Well, I think we all learned a valuable lesson from my little fake spam stunt. Mostly we learned that you should run away when I start talking about doing practical jokes. Those of you who remember my series of posts about the real life practical jokes I used to do will most likely have already learned that lesson.
But I must admit, I am still not quite sure why my joke was taken so seriously by the powers that be. I admit it wasn’t that funny. But I still think that it was completely harmless. And I would like to understand what exactly happened… because as you all know, I am a computer moron.
Here is the email I received from someone at WordPress, telling me what happened from their point of view;
———————
Hi,
Akismet, our anti-spam service located and alerted us to several instances of comment spam from your account (i.e. leaving comments on other sites with the primary intention of directing traffic elsewhere). We have a zero tolerance policy for such behavior, and as such, you will need to refrain from this particular activity in the future. If it does continue, your site will be permanently suspended.
Your site has been returned at this time and may be used again.
Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation.
—————————–
I have no intention of repeating my stunt. But I ask you to pay close attention to the part of the email in parentheses. It says; leaving comments on other sites with the primary intention of directing traffic elsewhere.
If you go back and read my fake spam comment, I don’t think it does that. At no point does it suggest to the person who got it to go anywhere. But there is a bigger issue here. We all comment on other blogs. I admit that copying and pasting a comment that was typed to sound a little like a spam was not quite the same thing, but that was the joke. I was doing parody.
But consider the wording of the email. They don’t want us to ‘direct traffic’ anywhere. Think about that. When we do comments, aren’t we trying to direct traffic to our blogs? Isn’t that the idea? I don’t know about you, but I often scroll through the topic walls and click on blogs that seem funny to me. Then I try to do the cleverest comment that I can come up with. Why? To try to lure that person into reading my blog. How else am I supposed to get new followers?
And what about when we do links to each other or to other sites when we comment? Isn’t that ‘directing traffic’ somewhere? I am not complaining. I just want to understand the rules.
The cool part about all of this is that somewhere out there there are ‘bots’… whatever they are… sending out millions of spam messages. And WordPress has robots that go looking for these bots. And then they have a battle somewhere in the voids of the electronic netherworld. How cool is that?
I am sort of honored to have been swept up in this battle. I feel like Arnold the terminator robot came to save me from the bad robots that wanted to kill me. Except in a way, these bad robots worked for the same side as the good robot. But they got confused because they thought I was a bad robot. Do you see what I’m saying?
I think there is a lesson to be learned.
When the final war of the robots does start… do not dress up as a robot on Halloween.
Pouring My Art Out 
You will always be a bad robot – “Bad Wobot!”
If I had any emotions I would cry.
We learned a lesson??
No, WE learned a lesson.
pft you
Ha.
I guess they do not want people to be directed to a malicious site I suppose. It revealed a less than human side to the powers that be, to look at things literally and forget we are all people, all with very different definitions of humour. I was going to make the analogy that even people on death row get a reprieve sometimes, but they’ve given you one now so I can’t use it.
I can’t find a post from you during the last three days… what is going on?
Even when you look up my address http://www.london-survival.com
Ahhh, very funny and oh so subtle. Blogbies… I need one of them.
Oh, I’m trying to lead you to my site 😉
Did you move or something? What is going on. I am following you, so why did it not show up on my reader???
They sometimes do that< I have to unfollow and refollow people sometimes so they work again
I would offer to start a revolution against… you know who… but now is not the time.
Or maybe they are splitting everyone up, making us go and sit in different corners. And there’ll be no ice cream for you
Stop making me more paranoid…
sorry! Only kidding 🙂
I feel like I am no longer walking on solid ground.
I saw your comment on the forum about Art’s blog, and timethief’s reply to you was one of the funniest literal taking of a comment I’ve read in a long time!
That whole thing was weird. I am sort of proud of myself for stirring that whole mess up.
I thought it was brilliant…this is what I said to behindthemask to a comment on my blog: http://theseedsaidso.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/free-the-wordpress-one/comment-page-1/#comment-509
not that I’m trying to direct you anywhere…will that joke ever wear thin?
That was the most beautiful conversation about me that ever existed.
I truly thought the idea was excellent; I could see your little face light up at the prospect, and the scope, I could imagine you smirking each time you pressed ‘paste’!
And then the face of a little boy whose ball has broken a window and won’t be allowed to play outside ever again!
I actually did the same gag a long time ago, and nothing happened… but you sure nailed that description of me as I was doing it… except for the little face part.
figure of speech…
Well when you’re as big as you are, people tend to notice stuff.
Right.
I was flitting between being astounded and finding it hilarious.
The whole situation was just sort of bizarre.
I would have been sorely tempted to wind her up myself! You were very restrained.
Don’t hold back on my account if it ever happens again.
You have plans to make it happen again?!? What am I saying…plans…
I didn’t plan it the first time.
I know; it wouldn’t have been the same if WordPress had given you a creativity award!
No… but I could have lived with that…
But I would have to have stopped laughing by now…
Well there is that.
It would have made it worse for Arthur, sometimes best to bite your tongue
Joe is sensitive and thoughtful He pays attention to things and reacts with restraint and judgement. Not sure how he ended up on my blog or why he stays, but I am lucky to have him.
Unless I have a hangover – then I’m an asshole
That is what booze are for.
I know I know, you’re right you’re right…but still.
Is this another uprising behind my back?
Not at all, oh all-knowing one, I was merely admiring Joe’s restraint on your behalf when faced with a wall of sense of humourlessness.
I was tempted to lose my patience during my time in the wilderness… like that would have helped.
That would have just made you a bad doctor…or something…
Did I spell it wrong?
No…it was my attempt at humour…I shan’t try that again.
I thought maybe patience was one of those words with two spellings for the two meanings… I am not a good smeller… uh… speller.
It is…patience and patients…you are stellar though.
So you were just teasing the guy who can’t spell by making him think he spelled a word wrong when really he didn’t.
Know, knot at awl, eye assumed ewe new the to spellings.
which witch to two too? No know I eye aye do knot not naught nought nawt naut
Prays the Lord for the spelling chequer
That came with our pea sea!
Mecca mistake and it puts you rite
Its so easy to ewes, you sea.
I never used to no, was it e before eye?
(Four sometimes its eye before e.)
But now I’ve discovered the quay to success
It’s as simple as won, too, free!
Sew watt if you lose a letter or two,
The whirled won’t come two an end!
Can’t you sea? It’s as plane as the knows on yore face
S. Chequer’s my very best friend
I’ve always had trubble with letters that double
“Is it one or to S’s?” I’d wine
But now, as I’ve tolled you this chequer is grate
And its hi thyme you got won, like mine.
Janet E. Byford
wow…
Go Janet E. Byford.
Maybe you could date her…
Don’t you mean data?
If you want to date the guy from Star Trek the next generation, that is none of my affair.
I don’t trust him…shifty eyes.
Weird skin tone.
Yeah I just googled him and it seems I was thinking of the other guy with the band thing across his eyes…I could never be President.
You mean Geordie… the blind guy?
That’s the one…blind you say? I assumed he had super vision.
With his glasses he did. Not without them.
Ah…I see…anyway, that’s the guy.
From the point of view of this premise, you can date anybody from that show you want.
No idea what show you’re talking about…Mary Tyler Moore?
She was the wife of Rob Petry in the Dick Van Dyke show before that show.
I know it well…’twas a seminal work.
I think it’s more like you got saved by humans controlling the good robots battling the bad robots. So yay for humans! And glad to have you back.
Thank you. I feel like a dolphin that got caught in the tuna net. Don’t dress up like a tuna for Halloween either.
Thank you for the metaphor. I’m going to start referring to my spam folder as “tuna can”
That seems a little fishy to me, but okay.
Reblogged this on Bastet and Sekhmet and commented:
Alas…’tis easy to fall afoul ( or is that afowl) well…what I mean, is if you aren’t careful…do naughty jokes…as in practicle jokes…or make a comment with a link…you could be shut down! Fascinating…
Yay, you’ve been freed!! I was about to start tying PMAO-colored ribbons to trees and stuff. I saw some of your fake spams, they had no links at all. They didn’t direct traffic anywhere. This was turned into a tornado in a teacup for no reason.
It was all done with robots. We are surrounded by robots.