tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22304160.post3643416877300444665..comments2023-10-22T03:49:25.379-04:00Comments on SWAC Girl: More conservative blog sites shut down by Blogger/GoogleLynn R. Mitchellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16813272456690971177noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22304160.post-87856530458215661532008-10-08T22:46:00.000-04:002008-10-08T22:46:00.000-04:00I recently started a new "conservative" blog on bl...I recently started a new "conservative" blog on blogspot, and was "under review" for potential splogging within 48 hours. Here's the kicker - I hadn't even put any content on my blog yet. The only content on the blog were 2 gadgets (newsmax video feeds and fox news headlines) provided by blogspot. <BR/><BR/> Oddly enough, when I learned I had been placed under review, it wasn't hackers I suspected of foul play, but the political leanings Google/Blogspot themselves. Call me narrow minded, but Occam's Razor seems to work here. It's not hard to imagine the simplicity with which Blogspot could flag conservative blogs from the outset and place them under review. <BR/><BR/> In my case, with no content to speak of, it would be a simple matter of flagging blogs based on the gadgets the user suscribes to. On the flipside, what tools would a hacker have to employ to weed through 10's of thousands of blogs? Keywords aren't going to be a big help, since you're as likely to find the words "conservative" or "republican" on a liberal blog as you are on a conservative one. <BR/><BR/> You'd need an organized (keyword being organized) effort by a large group of experienced web hackers in order to do this with any sucess, and considering the amount of forum threads a simple google search turned up on this problem, I'd say there are far too many affected blogs out there for this to be the case (again, unless it's an insider job).<BR/><BR/> Frankly, I find it hard to believe that anyone would deem Google/Blogspot to be above such a tactic. If the mainstream news media outlets are willing to contort their news coverage (in plain sight no less) in order to swing an election, I don't why a left-leaning web media outlet wouldn't be willing to participate in similar and more masked effort to do so. Just one would-be blogger's opinion. <BR/><BR/> P.S. - I've since removed my blog from Blogspot. It seems to me that by allowing potential readers to view the review warning and then go on to see the actual blog content, they're actually doing us more harm than they would if simple locked out the blog altogether. I know that if I went to 3 dozen conservative blogs and saw they were flagged for splogging violations, I'd start to form a fairly negative opinion about conservative bloggers as a whole. God bless all...alan jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08274568303926657845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22304160.post-51249828001740584582008-08-01T14:09:00.000-04:002008-08-01T14:09:00.000-04:00"Give 'em enough rope...." Heh.<I>"Give 'em enough rope...."</I> Heh.Lynn R. Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16813272456690971177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22304160.post-62240496542138813652008-08-01T13:26:00.000-04:002008-08-01T13:26:00.000-04:00I will do what I damn well please, thank you. I c...I will do what I damn well please, thank you. I couldn't care less if you actually post what I send you.<BR/><BR/>You can say you believe that brown cows give chocolate milk; its still wrong. I am telling what a hacker is. But have fun looking like an asshat, you "hapless technoweenie (a quote from the movie "<I>Hackers</I>" in case you didnt know, and it is intentional irony that I pick that movie to quote)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22304160.post-39646715111598069402008-08-01T12:52:00.000-04:002008-08-01T12:52:00.000-04:00Anonymous,As usual ... negative comments from an a...Anonymous,<BR/><BR/>As usual ... negative comments from an anonymous source.<BR/><BR/>You can decide on your own what Concrete Bob's conclusion was. I stand by what I wrote.<BR/><BR/>I well understand what a "hacker" is. I used the term because, to me, a hacker is more than just someone who physically invades your files. It is someone who is out to disrupt in anyway possible. Flagging innocent blogs as "spam" so they will be frozen or censored is another form of hacking, in my opinion.<BR/><BR/>Come on back when you can respond as yourself and not "anonymous."Lynn R. Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16813272456690971177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22304160.post-20607061884309374962008-08-01T12:45:00.000-04:002008-08-01T12:45:00.000-04:00Dr. Dawg, thanks for the additional information. M...Dr. Dawg, thanks for the additional information. My original post about this in July was about the anti-Obama sites that had been frozen by Google/Blogger, and that generated responses from conservatives who had been shut down.<BR/><BR/>For whatever reason, it would be nice if everyone respected the freedom of speech for each other, ratcheted down the screechiness and coarse words, and allowed opinions to be expressed openly and without fear of censorship.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for stopping by, and thank you for your rational debate. It is much appreciated.Lynn R. Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16813272456690971177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22304160.post-38866650116945178622008-08-01T12:41:00.001-04:002008-08-01T12:41:00.001-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Lynn R. Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16813272456690971177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22304160.post-35867592731427724712008-08-01T12:41:00.000-04:002008-08-01T12:41:00.000-04:00Grozet, thanks, I'm looking into that and other op...Grozet, thanks, I'm looking into that and other options. This problem is becoming more widespread as the campaign season heats up.Lynn R. Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16813272456690971177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22304160.post-87547874758383854912008-08-01T11:43:00.000-04:002008-08-01T11:43:00.000-04:00Bob concludes hackers are flagging their blogs bec...<I>Bob concludes hackers are flagging their blogs because they are part of a group that wants input on the 9/11 Flight 93 memorial in Pennsylvania.</I><BR/><BR/>First, thats not what he said and second, you dont know what a hacker is, do you? A hacker is someone who goes into your files in order to do something with them, either a) read them or b) screw with them.<BR/><BR/>Someone hitting a "Flag This Site" button is not a hacker. Ooo, look at that. I just hit the button too. I'm not doing it because you're a republican (I'm kinda apolitical), I'm doing it because you're stupid. Post this, dont post this. I dont care. You'll have read it either way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22304160.post-58502787702320128422008-08-01T11:21:00.000-04:002008-08-01T11:21:00.000-04:00We're all going to have to eat crow on this one. I...We're all going to have to eat crow on this one. I run a staunchly left-wing site in Canada, and the same thing just happened to me. I guest-blogged somewhere else about conservative dirty tricks. <BR/><BR/>Maybe a lot of folks are submitting complaints for whatever reason, triggering an automatic response until the Blogger team gets around to reviewing manually. I still find it hard to believe that it's a splog-detection glitch, because the blogs that have been hit don't have any splog characteristics at all.<BR/><BR/>If it makes you feel better, the only Canadian blogs that have been hit that I'm aware of are left-wing or no wing at all. <BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/>Dr.Dawg<BR/>(drdawgsblawg.blogspot.com)Dr.Dawghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00416571487451925246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22304160.post-66975887288524913982008-08-01T10:46:00.000-04:002008-08-01T10:46:00.000-04:00switch to wordpressswitch to wordpressWriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00652961585104116016noreply@blogger.com