Illustrations by Christoph Niemann Is it OK to ban someone from posting comments on my blog?
A personal blog is pretty much an autocracy, so you're technically free to ban whoever rubs you the wrong way. But going all Joe Stalin on your commenters — even the ones who annoy you with their nit-picking or wacko views — doesn't jibe with the Internet's spirit of openness. The best blogs are supposed to be a conversation. And anyway, if you're going to publish what you write, accept the fact that the responses are going to be neither 100 percent positive nor 100 percent civil. Journalists have known this since the invention of the letter to the editor. It doesn't mean, however, that you're obliged to let a potty-mouthed commenter ruin your blog. If a recalcitrant troll is scaring off your readers or dragging the discourse into the gutter, a permanent ban may be the only solution. "I view the commenters on my blog like they're guests at a party," says Eugene Volokh, a professor at UCLA School of Law and founder of the Volokh Conspiracy group blog. And if a racist, abusive, or otherwise abhorrent guest is putting a damper on your shindig, you're well within your rights to kick the hooligan to the curb.
As for what constitutes bannable behavior, that's completely your call. Some people prefer running dinner-party-style blogs, where even a little swearing can kill the intellectual vibe. Others aim for the equivalent of a kegger, meaning that only the most egregious speech is barred. Figure out what sort of atmosphere you're gunning for and craft some commenting guidelines accordingly. Repeat violators should get the heave-ho.
The key word here is repeat. "From time to time, everyone gets angry and clicks Publish before thinking about it enough," says Dale Carpenter, a University of Minnesota Law School professor and a Volokh Conspiracy contributor. "A person who is uncivil and nonsubstantive one day may have something very important to say the next." Give the commenter a warning before pronouncing him dead to you. If he crosses the line again, you can disappear him with Mr. Know-It-All's blessing.
Every so often I get email asking me to help rescue a Nigerian's long-lost loot. Is it safe to tease these con artists?
The practice you're referring to is known as scam baiting: messing with those email fraudsters who promise you a chunk of Mobutu Sese Seko's hidden fortune. The results are frequently hilarious — check out EbolaMonkeyMan.com for photographs of Nigerian spammers who were conned into holding up signs reading IAMA WAYNE KERR OR FATHER WILL U TUCHME.
As long as you stay behind your computer and don't arrange to actually meet the criminals — a potentially lethal risk — scam baiting is safe. But be smart about it. Use a disposable email address and take care not to reveal any personal info while perpetrating the ruse. As Eve Edelson, author of Scamorama, points out, the Nigerian would leap at the chance to turn your prank into an identity theft score.
Also, don't delude yourself into thinking the spammers will be deterred by your shenanigans. After grumbling for a day or two about being misled, they'll go right back to the swindle. But posting your email exchanges at sites like Scamorama can definitely raise awareness; believe it or not, come-ons with the subject line request for urgent business assistance still trick Americans out of millions. If your scam baiting can help save just one person from wiring $50,000 to Lagos, you'll have earned yourself major karmic points.
I'm interested in putting up a MySpace page, but I'm in my late forties. Is that too old? I don't want to seem creepy.
Relax, my wizened friend. "We are becoming a society that is paranoid just because kids and adults happen to be in the same public place," says Larry Magid, codirector of the BlogSafety online forum. Don't fall into that mental trap. MySpace would love to have you, assuming you're not going to pose as a teenager.
There are actually plenty of geezers on MySpace — 9 percent of the site's users are over age 55, as opposed to 14 percent who are under 18. You'll never lack for age-appropriate company.
And don't worry about accidentally stumbling across the page of someone under 16. MySpace prevents adults from viewing the full profiles of 14- and 15-year-olds — the youngest users the site allows. There's no age ceiling, though — perhaps your 70-year-old mother would like to set up a MySpace page, too?
Need help navigating life in the 21st century? Email us at mrknowitall@wired.com.
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