Every day I get comments like this: “Excellent post. I really enjoyed it. I hope to read more of your insightful work. Keep up the great work.” Hidden in the comment, which really says nothing, is a link to a site selling Rolex watches or some such thing. It is spam.
Other comments float in that are simply links. They say nothing or say something innocuous. If I click on them they are selling something. Most of the time. I don’t have time to look.
Filters do catch some of the spam. But I also spend time every day getting rid of it. It isn’t fun.
Now Colin Berry is not a spammer. I know who he is. He writes a skeptical blog on the shroud. And even though his science is something of a stretch most of the time, he works hard and writes well. I think he deserves our attention. Most of the time quote him and link to articles he writes, without reservation. I sometimes express my opinions and many of you do as well. Colin used to join the discussion. He no longer does so. He only writes comments on his blog, and lately, he has tried seeding links to his blog into this blog.
As well intentioned as he may be, I don’t have the extra time to exit from my own software and go exam comments that he writes on his blog, often as slipped-in additions to extant postings. I’m not going to allow links to material I haven’t read. Reviewing comments on this blog is enough. Reviewing his blog, as well, is too much, particularly when I have to reread his postings over and over to see if he has changed them. He is free to comment any way that he wants to but I’m not going to play along. If he wants to write comments on this blog like everyone else does, I will carry them. Or he can address comments on his blog. But he should not try to use this blog as a link farm. It isn’t good netiquette.
Sorry to be such a despot.