I hate to do this since a lot of nice, non-trolly people don’t like registering to comment, but it has become necessary. Some troll has been imitating me and other frequent commenters (including our user names and avatars) to derail a thread into sexually explicit discussion about my personal life. I have to give them credit for the amount of time they wasted giving graphic details about how I give blow jobs. Too bad that time and creativity wasn’t put toward something productive instead.
Blag Hag
Atheism, feminism, geekery
Well flapjacks!
I’m sorry to hear this. I find it a bit upsetting because you are the age of my kids, and that is treatment no one deserves. Sock puppets are some of the lowest of the low.
Hope to see you around (like the observatory on campus tomorrow evening).
Exhibit W (2) f (viii) or whatever we’re up to now. Sheesh.
Hellfire and bugger. Why are so many people such assholes?
I mean, I’m an asshole once in a while… everyone is… but I try pretty hard not to be an asshole, and when I am, I feel bad about it. The idea of someone spending so much time and effort to deliberately be an asshole just amazes me.
No. Not amazes. Disgusts. It disgusts me.
“…giving graphic details…”
What an asshole.
I am sorry to read this. Once upon a time I was one of those who disliked to register for comments, but then I met internet trolls impersonating other people just for the “fun” of it.
Never since then I cease to wonder, how deep some people can sink intelectually. The Maraianna trench is a mere valley against the immense depths of stupidity.
What is even more depressive than the sheer stupidity of these people is their apparent inability to recognize, how pathetic and immature such behaviour is.
This, so much. :(
The same kind of people that put so much effort into ‘proving’ YEC is true…all that wasted energy and creativity.
I’m actively disappointed that that wasn’t really you. I was cheering “you” on for taking an assholish insult and turning it into a hilarious discussion of sex and sexuality. That that was a troll makes me a sad panda.
There’s nothing hypocritical about being generally opposed but recognizing a legitimate exception. I generally oppose registration too, under the rule of thumb, “don’t fix what isn’t broken.” But obviously, if the system does break, then you need to fix it.
My guess is the troll will quickly go elsewhere to get his/her jollies, because the titillation of behaving this way is probably more important to them than Jen-as-specific target. So, Jen can probably turn off registration in a week or two if she really wants to. Then again, if she gets the same number of posts and it doesn’t seem to be negatively affecting the regulars, the same general principle (don’t fix…) would support keeping it on.
I hope you’ve archived that crap, Jen.
I’m not sure if my FtB login is sufficient – this is a test.
It’s not necessarily completely unproductive. I haven’t read whatever thread this is, but it’s always possible that someone could learn something positive about blowjobs. Off topic, sure, trollish behavior? Absolutely. Cowardly behavior doing this all without using one’s own name? I don’t doubt it for a minute. But hey, it’s just possible that this troll is an expert in giving head to people who possess a penis. Who knows?
I don’t have any immediate use for such information, but lots of people do!
Something similar happened to both Greta Christina and me on one of her threads. Someone put up a post supposedly by her and another supposedly by me, both of them with my avatar.
I just don’t understand the point of trolling, of being so consumed by a stranger online that you put out large amounts of time and effort to make petty, ineffectual attacks on them.
This is another test.
Eh, I prefer to be registered anyway. Saves me the time of having to fill out all those forms, get my blog to link at my name, etc.
I thought you were being oddly persistent with questions.
Hi, my name is Jorge and I am an atheist from Barcelona Spain. This blog is calling my attention.
The Spanish speaking atheists are already activists. I´ll follow Jennifer McCreight’s endeavours. :-).
Here it’s 00:27 am 5th september.
Sadly, it seems it’s going to be the way of the future, given how much the hater types have started drawing inspiration from the fundamentalist Christian playbook.
You should check with Greta and see if it was the same person who was impersonating Oolon.
Meh. It’s a sorry thing that it’s necessary, but it’s no big deal to register.
You would think they’d move on to other things after a year or so.
Stay strong, Jen. :)
The folks that matter are here with you, Jen. Hang in there.
Mostly lurk, but don’t mind registering —
Enjoy your blog very much, and very sorry you are being affected by the assholes inventing a new stupid stunt to display their misogyny, even though their doing so certainly proves the necessity of A+
Well, you forced me to register. And sign up for A+ forums. Your nefarious plan to control my browsing habits is complete.When, oh when will you femistasi relinquish control of this poor, poor put-upon Man.
/snark
(in case it wasn;t obvs)
Sorry you had to deal with that.
These trolls are not fighting for a worthy cause. And 9 to 1 says they’re conservatives of some stripe; the technique is getting familiar.
“Latrant et scitis estatint prætesquitantes estis”
I mostly lurk, but occasionally post, and have no problem registering, but for some reason it would not let me use my WordPress login so I finally stopped trying and created a new login for FTB. Glad that works. Have fun at the observatory if you’re going tomorrow and really sad to see you having to deal with this bs. On the positive side, since some of us (which would include me) are adopting the A+ designator, perhaps it will keep some of the worst trolls at bay.
Funny (not haha funny)thing is, I think that the worse the trolls get, the more people are getting fed up and leaving them to their piss piles. Not that that makes being on the receiving end any easier. Bargle.
It’s a good idea, Jen. Free speech is best when people take responsibility for what they say. There is even a school of thought that says all comments on a blog should be turned off; if you want to respond, do a trackback on your own blog.
Welp, I’d say that’s a good thing. Sucks that so many people are assholes, but what are you gonna do? Can’t live with ’em, can’t kill ’em.
Some people suck. Nil illegitimi carborundum!
Jen:
I’m sorry you had to do that, but I can definitely see why it was needed.
How can people be that vile?
Is it the anonymity of the Internet?
…Have you seen Stephanie’s post?
http://freethoughtblogs.com/almostdiamonds/2012/09/04/after-you-say-no-part-ii/
Also read the comments, where regulars tell similar stories of face-to-face incidents.
“I wonder how harmless such people are? To what extent civilization is retarded by the laughing jackasses, the empty-headed belittlers?” — Robert Heinlein
Given the short discussion about evil oolon posting as me on Gretas site – it does not seem to be easy to stop people impersonating others nyms. Best to keep an eye on the generated avatars, but even they can be faked.
Keep an eye out for it as once the genie is out of the bottle it does not take long for the copycat haters to replicate.
Hello!
I didn’t read your blog. I just found it today in fact!
But I wanted to say that calling time out for personal health is never a failure. The internet is fantastic for many things, but it certainly has also allowed assholes access to us in our homes.
As a woman athiest, thank you for bringing this up. It will continue to be brought up (as I’m now quite unhappy and about to bring this up to the athiest groups I’m part of to be discussed).
Thank you for writing and trying and standing your ground – for the issue AND for your limits and your personal health.
I completely disagree with almost all of your opinions and beliefs. Your blogs are well written but wrong.
That being said, how DARE the haters try to silence you! By the God you don’t believe in you have the RIGHT to have an opinion and the RIGHT to freely express that opinion. I have the right to be offended. I do NOT have any rights whatsoever to silence you!
“I disagree with what you write, but I will defend with my LIFE, your right to write it.”
~Voltaire~
Jen, you didn’t fail us. If anything we failed you by not giving you enough support in the face of all this nastiness.
The bullies are nasty, hateful little boys who never grew out of the “girl-cootie” stage. You are worth a thousand of them.
This pathetic attempt at a movement will dwindle into obscurity and be forgotten.
Your current exit will only quicken the fall.
Don’t mistake your recent surrender as the act of a martyr. It’s the act of a coward hiding in the face of their ideas being torn apart by legitimate criticism.
Good riddance to a self righteous failure. You will not be missed.
Here in Rome, today in 1870, infantry corps of Bersaglieri entered breaching the old Roman Walls at Porta Pia.
A differento world is possible.
Hope you and your family get through all this crap people are throwing at yall without getting too emotionally banged up by it. Hope you can find the strength to resume blogging at some point in the future, and I hope that the people doing this shit wake up one day to realize that they are friendless and lonely because they have been terrible human beings.
Excellent post providing a whole range of formatting and styling ideas. Probably won’t be able to implement everything on the list but just raising awareness of what can done and itemizing a few ‘to do’s’ will help.
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