How to ruin blogs!

-------- Your tax dollars at work ---------

Dear Reader:

There are many ways to ruin a blog. One is to post comments provided by readers that are clearly libelous. By publishing other people's libel the blogger becomes guilty of libel. I have rejected a handful of blogs over the past few months because they made statements that could be challenged in court. Of the hundreds of comments provided by readers, a handful have been rejected by yours truly as inappropriate for that reason.

Another way to ruin a blog is to spam it with the same message repeated over and over again. That is why the coded message confirmation pops up on occasion. It is a "blogspot application" to help control spam blitzes. Only one reader has tried to do that copying a message supporting SWSDA and Mr. Anderson over a dozen times in less than three minutes.... even with the confirmation message. Needless to say, I didn't post the dozen repeated message.... although I did let one copy get through.

A third and more insidious way to destroy blogs is to raise red herrings bringing into question how the blog is administered or who reads and comments on the blog. In the last couple days an anonymous poster has done that asking rhetorical questions about the integrity of the anonymous function on this blog. Let me assure my readers that the software I am using is google software and I am unable to tell who anonymous posters are. In three comments submitted in quick succession that person has suggested that I am protecting Tim, that anonymous posts may not be anonymous, suggested that there is collusion amongst readers who choose to identify themselves as a group.... you know what I mean..... the old "do you still beat your wife " type of question. ... with a quick accusation that the lie must be true if I didn't respond to the red herring statements within 24 hours in mid-summer!

Of course all of these comments have been submitted by someone who prefers to remain anonymous... even though he/she questions the integrity of the anonymous function and keeps submitting comments.... Funny how that works.....

I have posted all of these because I wanted to share with you dear reader some of the challenges associated with managing a blog. You will of course note that had I wanted to I could have started swsdaaccountability as an anonymous blogger and google would never have identified who I was. Even a court order would not have pried my name from google had I wished to remain anonymous...... The same rules apply to those who comment on my blogs anonymously. Unless you identify yourself in your comments.... no one will ever know who you are.