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Trusting blog comments

If I publish a comment here I do so using my own name. I do not publish comments using another name. Comments are not moderated.

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  1. Michael

    Why would you bother using another name for comments?

    It can be proven if it comes to it, with the emails we enter and IP addresses.

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  2. Mark

    Unfortunately Michael not all blogs are operated this way. I wrote this blog post for the record.

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  3. Michael

    It’s been surmised before that because I comment here so often that you are me.

    Is there a blog fingerprint that can be used?

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  4. Jim

    Michael,

    I thnk Mark may be referring to another blog where the blogger seems to suffer from that curious condition of quintuple-schizophrenia in that he both authors the original blog and the subsequent comments.
    He seems to have about 10 pseudonyms with the same high level of illiteracy common in all of them.

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  5. ScottM

    I noticed the same thing Jim.
    I’ve only noticed 1 person refer to Tower Systems as “towers”.
    suddenly there are like 5 “different” people.

    duh, not half obvious

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  6. Michael

    Thanks Jim, I get what your saying.

    But if there was some form of ID….

    I know privacy laws etc prevent this, but comments could be more trusted.

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  7. Jim

    Michael,

    It goes back to the credibility of the blogger and the originality,relevance and quality of the blog.
    When so-called bloggers fail on all the above and the blog becomes a snipe, it is interesting and bizarre to observe one person talking with and to himself via different persona however there is medication available for this condition.

    I think the nature of blogging is such that you will always get a percentage of ill-informed, stupid, narrow comments but that’s part and parcel of blogging (it would be nice though to know how many different names come from the one IP address).

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  8. Derek

    I am currently not allowed to post on his blog because he alledges I am a spammer although I have never posted on his blog other than using my name which is Derek. I just ask real questions of some posts he puts up.

    Now he has a Derek posting. Its a comedy show

    Jims above posts defines this gentleman.

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  9. Michael

    I agree Jim.

    This blog is good because Mark sees who I am but everyone else can’t. Which is good.

    But how do you know that I’m not Mark now???And how do I know your not Mark??? Only Mark knows!!!

    I was thinking how facebook needs a verification code through SMS that then (still dodgy) verifies the person.

    Maybe I could set up a facebook page called Michael and enter it in the website field so at least people reading know I’m making the comment and not someone else, we know Jarryd Moore is Jarryd Moore for instance.

    I do occasionally, when extremelly bored, read a bizarre blog and do find it entertaining. It’s like watching someone shoot themselves in the foot, you know you should look away but just can’t!

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  10. Mark

    I am contemplating going with a registered user approach with this blog. This would mean than only identified people comment. This provides greater transparency.

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  11. Michael

    I think it’s a good step Mark.

    I’m currently reading about Derek on another blog and discovered a “Michael” that is not me, but Derek may have thought it was me? Crazy is all I can say.

    It’s creepy reading something trying to mirror this blog. As Jim said there’s medications available.

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  12. Shayne

    It seems the other blog is now a forum for bagging newsXpress as well as Tower Systems.

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  13. sa_paperboy

    Everything online can be faked, from using a proxy ip address to making hundreds of email addresses with free services like gmail and hotmail. I maintain a healthy level of skeptiscm about everything I read.

    It is less important who says something and more important that where possible sources are linked and facts verified.

    Going the path of getting users to register is fine, but depending how easy it is to make an account it wont fix a lot. Also I hope next time I disagree with something I don’t find myself ‘unregistered” 🙂

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  14. Mark

    sa, no one has ever been unregistered here.

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  15. sa_paperboy

    Thats an easy claim when there is no registration currently :p

    And I was mainly being facetious but it doesn’t hurt to let a lot of the less net savvy people understand how certain practices can be abused. I have faith that your system would maintain the open philosophy you have maintained on the site so far.

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  16. Mark

    sa, there is kind of a registation with the first blog post from an email address beeding to be approved.

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  17. Vaughan

    Bernard Zimmerman is a fool! He continually brings his own business into disrepute with some of the stupid things he says.

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  18. Brendan

    My youngest brother has been into the internet net so long that he ran a bulletin board at about age 14. Even back at his young age he questioned the identity of people on the net.
    His favourite saying the was “half the people on the net are men and so are half the women”. Avery clear insight that we can’t really know who we are deaing with over the web most of the time

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  19. NSW NO NAME

    as this blog only has the same six of so contributors, then why bother with registration?

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  20. Mark T

    Problematic Obsolete Software…
    Poorly Orchestrated Stunt.

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  21. jenny

    What a funny read, caught my eye under popular posts .
    There are 2 Jennys that I can see on here, confused me the first time I noticed I thought “I don’t remember writing that”. There could be even more Jennys who knows?
    Should I clarify which Jenny I am – Jenny Jenny or Microwave Jenny or some other Jenny?

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  22. Mark Fletcher

    Jenny we have 39,572 comments here – some fascinating insights. I have often wondered about forcing people to reveal themselves. I suspect comments would reduce as some people want anonymity.

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  23. Jack

    I think it’s good that people don’t have to signup to comment. I feel like the community does a good job here of moderating itself. People are mostly judged on the content of their post.

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