0wnz0red in Swedish
Tio år i Silicon Valley, och allt Murray Swain hade fått ut av det var en bilring, begynnande flint och ett liv som var ensamt och tomt och genomruttet. Hans enda vän i Kalifornien, Liam, hade förvandlats från en lönnfet programmerarformad potatis till ett levande skelett på dödsbädden ett år tidigare, med herpesblemmor i full blom över hela kroppen i brist på immunförsvar. Minnesgudstjänsten pryddes av ett inramat foto av Liam på examensdagen; hans kropp hade skänkts till vetenskapen.Link to HTML version, Link to PDF versionLiams bortgång hade verkligen sabbat allt för Murray. Han hade hamnat i en av de spiraler med klinisk depression som förr eller senare hade drabbat alla åldrande smarta unga kodare som han känt i datorbranschen. Ögonen blev fuktiga på morgonen vid andra kaffekoppen och när blodsockerkraschen inträffade på eftermiddagen satt han och grät tyst i sitt bås och klinkade slumpmässigt på tangentbordet för att dölja sitt motbjudande hulkande. Hans papperskorg svämmade över med använda näsdukar och det gick ett rykte bland kvällsstädarna att han var obotlig onanist. Det omöjliga i ryktet blev snabbt uppenbart för alla andra kodare på våningsplanet som, ständigt på jakt efter pr0n, hade utforskat omfattningen och gränserna för censurproxyn på huvudkontorets nätverk. Trots detta upprepades det med illa dold glädje i den kollegialt grabbiga atmosfären på arbetsplatsen och lustigkurrar envisades med att dumpa samlingar av miniatyrflaskor med handkräm som de stulit från konferenshotell på hans skrivbord.
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Ths mght gt mddd wy, bt hp nt bcs t s mnt s n hnst pc f crtcsm.
Cry, m fn f yr wrk. thnk y'r grt wrtr nd y cm p wth lt f rgnl ds. Tht sd...
BngBng sms t hv bcm fr y mstly PR vhcl fr yr strs. 'm sr y r bsltly thrlld vry tm n f yr strs gts trnsltd nt nthr lngg, bt t m, t jst sms lk ndlss slf-ggrndzng.
'm sr y dn't mn t cm ff tht wy, bt t sms lk ltly, vry thr pst y mk s bt smthng y wrt nd t mks BB fl lttl lk n d fr yr wrk.
gss t wldn't bg m s mch f y ddn't ls hv yr wn blg fr ths, bt fl lk 'm bng dvrtsd t *N* th psts s wll s *RND* th psts ltly.
gn, dn't mn ths n ny srt f nsty wy nd m nt tryng t trll. t's n hnst pc f crtcsm. hp t dsn't ngr y t mch.
Flying Squid, I'm sorry you feel that way. Boing Boing contains EXACTLY the same proportion of stuff I'm involved with to stuff I'm interested in (and the two have a lot of overlap, as you might imagine) as it always has.
When something happens, I blog it. When I find something interesting, I blog it. This past week, I blogged 55 items. Of those, one post was about a story I wrote; one post was a link to an article I wrote (the kind of thing I often write for Boing Boing, but this happened to be for the Guardian), one was about a comic strip that had me in the punchline (a strip about an earlier BB post).
What's more, in the case of translations, it is generally that case that Boing Boing readers who aren't native English speakers weigh in in the comments to say that they're excited to discover a translation in their native tongue. I assume your native tongue is English. It's not surprising that you don't care about material being translated into Swedish. However, I'm guessing that if you were Swedish and had to do 95 percent of your reading in English, finding a Swedish translation of a work writer you read every day in English would be pretty good news. Certainly, that's what the Swedes who've written to me today said.
That said, out of 55 posts, we have one post about a project a Boing Boing reader did with one of my stories; one article about the kind of thing I often write about on Boing Boing, and one comic by a Boing Boing reader, about a Boing Boing post, that uses me as a punchline.
Boing Boing is where I (and the rest of the gang) post about the stuff we care about and that interests us. Within that category (naturally) is the stuff that we, ourselves, do.
This isn't a new state of affairs on Boing Boing -- go back to the archives, pick random weeks from the past seven years, and you'll find just about the same ratio of personal projects, projects we found on other blogs, reader-submitted projects, and followups. Thus it has ever been, thus it will ever be.
It's fine with me if you don't share those interests. I assume that if you don't find enough of this stuff interesting, you'll read something else. No hard feelings. But we started Boing Boing and have always written Boing Boing as the place where we can choose any topic, in any depth, with any frequency, without wheedling an editor for permission.
That is the fundamental nature of an independent blog, and what makes it different from a magazine. Magazines figure out what an audience wants and commission articles to fill that need.
But we've never done that and we never will. We write about the stuff we love and hope that people who love the same stuff will come along. What belongs on Boing Boing is the stuff we care about -- not the stuff you want to see (unless it's the same stuff).
The way to get me to write to your spec is to start a magazine and commission me. But on Boing Boing, we write to our own pleasure, about the subjects we care about, in whatever way we please. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Fair enough. Thank you for the response. Again, I meant it with no ill will.
rlz ths s mr gnrl rspns, s srry f m ff-tpc. n prvt mlng lst ths tpc cm p. frnd f mn rpld nd sh smmd t p th bst:
"'m nt sr why 0wnz0rd ws nmntd fr Nbl, bt cn s why t ddn't wn. fnd tht dn't wlk wy frm rdng Cry Dctrw hvng gnd nythng vlbl. t's vry snppy, clvr stry wth plnty f prgrphs f twnty prcnt jrgn tht hppn t ndrstnd bt tht ctrs t vry nrrw dnc nd prvds vn thm wth hrdly mr thn n ccsnl chckl f rcgntn. Thr s n hmn pnt, n nsght. (Th d f cntrllng r bds' fnctns spttrd t wtht gng nywhr nd s srt f drts-t-pst-ts plt d nywy).
Th rsn h s sch n ntrnt ht s bcs h s n ntrnt wrtr. Tht's hs thng. Th bst scnc fctn wrtrs, thgh, fgr t wy t cnvy th d tht thr scnc, (ftn, thgh nt ncssrly, mr brd r cncptl), ts nt n r mr fndtnl spcts f th hmn cndtn, s wll s tyng nt thrs flds f stdy. Wrthwhl rt nds t b n sm wy nvrslly ndrstd, nd ndrstd t b n sm sns tr.
T thnk f ppl wh wn th Nbl, lk Frnk Hrbrt, sc smv, Lrry Nvn, rsn Sctt Crd, s t thnk f whl dffrnt rdr f wrtr. vn f y cnfn yr cmprsn t wthn th cybrpnk spctrm, Dctrw cnnt wrt n th lvl f yr Wllm Gbsns nd Nl Stphnsns. Th fct th h wn th lssr wrds tht h dd s jst cmmn cs f crtcl rrr. Hs ntrnt prsnlty nd nnfctn wrk prplld crtcs t gv hm mr thn hs d n n ffrt t pblcly rcgnz th nw wv. Crtcs nd wrd-gvrs mk mstks.
dn't knw. 0wnz0rd sms qvlnt t vry wll-plshd ppr lvl ndrgrdt stdnt's stry. Th chrctrs sm n th srfc t b rl- thy mv nd tlk nd rct th wy rl prsn mght, f xggrtd- bt thr sn't rlly nythng gng n nsd thr hds, nd th nly prps f ny scnc n th stry s t gv th mpty ppl smthng t d nd tlk bt. ndrstnd h ss hs wrk s yt nthr vn fr hs ntrnt ctvsm, bt h nds t stck t nnfctn."
Frgv m f t sms lk trllng. flt lk t ws blncd crtcsm.
Dr Cry, nd dr Flyng Sqd:
Dn't tk bck wht y sd qt s fst, Sqd. Y shldn't b ntmdtd lk tht; y sd smthng rl.
Cry, Sqd s syng wht lts f s fl. hv bn rdng bngbng snc ppr dys; my zn nd bng bng wr ftrd n rndp n th ld dys f fctsht fv, f ny f s cn rmmbr tht fr bck.
Y hv yr wn blg. Tht's th prpr plc fr pstngs lk th n Sqd wrt t y bt. t, lng wth mny ths, m sck f rdng hw y'r nmntd fr ths r tht. W dn;'t rd bngbng t fllw yr crr; w'd rd yr blg f tht ws r ntnt. Tht's wht prsnl blgs r fr. Bt Bngbng s mnt t b rndp f dvrs srcs. Tht's wht hs lwys dstngshd t frm s mny thr "prsnl' blgs tht jst dtl "n Mn's Mt," s .b. Wht sd t cll t.(Smthng tlls m y cld sy tht wth strght fc nt h 1930's).
nywy, whn n s n pstn f pwr r thrty s, lk t r nt, y r hr, t rspnd t smn's gntly vcd crtcsm wth gnt mllt, s y dd t Sqd, s n pr tst. Yr rspns ws wflly lng nd wflly dfnsv.
smpl "srry y fl tht wy, ld chm," cpld wth myb sm thnkng bt t fr myb mnt r tw, whthr r nt y ndd p grng, wld hv sffcd ncly, dn't y thnk?
Pls cntn t pst ll th wsm lnkd y fnd n yr xcllntly wll-cnnctd lf. Bt pls dn't snd s nws bt vry nmntd r trnsltd stry. Pst t n yr wn blg nd lt bng bng cntn t srch fr nd wd fr sgnls frm tr spc, whch t ds s wll. nd whch y d wll t.
Lv, lngtm rdr.
I just read the English version of your Nebula award nominated story. I was so intimidated from seeing it in the Swedish language that, at first, I did not realize you had provided a link. That's the first time I've read a story of its kind and I found it fascinating. Of course, I was looking for more at the end. I thought it might be an excerpt to a novel you are writing? Anyway, it was a great short story and quite descriptive. It's always good to glimpse into another world one doesn't know much about...thanks for sharing.
Squid, evidently someone here got even angrier than I did, because your comment appears to have been deleted almost as soon as I finished disemvowelling it. Sorry about that. One of the things MT can't do is reinstate a deleted (albeit in this case disemvowelled) comment in its proper place in the sequence.
The other disemvowellings? No apologies. Some of those readers will be finding themselves temporarily unable to comment. If so, they should check back in either three days or one week to see whether their posting privileges have returned. I'd have sent them individual letters telling them what was going on, but the network I'm using this weekend isn't on speaking terms with my FM mail account.
So far, the single angriest reaction to this thread was by someone who has no access to the BB/MT user interface. It's posted on Making Light.
I didn't see the initial comment, but for heaven's sake...do people know how unusual it is to blog about ANYTHING but one's own life?
As PNH commented (paraphrasing) complaining about the free ice cream is way out there on the wacky fringe.
It's okay, Teresa. As I said in the original, it was an honest criticism and no malice was meant by it, so if it was deleted, so be it. I'm sorry it caused such a big flap and a headache for you.
re: disemvoweling - I'm sure this isn't the first time you've heard this Teresa, but wouldn't something like this be better for problem posters?
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/6339/viewcommentyk3.gif
t's fnny, rlly. f YTb thrtns t rvk yr blty t pst, BB dtrs pst bt t lk t's vltn f th cnstttn. Yt hr thy r, hpply scrnng thr wn cntnt fr vn lss rsn thn YTb.
t lst YTb hd n xcs: thy cn b sd vr th stff thy'r rvkng. Wht's th xcs hr?
Cory, there was one rather amusing little note you missed in your explanation for why a blog is hardly comparable to a magazine. Not only is BB not a magazine with stringent rules and guidelines about what can or cannot be published here, not to mention a bottleneck of approval anytime something unusual comes up (so topical posts are posted...well, in a timely fashion) but there's the single-most important difference between "commercial, commissioned writing" versus this loverly blog of yours:
You don't charge us readers for the pleasure of sampling BoingBoing at our leisure and as many times as we might like.
And thank you for that. Please don't change!! Gads, can you just imagine the internet on a universal pay per view basis. Chaos, I tell you, sheer chaos. Ehhh...yeah. Not a viable business model.
Oh and CONGA-RATS on the new translations. That's always so exciting for a writer no matter how many times it happens. Enjoy the endorphin rush of the bask.
-sry
On a lighter note:
"I deedn't ifee meke-a it oooot ooff zee stete-a. Zeey cooght me-a in Sebestupul, tuuk me-a ooffff zee Greyhuoond in cooffffs veet seex goons oon me-a ell zee teeme-a."
"Zee deesks?"
"Zeey needed tu be-a soore-a thet yuoo gut reed ooff ell zee beckoops, thet zeere-a vesn't unytheeng steshed oonleene-a oor in a seffe-a-depuseet bux, thet zeey hed zee oonly cupy. It ves zeeur idea."
"Deed yuoo reelly get shut?"
"I reelly gut shut."
"I hupe-a it reelly foockeeng hoort. Um de hur de hur de hur."
"It reelly foockeeng hoort. Um de hur de hur de hur."
"Vell, guud. Bork bork bork!"
I don't understand why comments here are posted without vowels. They're really hard to read and don't add to the discussion. Also, some comments here seem to be missing. This strikes me as a really bad way to deal with honest criticism or host a discussion. If this is the way that BB manages their "discussion" then I'm sorry I bothered to sign up for an account.
Nonesuch, that's a pretty weird argument. The point isn't YouTube editing its comment streams (BB actually hired TNH to do that because their comment streams are -- weirdly -- otherwise so prone to vitriol that for a very long time indeed they were turned off entirely, since being threatened with rape and violence (as I understand the history; I wasn't here at the time) was a little too much for them). The point of YouTube censoring is that it's indicative of intellectual property thinking being too pervasive for the good of society. YouTube doesn't remove comments based on civility; they remove *posts* based on *somebody else's word* that they violate their IP rights.
If you can't understand that difference ... why are you here? How can Boing Boing interest you in the first place?
Changing the topic: I really don't understand why BB, one of the cooler places on the Tubes, is such a jerk magnet.
Automatt, if you couldn't read it, how could you tell it was honest?
Mostly because I know Scott through his work.
What a bizarre display.
If you don't want to read about Cory's books being translated, um... Just don't click on those titles in the RSS feed. I don't (came over to see what the hubbub was in this case).
As I've said before, Cory's posts are always fun to read, and he often has funny/interesting links to other things. When I disagree with him, I explain why. I think I've been disemvowelled a couple times, but I don't fret. It's not my blog!
Geesh, I don't even allow comments on most of the things I write around the blogoweb! I'm delighted to finally be able to discuss the "wonderful things" I've enjoyed for the last few years here at Boing Boing, and to have moderators who just seem to be doing a fantastic job keeping the discussions sane and interesting.
Who is Scott?
Thank you, Kyle.
Yeah, I don't understand the censorship stance either. I had a critical comment of a past BBtv comment deleted without really understanding why. Not such a big deal, but a bit in conflict with the ideals often represented by BB.
As far as I know, the only official "censorship" BB employs is the disemvowelling, which is used on rude and offensive comments. It doesn't get used on people who merely disagree or criticise. It's a pretty effective way of leaving text in place to read (with a little effort) while dampening down the inflammatory effect of the rudeness.
As to comments disappearing, why would BB's moderator do that, while also disemvowelling comments? For sure, it's a heck of a lot easier to just erase a comment than disemvowel it. Maybe the mystery of what happened to Flying Squid's first post will be resolved after the weekend.
Meanwhile, Cory, I know it's the weekend, but please post something shiny to distract the trolls....
Tamara R., my post was apparently deleted accidentally. I am sure it was not intentional as it makes Cory's post a little hard to understand. I am sorry I caused all this strife.
Nothing here is deleted accidentally or mangled accidentally. It's intentional.
Everyone starts off by deluding themselves that BoingBoing wouldn't do something so low, but we all eventually learn the truth.
Nelson,
You ask why they would disemvowel some and delete others? Probably because there are multiple moderators with different preferences. In fact, Teresa admits that it was probably deleted by someone else, because she was about to disemvowel it.
But why even disemvowel it? Flyingsquid seems really reasonable... whatever he said - we'll never know. He was at least measured enough that Cory decided to write him an eloquent explanation. And then flyingsquid was reasonable enough to accept the explanation.
Cory did the right thing. The answer to freespeech you disagree with is: more freespeech.
Disemvowelling is also very nasty. It prevents a large number of people from reading what may otherwise be a well reasoned argument...
It also is symbolically heinous. The word "vowel" is derived from the same word as "vocal." It's because vowels are the vocal, the voiced, part of words. Disemvowelling someone is figuratively robbing them of their voice. It's like holding their lips shut as they try to speak. I realize the word is cute... but the effect of "disemvowelling" is dramatic... and probably shouldn't have been used on flyingsquid or the other critics.
For the record: I don't care what Cory posts. For the record, I thought Cory's reply was spot on. But for the record: I don't think boingboing should silence those who they disagree with... especially when they purport to be anticensorship.
Tamara R. (19):
I find it particularly strange that you've posted without reading the thread.Nonesuch (23), I'm not feeling charitable enough to render your comment unreadable.
And a general comment: Why not leave up genuinely unpleasant posts? Because we're fooling ourselves if we pretend that we can completely control our experience of them via rational thought or formal debate. Really nasty posts give us a jolt every time we read them. They lower our spirits, discourage sensitive souls from commenting, and encourage dorks and trolls to essay further bad behavior.
Conflicting opinions are one thing. Casual brutality in public discourse is another. The latter doesn't enable good discussion; it stifles it.
I find it interesting that lots of people seem to be sensitive about Cory posting things that he is a part of, he's written, or are somehow connected to him and haven't mentioned any of the other BoingBoing posters. They all post things that they are a part of. They are the ones who get to decide what qualifies as wonderful to be included in the directory, and if it were me, I'd find my stuff pretty wonderful. So you're not a huge fan of Cory's work - don't read the posts. I don't understand the steampunk stuff, so I usually pass it over. When I go into a food court, I don't complain if there's a Chinese place, I just don't eat there. The variety of what's posted on BoingBoing is what makes this a great site, and why I keep reading. Where else can I read about Star Trek coffins and urns, jump into a religious discussion, and read a new talking point in copyfight?
Tamara @19: Disemvowelling does not prevent anyone from reading the comment. It prevents people from reading casually, but the comment, with all its nastiness, can be deciphered without a great deal of effort. Disemvowelling serves multiple purposes: as I said before, it distances the unpleasantness; it serves as a marker that what lies behind the veil is inflammatory so that one is not surprised by it; and it lets the commentator know that what they have written has been found wanting. For some, this warning drives them to greater meanness of spirit, before they fade away to bother some other, less well-defended forum; for others, it serves as a wake-up call to moderate their own behaviour. All in all, an elegant solution.
But in the end, we, the readers and commentators of this blog, do not own it. We have no right to impose our will upon it. It is Cory's and Xeni's and Mark's and John's and Joel's blog, and it is up to them how they treat their welcome and un-welcome guests. And the rules they attempt to follow are those of politeness, a not-at-all unreasonable approach. If we don't like it, we can go to some other party where they let the guests fight each other (and the hosts) with broken bottles and micturate on the furniture, if that's what we like.
Oops, second paragraph, third sentence of #27 should begin: It is Cory's and Xeni's and David's and Mark's and John's and Joel's blog [..] Sorry.
TimKuo #29:
This comment seems to be a kind of spoor of the hobby horse you and some others ride, comparing actions taken toward written comments on a weblog toward... well, I'm not sure what you are claiming that AT&T and YouTube are taking actions toward, or what the nature of those actions might be, since this generally goes unstated. The moderator's stated intention is to keep comment threads from becoming uncivil and unpleasant, and I'm pretty sure that's not a nuance that either AT&T or YouTube allocate resources for.
If you read the thread you will find a number of comments which disagree with the BoingBoing policy on handling of comments which disagree with the BoingBoing policy on handling of adverse comments.
If you read the first two the disemvowelled comments (either by reemvowelling them in your head or using external resources like software or pencil and paper) you will find that:
* One is a screed on the topic of "why Cory Doctorow is not a very good writer"
* Another tells Flying Squid that it's wrong to agree with Cory's response and apologize for the initial (and unfortunately missing) Flying Squid comment that was first in this thread. It further tells Cory that his response was awfully long and wordy, and that he (Cory) should not write so much about his own published work.
To me, those comments are uncivll and unpleasant and increasing the level of effort required to read them is a useful measure in the service of the moderator's stated ends. The secrets here are the nature of the misdeed you're trying to accuse Cory Doctorow of and your motivations for doing so.
TNKO: In the last 30 minutes or so (at least) no posts with numbers below 29 were deleted -- I know this because I have been writing a response to #29 (while multiplexing other tasks into the same wall clock interval) and the same comment is still at that number.
So what constitutes "just" in the sense of "just got deleted" in your terms?
Given how recently BoingBoing has added comments, we (the users) should be generous while they absorb the impact of having a truly interactive reader community. It'll probably take some time for them to work out the community's standards, processes, etc.
I do hope that the moderation of the community takes the high road of politeness (which Cory's response is admirable example) and doesn't make a habit of getting down into the trenches with the trolls. A moderator has a big impact on the tone a community. Taking a snappish tone legitimizes its use.
[Apologies if this gets posted twice... I was logged in when I started writing, but somehow ended up submitting it anonymously when I pressed "Post". So I decided to rewrite and resubmit it]
BoingBoing's SysAdmin here:
Apologies for the loss of Flying Squid's initial post. This was not an act of malicious deletion, but a fluke in how our antispam filtering works. When Teresa disemvoweled comment #1, the spamfilter decided that the post was, indeed, spam, and hid it from view.
I've since fixed the spam score and it is now back where it should be.
"Mi sister g0t bittin bi a m00se 0nce..."
BoingBoing is working hard to create a community and, to that end, are putting up with comments that I would happily delete from my own blog. A few points:
This is not a public place.
It is not the village green.
It is, in a sense, somebody's living room.
While commentary is allowed here and encouraged, it is not the same thing as the public square or public park. If someone is an asshole in your living room, you're entitled to think of your other guests. Your entitle to think about the kind of place you want your living room to be.
Free speech is not "freedom to speak your mind anywhere you want." Free speech is not "You must post my unpalatable comment in your well trafficked and popular blog."
Free speech certainly lets you go start your own blog and complain long, loudly, and vehemently about how your were treated here.
And you and your two friends can read it.
Timkuo (30), I'd be more impressed if you weren't a sockpuppet. That's why your comments are about to disappear. Tamara (36), you sitting there with a stopwatch, hitting "reload" over and over?
I'd be a lot more impressed if this thread had fewer sockpuppets in general. There are some of TheCynic's sockpuppets in here that I haven't seen in a long time.
To quote Kathryn Cramer, "There are many fewer people causing trouble on the internet than there seems."
Okay, now I'm all paranoid that y'all are tracking my movements from thread to thread. :(
I was thinking more about the two reasons you don't mud-wrestle a pig. One, you just get muddy, and two, the pig enjoys it.
That comment was made on the "Making Light" and I thought it was well put. BoingBoing is certainly entitled to have the the community tone it wishes... but I would wish for it to be moderated with a restrained, professional, & polite tone (or via a private email if that isn't possible). Arguing over who is a sockpuppet seems destined to lower the level of discourse :-/
Watch what happens when you delete the sockpuppets.
Flying Squid, tracking users is part of my job. I promise to use this power only for good.
Ethan, see the difference? That wasn't the Plain People of Boing Boing speaking. Most of it was one single solitary sockpuppeteer who's been making trouble for months now.
I know, Teresa. I was just kidding. You're doing a great job. :)
Wait, didn't I post here yesterday? I'm not a sockpuppet! At least, I don't think I'm a sockpuppet, although I was accused of it once in the olden days of spam fighting.
I'm so confused!
What? You're not a sockpuppet.
I don't know how or why your previous comment got suspended. It could be I did so in error, in which case I apologize. On the other hand, it could just be another burp in the software. Whatever it was, I've reinstated your previous comment.
Oh, that's what happened -- I was anonymous without realizing it. Do the cookies expire or something?
I was kind of looking forward to seeing how the other half lives, you know, Sockpuppet-Americans. The vocal minority.
Also: Automatt is defending Scott, who also trolls at Slacktivist? But we can't tell if Scott is Yeago or Nutkin -- aha, because Scott, Yeago, Nutkin, and Automatt are all the same guy (which explains how he knows himself at work)! Is Nonesuch also this guy?
Is there a libretto available, perhaps for a nominal fee?
"On the other hand, it could just be another burp in the software."
OT Teresa, I have been experiencing quite a few "burps" in whatever software BB is using. I'm not sure that I can characterize it or reproduce them but there are clearly some "annoyances" to be ironed out.
Oh, I am my own sockpuppet, so there.
48 comments and no mention of the fact that the name of the fanzine 'Enhörningen' means unicorn?
Cpt.America, part of the problem is our impending "update", which was hinted at on Friday. It has left a few systems in limbo, the "forgot password" functionality being one of them.
Noen, Feel free to let us if you run into any specific "burps" you'd like us to have a look at. I'd be happy to do so.
Barely any mention about the article itself in this thread, which is kind of sad. Maybe a place for meta-discussions would be good.
I was excited to see this, but it seems that the web server hosting the translation is down. :-(
Ken, I regret to inform you that Cpt.America is just another avatar of Stupid Sockpuppet Guy. Most of the sturm und drang in this thread, and a remarkable number of the participants, were his doing.
PAJP, Ben Roimola at Enhörningen has told me that his web hotel has, very unfortunately, picked this weekend for server maintenance, and for some reason this is taking a lot longer than expected. Hang in there.
Being labeled a sock puppet, though less dramatic, is like being labeled an enemy combatant.
Well, that's certainly dramatic.
So this about people who say that Cory shouldn't be able to say whatever he wants, who are complaining that they can't say whatever they want?
ThruthFictions(#51), I was wondering if something like that might have been happening. Years ago I had an online game that used hard drive serial numbers as a way of identifying users. It seemed clever (setting aside issues of privacy) since many users had dynamic IP addresses and couldn't be identified that way.
After banning a number of innocent people we learned that Gateway would initialized large numbers of hard drives simultaneously, resulting in them having identical ID numbers. Oops!
I have a suggestion for a new community management tool for handling suspected sock puppets. Rather than deleting all the posts from a suspected sock puppet, how about having a tool that would update them so they're identified as coming from the same user? If a post is offensive it makes sense to delete or deemvowelize it... but if it's just an issue of identifying who is the true author a lighter touch seems preferable.
@TruthFriction5 #55: Actually, it's people who are being rude who are being disemvowelled; the viewpoints are not the issue.
Funny how it's free speech when people want to be impolite and self-aggrandizement when Cory wants to talk about his book.
TruthFriction is just another one of the sockpuppets that have put on a show in this thread over the weekend. TF is now permanently banned, as are all his sibling sockpuppets. The person responsible for them is no longer welcome. If we spot any new sockpuppets or previously unidentified old sockpuppets created by that user, that identity's comments will be deleted.
Note to everyone else: Please don't be alarmed. It's taken a great amount of determined and malicious bad behavior by this user, plus his complete disregard of multiple warnings, explanations, and lesser disciplinary actions, for us to get to this point.
If you've been watching this thread, you may think you've seen a disturbing number of commenters having their posts disemvowelled or deleted. You may also think you've seen multiple users getting zapped for questioning or protesting those actions. It's an illusion. About 90%-95% of what you've seen has been the suppression of multiple sockpuppets created by one single guy.
It could be my imagination, but the last few comments look like an orgy of sock-puppet (self-)love... excuse me while I scrub that image out of my brain.... I hope you keep them up there as an example to others, Teresa.
Nelson C., for me the real monument is the number of comments the user interface says have been posted here, as opposed to the number displayed.
Congratulations, Cory! How many languages can I find your fiction in?
Forgive my confussion, but are some people upset that Corey and his BB kin are talking about their own stuff on their own blog? Isn't that the point of a blog?
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Congratulations on reaching those Nordic fans, Corey.
Cheers,
E
PAJP, and others interested in the Swedish translation of 0wnz0red can rejoice in that the server update is FINALLY over and the links mentioned in the original post are working again.
:)