protecting iranian.com from cyber-comment vandelism

David ET
by David ET
22-Oct-2007
 
Dear Mr. Javid Although the new format of the iranian.com is very vibrant however it has made the site vulnerable to malicious comments by some to the extent of vulgarities which has made iranian.com susceptible to to verbal vandalism and verbal assaults . The obvious problem is unaccountability of those who post comments which has turned the site to an arena for verbal vandalism of few who create multiple id's without any TRUE email reference (unverified). The solution is rather simple. If anyone chose to leave a comment , THE FIRST TIME, should post a valid email address or the comment would not be posted (verified). This process can be automated by sending a verification email to the person that must be responded before an ID is created and the comment is posted. This verifies the person and email address who later can post comments and blogs after signing in with ID and password this is no longer necessary. All these would be automated. In summary ONLY VERIFIED ACCOUNTS CAN POST. This is common process with many major blog providers and bulletin boards. Although this does not stop cyber vandalism totally but it will limit the ID's that one person uses to the number of emails that s/he has or creates, therefore makes the process more difficult than current system for vandalism. Presently one person can create as many ID's that s/he desires with false unverified email addresses and vandalize the site . With this simple automated method the email addresses and privacy of people are still maintained and not violated.
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David ET

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by David ET on Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:08 AM PDT


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to yet another "anonymous"

by Tonya (not verified) on Wed Oct 24, 2007 08:59 AM PDT

That was good... I'm still laughing.   But I can assure you, I've never HID behind an anonymous name.  And I'm not about to start now just to satisfy your little fantasy.  Still... that was pretty clever.  I don't know why we didn't think of it before!  Like I really need to take a bunch of shit from people who don't know jack shit about me or what I stand for...much less my HUSBAND.  Come on... introduce yourself! 


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Tonya and Majid are the same

by Anonymous33434 (not verified) on Wed Oct 24, 2007 07:46 AM PDT

Tonya and Majid are the same person and frequently post comments here and discuss issues with each other knowing full well it's just one person. One is the Iranian persona and the other the American one. When one gets insulted, a third anonymous character shows up (still the same person) to defend the under dog. I have a feeling it's JJ.

Conspiracy theory?


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to NotSo

by Tonya (not verified) on Tue Oct 23, 2007 09:40 AM PDT

You are so right!  And I'm thinking that it's done a LOT more than you think.  Actually, my husband mentioned exactly that point a few days ago!  I've been tempted myself...lol.  But then I think to myself... I started this as myself...I'm not going hid behind anything or anyone.  I'll take my lumps straight up, thank you very much!


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His got a point..

by NotSoAnonymous (not verified) on Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:10 PM PDT

As it is one can start a "fake" debate between one and himself and take the whole community for a ride! You ask why? Dunno...
Sometimes I am tempted to do that!! ;-)
I let you guys figure it out what to do!


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David ET

per your suggestion

by David ET on Mon Oct 22, 2007 05:51 PM PDT

Dear Mr. Javid 

As per your suggestion I flagged some posts as offensive for the first time EVER just to show you their level ONLY in one blog, although they are all over this site recently.

As you noticed they were not only addressed to ME and many offensive comments were actually addressed to those who were in opposition to me or my views but still I do not condone such exchange or attitude of making personal comments . So it wasn't just offensive to me "you" as you stated.

People addressing each others implants , children, mustache, eyes, sisters, father with comment such as adamsho, babat, sibilet, bachat, moot, esmet etc in sooo many posts were just examples of what this website has turned too and again that is NOT the only article that is filled with such exchange..

This flagging was my way of sending you the type of comments that are being posted here and not an attempt at deletion.

But that is fine. Those like me who would have preferred a more mature environment by prevention and not control will either "get used to it" as you suggested or eventually leave this site to those who enjoy such level of communication and useless exchange under the pretense of freedom.  

as I said my honest best wishes regardless, and as always:

 time will tell :-) 


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Jahanshah Javid

Cheh khabareh?!

by Jahanshah Javid on Mon Oct 22, 2007 04:54 PM PDT

DavidET,

You have flagged a dozen comments today on another blog today. I cannot find a good reason to delete any of them. You cannot prevent speech just because it offends YOU.


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David ET

Freedom of abusing freedom

by David ET on Mon Oct 22, 2007 04:50 PM PDT

Dear Mr. Javid 

Personal slender, liable and name calling vs. freedom of expression are totally two different concepts.

After the Islamic revolution when some people were stopped by the police for passing the traffic light, the reply was, "we had a revolution so we can be free". Many sure have different view of what freedom means.

Freedom is sacred but it stops when it violates another person's rights.

Controling and deleting the comments by management or reporting them as offensive by readers are more of a "policing" than having an automated accoutability sytem.

Prevention of a decease and creating a healthy atomosphere are always much better options than removing the ill after the act.

Creating an environment for free and healthy exchange is a common pratice by most websites in the FREE world. 

But this is your site and regardless of our differnce of opinion , I wish you the best :-)


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Not so bad...

by Nassery (not verified) on Mon Oct 22, 2007 04:22 PM PDT

I've observed meaner and more hateful trolls on sci fi boards and they were just arguing over space aliens.

Rule of thumb: ignore trolls and their comments.

There are quite a number of people who I will read in the comments area because I want to know what they think of the topic.


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Jahanshah Javid

Get used to it

by Jahanshah Javid on Mon Oct 22, 2007 04:12 PM PDT

I have and I will delete purely vulgar comments when I or one of the volunteer editors see one. Registered users can also flag these sorts of things. That's enough policing for my taste.

The rest have a point and deserve to say what they want in any way they want (even with anger, rage, jealousy, meanness...) without needing a special permission or revealing their true identity. What's important is the message not the messenger.


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David ET

anarchy is different than freedom

by David ET on Mon Oct 22, 2007 04:05 PM PDT

When we drive there are rules to follow and same applies to posting in a public website. THIS IS NOT MATTER OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. This suggestion does NOT stop anyone from expressing their views but prevents those who repost under different IDs and take advantage of the lack of accountability.

This suggestion neither stops anyone from posting, not controls what they post neither publically shows their identity or email address. It simply filters multiple entries by the same individual under different alias and even multiple alias are still possible per email account.

Unless Iranian.com does something about this problem, it can jeopardize its medium to be similar to some of the Iranian satellite TV stations which were turned to mediums for name calling, slender and liable by certain individuals.

I presume most of us have firewalls and virus protectors on our computers but these systems do not limit our freedoms , they simply protect us from malicious harm and vandalism. The same requirements applies to a public domain such as iranian.com, just as we need dividing lines and traffic lights for efficient traffic control and safety. 


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great idea!

by Tonya (not verified) on Mon Oct 22, 2007 03:09 PM PDT

What a great idea!  And it does seem pretty simple.  I've never posted under an alias or non-verified name.  I figure if I've got something to say, I'll say it straight up.  But I also understand why someone might more comfortable speaking anonymously.  There are many reasons and safety probably isn't the least of them.  I don't really think it matters why either.  But some kind of accountability is a good idea.  I mean, the math questions ARE getting a little tougher but still....!  I wonder what JJ thinks of this idea!


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bahmani

Editorial Controls not a good idea.

by bahmani on Mon Oct 22, 2007 03:05 PM PDT

It is part of our culture to snipe at one another. This is largely because we don't get to do it that often before being shut up or restricted in our commentary in some way or other. I suggest that we let it run for a while and see if it dies down. It should. Keep in mind we have been a censored people for 2500 years and this freedom of expression is relatively new to us. I answer every bad comment I am thrown and just as it is the right of anyone to say anything, so it is my right to answer them. Also know that you often will get the last word, so any sniping can be relatively easily answered and the snipers usually get bored and go away. As I said, I expect this to die down as people realize that even hurtful words can't actually hurt you.


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