No not an influx of Vikings - the contents of my comments spam folder. I try to empty it regularly but it’s fallen to the bottom of the “to-do” list recently so I rolled up my sleeves today and got on with it. It was a mish mash of the usual idiocy – Enlarge this, Enhance that, Lose something, Gain something else. There was a comment that slipped through the net, that should not have been in the spam folder; several follow-up racist spams from my blog on Kevin “i used to be a journalist” Myers and Pamela Izevbehai ; several comments accusing me of racism because of Hijabs and Irish Schools and a few agreeing with me on the grounds that all muslims are evil! evil! and the west is doomed! doomed!
What I found absolutely fascinating was the similarities between the racist comments and the ones accusing me of racism. They start with a sneering pseudo intellectualism “if you understood the first thing about…if you knew what I know….It’s a pity you have no facts to back up your facts…” then progress to a challenge “I will debate this with you if you are up to it? if you can prove to me that you are worthy to debate with me I will reveeal the facts that I can’t reveal just right now as I am not sure you are up to debating them” and ending with outrage “Oh I see you have removed my perfectly polite comments / ignored my challenge. Obviously you are not fit to debate with me on this issue”
Some tips for would be challengers, if they want to avoid the Spam Trap.
- Firstly don’t post from, or give your website as, a racist site. This includes white supremacists, BNP, Aryan nation, and general blogs filled with idiotic racist randomness. Your comments will automatically drop into spam and I won’t even know they are there, until days like this when I read them for my amusement.
- Secondly, avoid personal threats. I don’t know what it is about them but they really make me unwilling to engage with the poster. Just my little foible.
- Try to remember that if you post racist comments you can’t then claim not to be racist. really. It’s a bit thick.
- Try to refrain from patronizing me. It’s a personal foible again, and I know it’s self indulgent but unless you can demonstrate a modicum of intelligence trying to sneer at me will result in my ignoring you.
- It’s not enough just to say I’m wrong, no matter how many different ways you say it and in the case of one correspondent, no matter how overblown and pompous the language. Although I am awarding him special points for the gratuitous use of the phrase Ad Hominem - sadly an incorrect use of it but points awarded for trying! Try to actually address the facts and prove me wrong. Otherwise, spam city for you.
So last year was a good year. In between personal ramblings about getting2008ried and some random thoughts on my gender and their foibles, friends, renting, and other topics, I managed to outrage the politically correct and the terminally stupid equally. Always a good sign I find! So here’s to 2009 – I hope to irritate both extremes just as much.
