.

Ernie Branscomb said...

I've got some weied things going on with my blogsite. First the comment by Mr. Nice keeps disapearing. I've re-posted it twice. He has some interesting comments and I want to keep them here.

When I go to Rose's or Fred's blog they are both stuck back in August, but if I click on the comments they are current.

I bet it's an anonymous virus.

Mr. Nice said...

Ernie, I enjoy reading your tidbits of Eel River Valley history. Let me share some anonymous troll history.

1970s - 1983: Computers are mostly used by scientists. Folks like me know about computers mostly from Space Invaders.

1984 - 1993: 2600 begins. Normal people start buying computers with a 300 or 1200 to 56 hundred baud modems to dial up (and run) bulletin board systems AKA BBS. 95% of everyone uses pseudonyms or multiple pseudonyms. Even the sysops use pseudonyms when they call you on the phone and talk to you to verify your account. Except for the elite who verify by having one verified sysop verify them with another and so on. Like hookers weeding out cops. Like this for years. BBS covers every political subject from hacking to drugs to sex to drugs and hacking.

1994 - 1998ish: AOL takes over and millions of lamers start using computer networks.

1999-2003ish: People generally believe any type of random bullshit they read on the internet. Elite folks have fun trying and succeeding to get fabrications mistaken as real news and picked up by legitimate news feeds.

2003: 4chan begins. News networks wise up and stop posting internet stories. Myspace and friendster start up. People start having comments on their personal blogs.

2004 on: Total chaos.

I could care less who Joe Blow is. He writes in clichés. Good disguise unless he writes in clichés all the time. I also could care less who Ernie is.

Anonymously authored blogs are top rated. Professional blogs use authors with real-sounding pseudonyms. Only blogs written by non-electronic journalists care about this issue. Like Dave whatever his name is.

Ernie Branscomb said...

From Mr. Nice

Ernie, I enjoy reading your tidbits of Eel River Valley history. Let me share some anonymous troll history.

1970s - 1983: Computers are mostly used by scientists. Folks like me know about computers mostly from Space Invaders.

1984 - 1993: 2600 begins. Normal people start buying computers with a 300 or 1200 to 56 hundred baud modems to dial up (and run) bulletin board systems AKA BBS. 95% of everyone uses pseudonyms or multiple pseudonyms. Even the sysops use pseudonyms when they call you on the phone and talk to you to verify your account. Except for the elite who verify by having one verified sysop verify them with another and so on. Like hookers weeding out cops. Like this for years. BBS covers every political subject from hacking to drugs to sex to drugs and hacking.

1994 - 1998ish: AOL takes over and millions of lamers start using computer networks.

1999-2003ish: People generally believe any type of random bullshit they read on the internet. Elite folks have fun trying and succeeding to get fabrications mistaken as real news and picked up by legitimate news feeds.

2003: 4chan begins. News networks wise up and stop posting internet stories. Myspace and friendster start up. People start having comments on their personal blogs.

2004 on: Total chaos.

I could care less who Joe Blow is. He writes in clichés. Good disguise unless he writes in clichés all the time. I also could care less who Ernie is.

Anonymously authored blogs are top rated. Professional blogs use authors with real-sounding pseudonyms. Only blogs written by non-electronic journalists care about this issue. Like Dave whatever his name is.

Ernie Branscomb said...

Eric said " most people reading anonymous statements take them with an appropriate grain of salt.
"


I take most things at face value then add my own credibility factor. A percentage of very sincere people are dead wrong.

Ol'Don de la Vega Troll Manriver said...

"Most of the “nom de plume” bloggers are people that want to build a mirror identity. Usually they espouse some great cause or ideology. They think of themselves as Zoro. Batman, Superman, or some other anonymous crusader
You have shamed me, un-masked me, exposed my ruse-- no longer will I go by the name of Zorro...I am Don Diego de la Vega...and I do not care who knows. Gracias.

odddlvmr said...

sorry, I left out the Diego, that could cause some confusion as to who I am.

\ said...

Taking what people say with a grain of salt has been proven to cause high blood pressure.

Rose said...

I agree, Ernie, The attack on Dave is unfair, and entirely strange.

odddlvmr said...

The version I heard was that you take the salt, but you don't ingest it, that's an internet myth for the gullible. You take the grain between your forefinger and thumb throw it over your left shoulder. Why the left, I dunno...I read it online.

Anonymous said...

Example here about what people believe. I worked at a sawmill where the local news gave the weather report from the local airport ( about a 1/2 mile from the sawmill )which the pilots used and then I tell someone on blog sites or e-mail what the local temperature is and they come back with I am not right. It is lalalala, They get the info from NOAA in Medford so they think I have the wrong local weather.
Don't always believe what someone writes, unless it is me.

Oregon

\ said...

Oh, that's the way you do it. Suzy stands corrected. I always thought I was supposed to throw what the person said over my shoulder. And not look back.

Ernie Branscomb said...

"Later I started reading some of the more intelligent of the anonymous blog comments. I found some of them to be very wise and pertinent. So, I could no longer ignore the anonymous bloggers, but I very often wished that I could have the privilege of knowing WHO was so wise as to make some of the comments that I admired so much."


See? I didn't say all anonymous bloggers are bad. (just the ones that disagree with me)

Anonymous said...

Dang!!! I have been considering changing my handle from Oregon to anonymous but I had second thoughts because Suzy wouldn't recognized me.

Zorroriver said...

oh no Suzy, I think you got it right, and I got it wrong...that would make more sense. As fer looking back...
I never got to thank you for the online therapy session (which got deleted here) in which you cured my Multiple Blog Personality Disorder almost entirely %100 per cent...now when I say stupid stuff, everyone knows it is just me, not some fictional person.
And more, I am sorry if I have abused your good name with misreadings and projectoring and sensational blog-stalking comments. Because of your deleted comments, (or what I thought you said), I had memory-recall of some of my "oiliest" memories with English teachers. I think their names were Miss Reading, and Miss Construe. My therapist thinks I am making good progress and some day will find out why I leave out prepositions and what Miss Spelling did to me.

As for the attack on Dave, that sucked!
That said,

dumbdiego de la river said...

nah, nevermind.

ImBlogCrazy said...

Thanks for your kind words Ernie.

I especially want to thank Rose for speaking up. We may not always agree on things, but I still respect her...now more than ever.

Thanks zororiver for your observation.

I agree with suzy blah blah: "Fake names suck." If this was a flippant remark because of her aka it's still funny.

You're right Eric, I should just ignor Joe Blow's rantings. It would be easier to do if he wasn't waging a year-long hate campaign against me with no end in sight.

I don't see Joe Blow here today. That's strange. I wonder why?

\ said...

I never got to thank you for the online therapy session (which got deleted here) in which you cured my Multiple Blog Personality Disorder

Like my grandmother always said, a little medicine makes the sugar coated world go down. And, a little poison is as important for everything as the letter "Z" is to the alphabet. You know, sometimes yours truly feels liken to drown herself in a river of Zorro too, specially as seeing as I've watched all my other dvds 10 or 20 times over... oh btw, I saw Gabby at Burning Man, his eyes were as big as saucers, the pupils that is. I asked him how he got there and he told me someone from the home had thrown him there, over their shoulder. Throne indeed, I said, your lucky your head wasn't offed.

Here's wishing you further progress with your therapist and that someday you find out and reveal to us just what misspelling did to you.

\ said...

I agree with suzy blah blah: "Fake names suck."

Actually I said they "blow", as in Joe Blow. But it's all the same, suck/blow, whatever. Maybe I should've said that "fake names blah", LOL! As my grandmother always said, "Don't throw the bathwater over your shoulder with your baby who's turned into a pillar of salt."

Ernie Branscomb said...

Thanks for clearing that up Suzy. I totally got the "blow" part. Maybe if you had Capitolized Blow, more people would have gotten it. You were just too subtle.

When you write something I always look for twenty different meanings, you are more fun to read than Shakspeare. That is, when you are not biting my typing fingers. You actually have a great sense of humor.

Z-olmanriver said...

Thanks (a Lot) Suzy, your laphorisms always ring true!

Fred Mangels said...

Ernie wrote, When I go to Rose's or Fred's blog they are both stuck back in August, but if I click on the comments they are current.

You might be getting a cached copy of our blogs for some reason. Try pressing f10 while reloading the page. That should get you the current page.

spyrock said...

i don't really mind if someone wants to be anon. that's what alcoholics anonymous is all about.
its good for people to get out of the closet and let it all hang out. i started out on the 49er board. people would clone screennames and make it seem like a 49er fan was putting down his own team. we had some great battles online with ram, cowboy, and packer fans. spyrock was actually a personna crafted after an old sports announcer on knbr 680am. his name was pete. he was a crusty old boy. i've toned down my act quite a bit from those days. but i'm used to competition and different points of view. bring it on. i became friends with a lot of the fans from those other teams. its all good.

Anonymous said...

Do you mean there are really Ram fans?

Oregon

\ said...

If everything were won, what would be too?

Robin Shelley said...

If there is a too, would it be free?
Sign me,
Too Lazy to be Anonymous

Ernie Branscomb said...

Suzy
If everything were "won", "too" would be won silly! In fact, "silly" would be won.

Jack Kerouack and his buddies would get stoned and come up with questions like that. The answers are really simple, but they would "expand" their minds, with that funny stuff, beyond the simple answer. When the answer was so real that you could hit it with a hammer.

\ said...

Robin, I'm with you. there may be a too or there may not be, but the practical thing to know is --how does it feel?

Ernie, but in reality, of course, we all know that "silly" isn't won. That's why I say that this newage Won-ness doctrine is silly. We're all Won, bah! LOL! That's an impossibility that only some loser as stoned as Kerowacky could have come up with. Didn't anybody bother to think of who'd lose? I guess that's the ugly side that's best left hidden. I hope I'm not losing you Ernie but what you're saying is that there would be two winners. Because if too was won then somebody won too. And the way I see it, if somebody won too, that means that somebody won also. So then somebody else must've won as well. That's at least two winners, somebody and somebody else. That's a fact that nobody can get around. It's as clear as to and to equals fore. But, the big question that arises in one's mind is ... Is everyone fore also? Or is there somebody behind, too?

\ said...

Kero wrote this portrait of another loser, or as some may have it, another great american while while he was (apparently) stoned. Best to drink your evening brew before you click the link.

Ernie Branscomb said...

So, even a stoped watch is right tooice a day. All is well...(That ends well)a very fitting tribute to the "end" of Charlie Parker.

However, if "fore" is "too", "fore" is also "won" like "too". So all is still "won".

\ said...

Bird is right eternally, imho.

\ said...

and too, there's always a two, because there's no such thing as "one". Kerouac's poetry was as innovative a literary form as Parker's inventions were to jazz. Both were great men worthy of being admired. Both were great americans who left us an abundance of the best art of the 20th century.

Ross Sherburn said...

If you folks would talk about Garberville,50 years ago,I might have a"clue"???

spyrock said...

they are talking about beatniks in north beach fifty years ago. took my cousin penny out for her 70th birthday. i have a bunch of relatives born on the 19th. lisa, luke, penny and annie. you would like her politics. she thinks sarah palin is real smart. i told her about our aunts mother being killed up in garberville by frank asbill back in the late 30's and then told her that he wrote a book part of which wound up in genocide and vendetta. i would tell her stories from it and she would finish it for me. so she must have heard those stories before. she said that great grandma simmerly used to scare the crap out of them telling them stories about when she was a little girl in cahto hiding under bushes when they were attacked by indians.

spyrock said...

then she said she was an indian. sharp features, turned real dark in summer. probably a breed. metis. biracial. not one, but two races. indoeuropean. one of susies chosen people. not one, but too.

Anonymous said...

Suzy, there is a "one". You maybe haven't heard of two/zero power.
And it was the same in the 50's Ross.

Oregon

\ said...

Well, it's a foggy morning and the ravens are squawking, I don't know too much about two/zero, or too/zorro either. But I soooooo know for sure --there's only one Oregon (my hero!) ... but I still hafta go do the chores.

huggles,
s

Robin Shelley said...

Yep. Suzy.