It's an interesting topic, and I hope y'all will forgive my pitching in my 2+ cents (I'll try to be brief about it!).
1. I think there is more "gray area" in defining a spam blog than there is in defining spam in Usenet (the origin of "spam" in the sense we now think of it) or email. Is the problem a commercial purpose? There are lots of valuable blogs out there that have an underlying commercial purpose. Is the problem automation? A blog that automates finding news on a topic I like might be seen as, dare I say it, a service rather than a nuisance. I would hope we wouldn't get into another obscenity-esque "I know it when I see it" situation, which unfortunately is how too many people see Usenet/email spam, despite there being more clear-cut definitions available for adoption. 2. Beyond the burden put on hosts of spam blogs and the "noise" when searching for new blogs to consume (and perhaps Web searches in general), what is the *real* damage to the blogosphere caused by a spam blog? Having thousands or millions of spam blogs won't stop, or even likely interfere with, me enjoying the blogs I regularly read. Compare this to email spam (which consumes your resources without your permission) or Usenet spam and blog comment spam (both of which disrupt otherwise-valid conversations), and spam blogs just aren't worthy of the same level of concern. This is not meant to defend abusive behavior in the blogosphere, no matter what form it may take, and I've certainly rejected spam blogs while Reviewing feeds on Syndic8 (including before the recent discussion). However, I'm not quite ready to join a lynch mob seeking out spam bloggers (but don't tempt me when it comes to email spam...) I am, however, getting ready to move my BlogSpot-hosted blogs to my own domain to avoid having them "ignored," which is evidence of another "damage" done by spam blogs. Yet even that damage is to one entity, and the blogosphere will be no less valuable if real blogs are moved from one server to another. Ok, that wasn't very brief! :-) Happy reviewing, all -- we're only about 7000 feeds away from having a quarter of a million feeds in the queue pending review. Lots to choose from! -- Stuart Whitmore [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.just-stuart.com/ On 10/19/05, Jeff Barr <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi All, > > Here's an article about the growing problem of spam blogs: > > http://www.internetweek.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=172302196 > > Jeff; > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/IRislB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> If you're getting "too much mail" then send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (this will tell it to stop sending you mail) To change your membership use THIS WEB PAGE: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/syndic8/join (here you can set your mail to digest, no mail or LEAVE the list) To find more info about Syndicated XML newsfeeds visit http://www.syndic8.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/syndic8/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
