The Scrolls

Archive for the ‘Internet’ Category

Is That How It Works?

I just received this spam email:

Welcome,

We are Anonymous.
Think – what the world will be like in the future depends only on you.
You always have a choice – either you continue tolerating, or you join us, and we
change the world on our own. While you stand still, nothing will change. Is it not
enough to listen to tales, which the government is telling you? Join Anonymous and
change your future yourselves!

Do you want to be a part of us? It is simple. Send us the following information:
Your name – how we should address you.
Your country – where you live now.
Your mobile – to be able to connect you.

Tell us what you are fond of, how you can be of help. In what part do you see
yourself in our group?

Together we can change the world for better.

We are Legion. We do not Forgive. We do not Forget. We are Anonymous.

Contact us at [email redacted]

I had no idea!

I’m Sick of Writing, I’m Sick of Reading

There’s been changes, and I have had to write a lot more to make the same amount of money that I was making. It’s not really and end-of-the-world deal but it does mean that I find it a lot more difficult to blog or even to write reviews. Similarly, I signed up to read a bunch of eBooks and, as it turns out, I am not a big fan of eBooks. So I’m all worded out.

I’m still pinning, however. Yep, I joined Pinterest. Yes, it’s more of a waste of time than some people are willing to admit and there is a lot of content that I just don’t find appealing. However, I am interested in seeing how I can promote my websites or make money from this newfangled website.

Also, I like to look at the pretty stuff.

LOL

I forgot how much I love the Anti Joke website. Seriously.

Q: What is red and smells like blue paint?

A: Red paint.

Spam, Spam, Spam

I clean out the spam comments on my blog on a pretty regular basis. I find that my plug-ins are damned good at catching them and I rarely even look to see if they’ve caught something I want to keep. Sometimes, though, I look and cannot help but be amused by them. So here are a few recent examples.

Whatever you do, don’t have sex with him. He’s probably trying to make you jealous or use you because he’s hurt.

Great advice! It has nothing to do with this post, though.

I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you. – Roy Croft

Sweet. Who are you?!

GERMAN SCIENTIST PROVES VIRUSES ARE NOT ALIVE:

OKAY I BELIEVE YOU.

Where exactly is the facebook like button ?

Relevant question spam. I am confused. You can like any post on the individual post page, though. I’m not so fond of that plug-in these days. hmm..

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson: “That it will never come again is what makes life sweet.”

Things just got profound.

J’approuve completement.

Merci.

There are also a surprisingly large number of comments about theZune. Do they even make that any more?

4 Ways to Protest SOPA on your WordPress Blog

Blackout your blog.

The list of plug-ins that will blackout your blog for the day and automatically return it to normal is none-too-short. I installed the SOPA Blackout Plugin to display a splash page for my visitors on the 18th. The settings allow me to decide if I want visitors to be able to view the site at all — and I do. Simple Stop SOPA will take your site offline between the ours of 8AM and 8PM on the 18th.

Redirect your blog.

If you don’t mind losing hits and possibly confusing or frustrating your visitors, consider the Stop SOPA and PIPA Plugin to redirect your visitors to the official Stop SOPA website where they can cast a vote.

Display a ribbon.

Perhaps the least obtrusive plug-in, the Stop SOPA Ribon simply displays a diagonal banner on the top corner of your blog. If you can’t afford to take your website down because of business/advertisement/financial obligations, this is the one for you. Your readers can click the ribbon to go to the American Censorship site to learn more about why SOPA sucks.

Put up a widget.

Have a little room in your sidebar or widget? Host a widget that helps to increase awareness about SOPA for the day of January 18th.

You what?

So I recently watched a Christmas episode of Family Guy. It was pretty weird. Brian and Stewie wound up delivering gifts to the good girls and boys of the world because Santa was too overworked to do it himself.  They wound up goofing the whole thing because, as it turns out, delivering presents to nearly 4 billion (according to Apple) kids is hard. Of course, the family who woke up to Brian and Stewie were less than thrilled to see them there..

However, if you have kids they might enjoy the service provided by iCaughtSanta.com. This website allows you to upload a photo and add Santa so you can print — or digitally share — proof that he visited your house. If the standard bite-out-of-a-cookie trick doesn’t do it for you or, if you just want to try something new this Christmas. The website will do one photo for around $10 and you can purchase a photo and video pack for $25. You can also purchase gift cards to the site for your loved ones, if you don’t have kids.

There is no rule that says you have to be be nice on the Internet

I wish I could say that I’m not afraid to be the dissenting voice but it’s not entirely true. I will speak up when I feel I should but I fear.. retribution. This is largely due to the fact that my ex-husband avoided conflict in any form, even when avoidance was actually more of a problem than whatever the conflict would be but it’s also due to certain online communities refusing to ever mutter a discouraging word. Coincidentally, I was the voice of dissent on someone else’s blog today and she deleted the post and comment. I have strong feelings about avoiding criticism and conflict and I shall list them here because a list is the only way this post won’t be ridiculously confusing.

•  There is no rule that says you have to be nice on the Internet. While this means you can get away with being a douchebag, it also means that people are going to occasionally treat you like crap. We’ve all experienced it and, no, it’s not fun but that’s the reality of it.
• But just because you can be a dick without getting your ass pounded or are anonymous on the Internet doesn’t mean you have to be. You can still be a decent person when it calls for.
• People won’t always heed the previous so you should surround yourself with people who are supportive.
• But you should avoid only communicating with those who put a positive spin on everything because honestly is necessary. It may be uncomfortable but dissent and criticism promote growth, whether it’s improving upon a product after a less than thrilled review, becoming a bigger person, redesigning a website, learning to communicate better with your partner or working to better your customer service. Without conflict, no matter the degree, we’d all be stuck in the same place forever.
• And avoiding conflict may put off that momentary discomfort but will make you miserable all the time. It will also ruin your relationships. Fact. Marriages where the couple fall into the pursuer-withdrawer roles usually end within 5 years. Mine did. Ha!
• No one wants to be the voice of dissent, either. Even when I know I’m right, I’m worried about what people will say, if I’ll get attacked because I don’t agree or if someone might delete my comments. We’re all people, here and I’m pretty sure we’re strong enough to get through this.
• With that said, sometimes you have to speak up even when no one else is. It can be difficult to be the first person to voice your concerns but it shows strength of character. Honesty is a valuable trait. Perhaps I’m honest to the fault when I play the Devil’s advocate but no one would ever fault me for being a liar.
• But you can be honest without being a dick. Use tact.
• When you experience conflict or criticism, there’s no need to throw in the towel. In fact, feel free to argue, reasonably, if you believe yourself to be in the right. But one bit of adversity is not enough to shut down a website, end a relationship, or even delete a post or comment. Accept conflict because it shows strength of character.
• Respond like an adult and learn to recognize when you cannot so that you can step back from the fray, temporarily, to regroup. Rather than avoiding conflict, allow yourself to calm down and reflect upon whether there is any truth to what is being said. Return to the conversation after and then respond, if it benefits you to do so.