Monthly Archives: September 2008

Comments Policy, Version 1.2

Posted on September 12, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Version 1.01 of my comments policy, which has served well since November 2003, read:

  1. Participants in the comments are kindly requested to be civil, and at least vaguely on-topic.
  2. I will delete (or disemvowel) comments that are duplicative, commercial, needlessly foul or mean or otherwise inappropriately offensive
  3. My decisions are final. I’m happy to discuss them by email.
  4. I’ll amend this policy as I gain experience.
  5. In the long run, it remains to be seen if comments is a workable commons or not.

For the avoidance of doubt, however, as of today I’m moving to version 1.2

  1. Participants in the comments are kindly requested to be civil, and at least vaguely on-topic.
  2. I will delete (or disemvowel) comments that are duplicative, commercial, needlessly foul or mean or otherwise inappropriately offensive.
  3. Instead of deleting a post, I may disemvowel the URL to commercial sites even if a post is arguably on-topic when I believe the poster is engaged in a pattern of linking to different commercial sites under false names.
  4. I will use blocking software to block links to sites using words or strings commonly associated with commercially oriented blog posts or references
  5. I will ban the IP number of any poster who serially violates this policy.
  6. My decisions are final. I’m happy to discuss them by email.
  7. I’ll amend this policy as I gain experience.
  8. In the long run, it remains to be seen if comments is a workable commons or not. I will not have my work be used as billboard for your ads (at least, not without a cut, and this is a resolutely non-commercial activity). I’m prepared to turn off comments if vigilance proves too time-consuming.
Posted in Discourse.net | Comments Off on Comments Policy, Version 1.2

Our Liberal Media

Posted on September 11, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Poynter Online – Romenesko, Chicago Tribune rejects “vote Democratic” request in death notice

The last line in a paid death notice for Ken Swanborn read: “In lieu of flowers, please vote Democratic.” Somebody at the Tribune deleted the request. “If it's considered discriminatory or offensive, they take the line out,” explains a woman on the paper's death notices desk.

Posted in The Media | 3 Comments

Red to Blue Adds Annette Taddeo to List

Posted on September 11, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Maybe it was the grass roots organizing and public support demonstrated when Annette Taddeo won the recent Act Blue fundraising contest.

Maybe it was the drumbeat of criticism of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz for failing to step up to the plate.

Maybe it was the embarrassment of failing to support the only Latina challenger for a federal race in the entire country.

Maybe it was that South Florida Democrats kept reminding the DCCC just how bad Ileana Ros-Lehtinen really is.

Maybe it was when Ileana Ros-Lehtinen emerged as a leading cheerleader for Gov. Sarah Palin — a job many other leading Republican women declined.

But whatever it was, the dam has burst, and (at least according to DCCC head honcho Chris Van Hollen, as quoted in the Politico) the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has added Annette Taddeo (FL-18) to its elite list of Red to Blue candidates. As the DCCC puts it,

The Red to Blue program highlights top Democratic campaigns across the country, and offers them financial, communications, and strategic support. These candidates earned a spot in the program by surpassing demanding fundraising goals and skillfully demonstrating to voters that they stand for change and will represent new priorities when elected to Congress.

This is a very important step for establishing the Taddeo campaign as one with real prospects of winning, and should provided welcome access to wallets in Florida and nationally.

Posted in Politics: FL-18 | 5 Comments

Miami-Dade Libraries Fail to Renew Domain Name

Posted on September 11, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

I knew that times were tough for the county, but domain names are not that expensive.

It seems, however, that the Miami-Dade Public Library has failed to renew its domain name. Right now if you cruise over to http://www.mdpls.org you get a message from Network Solutions saying “mdpls.org expired on 09/05/2008 and is pending renewal or deletion.”

mdpls.jpg

So I called the main library and reported it. The front-line person seemed dubious, “It worked yesterday,” but agreed to report it to (unnamed) higher-ups.

Here's hoping they get that online catalog back online soon. Heck, I'd gladly pay for it myself, if necessary (or possible).

By the way, MDPLS, if you are trying to save a buck you can get a much better deal on domain name registration by switching registrars.

Update (8pm): They're back…

Posted in Miami | 4 Comments

Well, *That’s* Under Control Now

Posted on September 11, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

If I did not read Making Light, I would not learn great information like that found in I would just to like to say—, namely,

there is an RSS feed for hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com.

And, indeed, the entry for “Monday, September 08, 2008 11:25 AM” reads, in full, as follows:

NOPE.

The Internet is good.

(But I wonder how often they update?)

Posted in Science/Medicine | 3 Comments

Shameless Ballot Manipulation in Mississippi

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

MS-SEN: Even More Ballot Shenanigans

I wrote yesterday about the breathtaking attempts to fix an election in Mississippi by hiding the Senate race on the ballot in an effort to discourage voters. (See Republicans Acting Like Peronists — Or Maybe Chavezites.)

This ruse is so breathtakingly illegal in a state whose election statute requires the federal elections to come first — in the clearest possible terms — that the attempt seems destined to fail in court (it's currently enjoined pending a hearing).

But that has not stopped the desperate Republicans, fearing their party's brand: the latest wheeze is to remove party affiliations from the candidates in the Senate race (just the Senate race, not all of them). And the law appears to be silent on this tactic, so they might get away with it.

Posted in Politics: The Party of Sleaze | 2 Comments