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Praetorium Honoris

Friday, August 11, 2017

Damned Spammers

(Original)*
Well, it finally came to pass. I had to remove an old post from the active roster because of idiot spammers.

I had this post, written back in October of 2013, nearly 4 years ago. It was a beautiful post, a wondrous post, a post about our British and Commonwealth cousins back during the Great War. It was a post about aerial aces, it was, in short, a Friday Flyby. A series I used to do until somebody came along and claimed "Sarge used one of my pictures," to Blogger. They, not wishing to be sued, I guess, reset my post to draft status.

There had been an anonymous comment (anonymous mind you, no name, no handle, nothing, just Sumdood hiding behind the cloak of Internet Invisibility claiming that I should expect a BIG INVOICE, not a bill mind you because, heaven forfend, I allegedly used one of "his" photos. (An invoice? Seriously? How about a bill, or a rejoinder to "not use that one.") Which photo, I asked the faceless Blogger minions, hath offended the AnyMouse Faceless owner of said photograph?

Crickets. Chirping.

Then there was a later comment (again anonymous) from someone acting like it wasn't "him" who threatened me with financial disaster, with a link to an article about lawyers seizing assets and property and putting people out in the street, etc., etc. Again, anonymous. No indication of what photo (for what it's worth I did searches on each photo in that post and each yielded multiple places on the Internet where that photo was used, none attributed) was the offender. Easy, peasy, I could remove that photo (or give it proper attribution) and move on. But no, it's easier to just take stuff down and trust the anonymous complainer that "Really, it's my photo."

Oddly enough, that too was a Friday Flyby, a post about the Battle of Britain and the British and Commonwealth pilots who saved Western Civilization so that the modern goons of political correctness and hurt feelings could attempt to destroy it again in the 21st Century.

Hhmm, someone out there doesn't like the RAF methinks.

Once upon a time I used a photo which a fellow actually sent me an email about. Said, "Hey, you got that from my website, can I at least get a link?" And yes, yes, he could. Great dude, does a nice website on WWII aces. (Aces of WWII, it's linked over there on the sidebar, down at the bottom as it's a website and not a blog. Hhmm, I think I need to do some rearranging over there.) When we work together, stuff gets done, when we complain anonymously, it's 1984.

Ahem, gentlemen and ladies do not complain anonymously. Cowards do.

Anyhoo, on with today's rant. (Does the loss of that Battle of Britain post still rankle? Why yes, yes it does.)

So the Any Mouse crowd has been very active lately. Not Paul, Tennessee Budd, Alemaster, or the cuppla others who comment anonymously on current posts. You guys are fine. I know you. No, there are a bunch of spammers out there who, for some reason, think that people are reading comments in my old posts from 2 to four years ago. Seriously.

What in the name of all that is holy possesses these punk bastards to leave comments on old posts? All it really does is piss me off. I have to go into the spam filter and clear them out, with their offers to sell me Nikes and other crap, or with their hideously bad English "Hey, I'm just now finding your most extravagant blog and my cousin on my mother's side sent me here to..." - blah, blah, blah.

Then one day (Monday actually) I noticed that many of these spam comments were on that old Friday Flyby. So I renamed it by adding an X to the title, which changes the character-based URL but apparently not the numerical URL. Ya know that 123.456.789.111 stuff that computers understand.

No effect.

So I reset the post to Draft status, which means y'all can't see it. (I can use "y'all" because I grew up in the south. South Vermont to be precise. No? It doesn't work that way? Why bless your heart...)

Spam comments are way down now. Almost non-existent. (I've had one since I took the post down.)

But still, it pisses me off. Damned spammers, it's why we can't have nice things.

Here's what I'd like to do to spammers, all of 'em...



Does that make me a bad person?




* With apologies to Willie and Joe.

42 comments:

  1. If you can find a way to get their locations, just pass their gps coordinates to haircut and identify that location as Guam.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Spammers. With a fraction of your readership I still get my share. You might brace yourself for more, having Mauldin's character join the Air Force.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hate spammers.

      Just temporary, Willie and Joe will go back into retirement after their one day in the USAF.

      Delete
  3. Hey!! The "Friday Flyby" name was my suggestion, I know you gave me a nice mention and a picture of the Plane my brother used to navigate in, but I've decided that is not enough. Expect an invoice soon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Can I inretest you in a Nigerian cruise voucher? Many thanks, pleased to be sending the bank routing number so wire ticket information.

    (Twenty years ago, my brother told me that spamming should carry the death penalty. At the time, I thought it was maybe a bit harsh. Now, not sure. I really need to listen more when he says things.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your brother had the right idea.

      (Nice use of the classic spam syntax.)

      Delete
    2. I haven't checked. Does Google Translate have a translate to/from Spamese?

      Delete
    3. I have managed to simulate Spamese by translating a simple phrase into one language, copying that to yet another language and then rinse/repeat a few times.

      Do that enough and a phrase like, "I like your blog, it's interesting." Becomes "I like your blog, it's possible." (One iteration yielded "I like your blog, it's hard." Heh.)

      Delete
  5. No you're not a bad person, i"m right there with you on them although my first inclination would be staking them over an ants nest smeared in several choice spots with honey.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like it. Obviously you've spent some time thinking about this issue. Much more creative than my "nuke them from orbit" approach.

      Delete
    2. For this, we need Bullet Ants. (4+ on the Schmidt pain index.)

      Delete
    3. I had not heard of those before today.

      Concur!

      Delete
    4. Neither had I until using DuckDuckGo(Google can go jump)...... wow! There's an ant now! Thanks Bear...

      Delete
    5. Interesting, this DuckDuckGo. Must try!

      Delete
  6. I like this, slightly different, take on spammers. Nice addition to the sidebar BTW, many serious chuckles therein.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, great stuff. I was laughing really hard this morning. Getting odd looks from other folks in the office.

      I told them I was looking at some of my old code...

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the link, I laughed hard too.

      Paul

      Delete
    3. My favorite was the dogs in the restaurant, "I'll have the math homework..."

      Delete
    4. "My favorite was the dogs in the restaurant, "I'll have the math homework..." "

      Yes, that was one of my lol.

      Paul

      Delete
    5. The BMW drivers' course was also excellent.

      Delete
  7. Oh, AARRGGHH!!! I s'pose this could happen to me too, since everything I use is lifted from other blogs. My sub title states

    "I'm just another plagiarist... pickin' at the blogs I haunt... pickin' up what I like... and think you might like too."

    If it happens to me, I'll probably just shut my blog down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let us pray then that it never happens to you.

      I derive far too much enjoyment from your blog to see it go away.

      For this we'll fight!

      Delete
    2. Barbar Cat:

      I'm with OAFS, " For this we'll fight! ".

      PLQ

      Delete
  8. Jezz! 0900 and I'm still LttB. As to "(I can use "y'all" because I grew up in the south. South Vermont to be precise.", at the first morning formation in Lackland AFB ( June 1965 ), the TI said " Y'all are from the South ain'tya? South somewhere. " We were 51 from NorCal and nine from Detroit. We replied " YES SIR ". So I fully understand being a Southerner from South Vermont. I finished growing up in South Carmichael, CA where we moved when my father retired from the USAF.

    Paul L. ( LttB ) Quandt

    ReplyDelete
  9. They're trolls!
    That's worse'n spammers.
    They should have their tonsils removed anally, without benefit of anasthesia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trolls are a little different. They comment on current posts, hoping to piss people off. Spammers are like a poorly trained soldier with an automatic weapon, spray everywhere and hope they hit something.

      But yes, trolls are worse than spammers. Far worse.

      Delete
  10. Essentially they're just con-artists right? Just trying to separate you from your money? Look at the bright side- at least when the spammers attack, your "Numbers and Stuff" ticker goes up! It probably goes in reverse somehow when I post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do drive the numbers up, but if they're trying to separate me from my money, they're going about it the wrong way.

      (Tuna, quit being modest, your numbers are always good.)

      Delete
    2. Now if I could only monetize those big numbers! Maybe I'll sell add space to Viagra and Rogaine.

      Delete
  11. What are they going to sue you for, Juvat's salary or the commission on ideas you owe me? I've been waiting on the check...

    I remember in the early '80s when the funeral homes were all calling people to sell plots. They always seemed to call at dinner time. And the family, being ex-AF officer family, always answered the phone. (Used to be, the phone was pretty much for emergencies or dad's work, no matter what. Woe be unto whatever person called to chat past 10pm, because that meant someone was dead - family or workwise.)

    His response was to shout, "I don't plan on ever dying!!!" and then listen to them sputter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What, you didn't get a check?

      Betcha Juvat's didn't show up either...

      Bwahahahahaha!

      Delete
  12. I comment under "anonymous" 'cause I don't have a Google or Blogger ID, or any of the others it asks for; could be the same reason for the others. I do, however, always put my name at the bottom. I think it would be impolite to not do so.
    Sarge, for all my opinion's worth, you can be an Honorary Southerner. Just don't use "y'all" in the singular, & you'll be fine. Nobody can hear your accent on the blog, anyhow (I'm sure you have one; everybody other than Southerners has one).
    --Tennessee Budd

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You always sign your handle, good stuff. Most of the spammers leave comments on really old posts. Not sure what they think that will do. Ah well, some people's kids.

      Well, the senior granddaughter was born in Virginia and I've spent some time there. I perfectly understand why Gen'l Lee couldn't raise his sword against her. It's a pretty state.

      Also spent some time in Mississippi and South Carolina. I think the South and I get on just fine.

      Proud to be an Honorary Southerner.

      :)

      Delete

Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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