Maggie's Farm

MM -

"I suppose this sounds a bit screwy to you"

Well, yes and no. Yes, because it most likely would have gone through the second time whether you did anything or not, but no, because we have to go through something similar with the Maggie's editor.

Every now and then, for no
known reason, it'll suddenly
shorten up a paragraph, like
this, so you have to back up
each line to the preceeding
one and hope for the best.

If the paragraph's very long, it's quicker to snip it out with Ctrl-X, slap it into Notepad with Ctrl-V, hit Ctrl-A to highlight everything, Ctrl-C to copy to memory, then punch it back into the editor with Ctrl-V, much the same as you were doing. Typical computer workaround, and Praise Be for 'em.

Dear Arlo The Litterbug -

Oh, uh, I wasn't talking about actual filters, of which there are many in place. The one that saves us the most grief (as intelligent human beings) is the "circular logic and pointy arrows" filter which, as you can guess, pretty much weeds out 90% of the comments. So the next time you hit the 'Submit' button, the software scans the comment and thinks, "What on God's Green Earth is this horseshit?" and promptly deletes it lest others have to share the same fate, console yourself that you're in good company.

As to your litterbug reference -- might make for a fun post? Been quite a while since I heard it, and there's a whole generation of young'uns out there who don't have a clue what we're talking about. I'll probably make my own so I can include a high-quality sound track, rather than just tap off some YouTube crap. Look for the feature to contain twenty-seven 8 x 10 color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us.

Of course. :)

Buddy - Once again your perceptive mind has exposed the darker side of Maggie's Farm. In our original intent to make the hapless reader feel crushed beneath the iron sole of the digital boot, I suggested using "Bow" or "Kneel" for the button, but Bird Dog, in his infinite wisdom, claimed that 'Submit' really said it all. When you 'submit', it's the whole package. Heart, soul, free will, the ability to choose between paper and plastic; it all goes.

Personally, on the sites I design, I avoid the word. I usually use what the actual function is, like "Purchase Item" or "Purchase Reservation". In Maggie's case, we could make it "Purchase Comment", charging a mere dollar, taken automatically from the reader's credit card account by way of their IP address. This would, in turn, have a couple of major benefits. Not only would the readers pay more attention to writing clear, concise comments, but for people like JoeC and feeblemind, above, it would actually save them money as the "circular logic and pointy arrows" filter kicked into gear and rejected their comments outright.

Again, thanks for the keen observation, and if we end up going to the 'Pay Comment' format, I'll make sure you get complete credit.

Buddy - Again, your keen, inquinsitive mind has exposed the raw, sordid underbelly of a nation. Let's examine your claim of this 'vast left-wing conspiracy' step by step:

- The "MS" part of "MSNBC" stands for "MicroSoft." That pretty much sums up where the company's political affiliations lie.

- FrontPage, a Microsoft product, was the first real 'professional' web editor, bought by millions, and by default it has always used the subliminal term 'Submit' for its form button.

- Left-wingers want control, and they want you to submit to their greater knowledge in such matters.

So I'd say the results speak for themselves. If I were a young Bill Gates, intent on subverting the country to liberal ideals, using the word 'Submit' everywhere I turned would be exactly what I'd do. Submit, submit, submit, my fellow citizens!

Not a bad master plan, as these things go.

Grandma - First off, the message, itself, doesn't mean anything. It's just a generic error message the server is spitting out. The passwords and email and all that are on a secure server, the main site isn't. This is a small business with older equipment and now and then the two servers aren't in sync when the 'Submit' button is hit and it spits out the message. Hitting 'Submit' again almost always goes through.

As for IP addresses, they're not a "security" issue. Every single web site you visit knows your IP address, along with a handful of other things, like browser type and version, operating system, screen res, and similar things. Nothing "personal", in that regard.

Feebles - Well, in your case, it was probably the "geographic filter" that rejected your comments outright. This being a New England-centric site, the software is programmed to reject 3 out of every 4 comments left from someone living west of the Mississippi. And that sounds fair. After all, honestly, what do you guys know about New England? Hell, what does anybody know about New England except the poor bastards who live in that snowbound hellhole?

Anyway, the thought of the most oxymoronically-named commenter on Maggie's 'sadly shuffling away' actually brings a (mental) tear to my eye, so I'm glad I made the post. And I'll speak to Bird Dog about that geographic filter. He's a pretty big-hearted guy so maybe he'll lower it down to "2 out of 4", which many (at least on this side of the Mississippi) would consider an exceptionally generous move on his part, but that's how you win friends!

Feebs - Well, I'm shocked, old friend. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think someone would actually believe anything I said in the comments. I...I feel like my reputation has really taken a hit here.

No, we don't have a geographic filter. Oh, I'm sure many (at least those living in N.E.) would like one, just to keep out the riff-raff, but Bird Dog's from the "old school" and actually believes in that "fairness" and "equality" crap. He's just so 1970's, but that dem damb Yankees for ya.

"As for New England itself, heh. I admittedly don't know much."

It's quite something, isn't it? It's much like visiting your favorite zoo or roadside carnival. You gape in awe at the pictures of the snowbound wretches as they struggle to survive another day. You marvel with amazement at their anachronistic display of such old-world values as "liberty", "justice" and "independence". You shudder with delight when you see the latest "Chipmunk of the Week" article and are reminded that there's a wilder, cruder world "out there" beyond your highrise condo walls.

So there's that.

Sorry again about that geographic filter thing, old bud. Jeez, I wonder what people will think when they find out about the age and gender filters?

Oops!

(blush!) Well, it was simple logistics, MM. As the bloggers here hit their 60's, we realize that it's really only those of us 60 and older who have anything important to say. I can see you wisely nodding your head in agreement. Oh, it's not that the kids don't have anything important to add to the conversation -- I mean, I didn't even know what "pogs" were until Buddy showed up -- but they always want to ramble on and on about silly issues like "healthcare" and "the next Supreme Court justice", whereas we educated, refined, over-60 types would prefer discussing the latest wines and cigar humidor upkeep. I've been using a new carnuba wax lately which I'm quite happy with. You?

Texie -

"Someone's got to keep the economy going."

Best line of the week. :)

Personally, I'm a little embarrassed for my (now) home state of Florida. For years, it and Texas led all kinds of 'Growth' lists, but apparently out betters took a few lessons from the California playbook and now we're leading the "Biggest Economic Jerks" lists. Sheesh.

Anyway, the gender filter far surpasses the age and geography filters.

Far surpasses.

#8.1 buddy larsen on 2010-04-07 02:24

You posted that at 2:24 in the morning?

It shows. :)

It did, however, highlight a subliminal "putting down" of Native Americans by the White Man when he was handing out tribal names. "Pawnee" would translate to "one who is pwned", and if that isn't a subliminal put-down, I don't know what is!

And the list goes on and on!

Sioux - Ready to take you to court for your last thin dime.

Apaches - Always wearing worn, threadbare clothes.

Cherokee Nation - When Paul Revere and the Raiders are the only ones defending you, that says it all.

Erie - Wierd, offbeat, scary, odd.

Creeks - Not even worth a crummy river!

Blackfeet - Damn heathens don't even wear shoes!

Kickapoo - 'Nuff said.

Of course, that's not to say that all Indian tribes received ridiculous names by the white settlers. Apparently, the Shinnecock tribe was rather impresively endowed.

Well, that's still better than the Phuknauts, decendents of the Argonauts. Personally, I think the conversation ended with "Kickapoo". How do you improve upon perfection? :)

That's terrible you would blame poor Marianne -- and especially when she left the comment last year. Listen, it's MY fault I forgot the fine and noble Pottawattamie, and I'll live in shame forever because of it. For you to blame poor Marianne is simply reprehensible. If any of you out there have Pottawattamie blood, please direct your hate mail to "Tom Francis", c/o this blog site.

Ah, that's different. You meant the need people feel for Pepto Bismal after reading one of my posts! Well, that's certainly understandable, what with my Pepto Bismal franchise and all. A guy's gotta make a buck somehow.

Yes. When the servers don't line up (the users' email addresses and such are on a separate secure server), the main one understandably balks and wants to issue an error message. So, whether or not we change the message, it's still going to stop.

Nor can we simply change the message, because it also acts for real, like when somebody actually does try to spam the comments area. And we can't bitch at the web hosting company because it's just some buddy of Bird Dog's who's doing it as a favor. So, we put up with it.

It's a blog site, not a forum, so we're "bloggers", not "moderators", and only the bloggers do the posting.

If you're interested in firing up a blog site, I'd recommend you start here. If you put together something worthwhile, you're welcome to mention it in the comments and one of us might do a post on it, as well as put it on the blogroll.

And welcome to Maggie's!
Doc