The Battlefield & Warriors Blog is set up to allow anyone to comment, a good thing you might think.
Unfortunately, the blog has attracted an anonymous saddo, who has on several occasions left a block raft of words that involve text about 'wanting to die' (repeated over and over), the sort of thing that has the potential to upset visitors who's personal circumstances or frame of mind might not be in the best place. It also creates age viewing implications, with regards as to whether young people should be blocked from visiting.
I usually just mark it as spam, but this time, I have referred the most recent post to Google. Hopefully, they can do something with the IP address.
To prevent further intrusion, I have switched the blog settings so as to only allow Google account holders to comment, which identifies posters and prevents anonymous posting.
Most of those who usually comment are signed in with Google, so that will be fine, but it will catch a few legitimate visitors who are not signed in via Google - sorry about that! I will keep it under review.
I'm not quite sure why these people exist .... play some games!
[EDIT - As an aside, I note that with ongoing Blogger technical problems this post has taken over 24 hours to publish and so will have already fallen off some viewers reading lists, adding to my diminishing interest in the platform].
My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’ (link below) is not affected, and normal posting will continue there.
Too bad that SPAMMERS are causing you to change commentary but understandable.
ReplyDeleteHi Jon, this is not typical spam, no links or otherwise potential for gain and I have not seen it anywhere else, it seems more like a personal attack on the blog.
ReplyDeleteHi Norm - so sad that even our little niche hobby corner of the world has to deal with this kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteHi Steve, yes, I think that is the nub of it. We know the toxic nature of how social media can be used, but our little corner of the internet is usually spared that.
ReplyDeleteNow I feel better about spammers! Hopefully for you that there won't be a repetition and for him to get help.
ReplyDeleteHi Ross, I had missed the point that marking an 'anonymous' as spam has no impact on preventing a return by the same person, as they are in effect 'invisible' the spam tool, so the effect is not different than simply deleting that post.
DeleteI rarely go into settings, so I had forgotten that 'anonymous' visitors can simply be blocked, a shame because I have had many legitimate anonymous visitors in the past who have strengthened the post by their comments.
Also, Apples Safari browser has a thing called 'cross-tracking' switched on, which essentially makes you invisible to sites that want to track your internet use ..... such as Google! so some visitors then have the (slight) hassle of turn that feature off while they post and then turning it back on again (if they want to).
That is very sad and confronting Norm. I think that you have made the right decision and hopefully the individual receives or seeks out some help.
ReplyDeleteHi Ben, it is interesting how these things can play out. I have had around 5 of these exact same messages before and I basically just mark them as spam and move on, without impact other than annoyance at someone playing Keyboard Warrior, probably it is the cowardice of the the thing that irks most.
DeleteHowever, this time, at the end of some very long posts that have taken many of my hours to put together and with others in preparation (I probably need a rest from it), I have seriously thought about doing much less here and spending that time perhaps more productively. So the whole thing is pernicious, despite my own resilience to such.
So sorry to hear of youe experience. Unfortunately social media allows people with a warped perspective to unload their bile
ReplyDeleteHi Chris, thanks for dropping by, we are lucky that our little corner of the internet is occupied by like minded courteous people, where it is a comfortable place to spend hobby time and that, thankfully, remains the case, as I view this as an isolated matter.
DeleteI was once wisely advised someone showing unpleasantness is likely to be in your life for just a couple of minutes, but they are in some other poor soul's life 24/7.
Happy to see your updates and your comment got to me as I do wonder why someone would take the trouble to search blogs just to be such a bore. I pity those close to such an individual.
DeleteHi Chris, I think the responses to the post reflect overwhelmingly that our small patch of internet space is in good health. I've never really understood anyone who wants to suck the colour out of the day.
DeleteSpammers a real problem on blogs at times but hopefully you will be ok now Norm.
ReplyDeleteHi Donnie, I was a little surprised that the solution was so simple.
DeleteAwful for you and such a sad story. Your decision is correct, definitely.
ReplyDeleteHi Alan, I think we both reflect the 'joy' of wargaming in our blogs, so anything that flies in the face of that just seems strangely out of place.
ReplyDeleteWell that is very tedious for you. I mainly seem to attract spam from Thai gambling sites, which is a bit annoying but not disturbing like some death obsessed loon.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Martin, yes, I think tedious is about right, but today I am planning on putting some miles on the car and visiting a wargame shop, treating it like a show visit. Some toy soldiers to bring cheer, while the rest of the world does ….. what the rest of the world does 👌
DeleteGood choice Norm 👍
ReplyDeleteHi Matt, thought your recent game with George was splendid. Onwards and upwards I say, I just wish Blogger would get the latest bug sorted out. After 28 hours of not appearing, I thought this was going to be one of the random posts that simply disappear into who knows where😀
ReplyDeleteHi Norm,
ReplyDeleteEntirely understandable decision, Norm. It’s a real shame that a coward hides behind anonymity to drop that kind of garbage into a space built on shared enjoyment. Don't let it sap your passion for blogging—your posts and effort are always greatly appreciated by the community. Hope the wargame shop run yields some great finds!
Cheers, Andy
Hi Andy, thanks for the kind words. There is a post currently being worked on :-) Yes, the shopping did what shopping should do :-)
DeleteRegarding Blogger's problems, yes, some people experience this all the time. Their posts appear hours later—I'm frustrated by that myself! Or if other posts don't appear on my blog list on time, they get lost somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI also often go back to my blogs' follow list because posts do appear there late.
Commenting by logged-in users is also a good idea. Although even those 'logged in' sometimes end up in my spam folder, and I have to approve a comment from another blogger that our platform itself considers spam.
Hi Michal, yes, I am guessing most of us are having to get used to having to check back 36 hours for delayed posts on the off chance, though it sounds like some posts are getting through to some readers and not others, strange for a major Google platform, as is your visitor who ends up in the spam folder!
DeleteCome on Google, get it sorted!
For more years than I can remember, I've had comment moderation on due to the amount of spam that would attempt to be posted. Since then I rarely get any, which is of course good, but a sad indictment on todays society:(.
ReplyDeleteHi Steve, Each day I visit my dashboard and check comments to make sure that a spammer has not visited a post from say 2 years or 4 years ago, which might otherwise pass under the radar.
DeleteIn this instance, the problem with moderating would be that I would still get to see what the anonymous spammer has to say, while blocking anonymous posters means that I don't.
An irritating issue to have to deal with Norm but definitely not a reason to stop posting your interesting and entertaining insights
ReplyDeleteHi Keith, kindly words, the raft of positiveness here, is such a contrast to the spammer's output, it simply amplifies the strangeness of that posters behaviour.
ReplyDeleteHow do people find the time and raise the effort to spam blogs, there is a dark corner of hell waiting for them, I'm sure! And bloggers really getting on my nerves at the moment!!
ReplyDeleteHi Ray, that old saying rings true 'the best thing about the internet is that everyone has a voice and the worst thing about the internet is that everyone has a voice'.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I can recall a time when Blogger has had the same ongoing tech issue for so long, usually a fix comes along after a few days. it certainly discourages putting a lot of effort behind a long post..
Sorry to hear about that nuisance.Perhaps the writing is on the wall for the "anonymous" internet? Once websites need to establish a user's age before giving access, the obvious route will be to require identification (like a Google log-in). On the flip-side there will be no privacy, but there's already CCTV in the high street, and I can always walk around with a ski-mask (in August) - and people will assume I'm up to no good. Just musing on the good and bad results of anonymity. Your blog has always been a good read, and I hope you get enough out of it to keep it going. All the best to you.
ReplyDeleteHi Dave, thanks for the thumbs up. I assume the tech companies are relying on big AI advances to monitor what is happening on the internet, with better precision.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, Mr. Anonymous had replaced the letter 'i' with the number '1', so die looked and read like d1e (the ski mask :-) )and then as this was typed (cut & Paste) repeatedly to give the comment repetitive volume, clearly it was an attempt to avoid internet detection tools.
I imagine we are not far away from such simple techniques being fully detectable by fast running AI and as you suggest, identity will by a matter of routine, be exposed.
Unfortunate that this is necessary, but it sounds like you have made the best decision under the circumstances Norm.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Aaron
Hi Aaron, I have been doing this since 2014 and this is the first time that being fully public has not worked for me, which if nothing else, brings a little perspective to things.
DeleteAnother gaming blog I'm aware of has one very crazy fellow who posts incoherent, hateful screeds on one thread from time to time. Unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteHi Vincent, well that's two of us, that might be enough for us to form a society! polite public interaction should be a central plank to a blog, can you believe that it is 3 years since we ran the Wavre campaign!
DeleteThree years! My goodness. I guess I can look on my grey hair as service stripes.
DeleteSensible option Nirm, unfortunate thst you had to do it, glad Im not having to comment annonymously like I did for a while!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Hi Iain and that is exactly the problem with the solution. It will not effect many, but when it does, it unfairly disqualifies the innocent!
ReplyDeleteI had to institute a Google only approach to comments as well, after a series of vile personal attacks from an anonymous account. It's sad that the people responsible for these things don't fall into a woodchipper frequently enough.
ReplyDeleteHi Kevin, the bravery of the anonymous at its most telling. Good that there is a working Google solution.
ReplyDeleteObviously you were having too much fun for someone. Hopefully you will find it less of a drag going forward.
ReplyDeleteHi Tom, out of sight is out of mind, just seeing decent folk now :-)
ReplyDelete