A few weeks back, I got fed up with Scattered Words’ repeated insertion of duplicate trackbacks, or links to Scattered Words, into pages at Ex-Gay Watch.
I eventually went back and deleted Scattered Words’ old link insertions on XGW pages. I also blocked Scattered Words from posting new links, and last week I complained to SW blogger "Ben."
As readers will see from the linked discussion, I indicated to "Ben" that his duplicate link insertions were unwelcome. But if he had any objections to Ex-Gay Watch posts, I said, he was welcome to comment on-site at XGW.
Instead of responding constructively, "Ben" retorted smugly that "smart website owners" switch from TypePad to a blog host that is capable of blocking his buggy duplicates.
Instead of overhauling Ex-Gay Watch for the sole purpose of blocking Ben’s inept linking, I have unblocked Ben’s trackback spam for the time being. This not only will permit XGW readers to decide whether "Ben" is a capable and responsible user of the trackback feature of blogging, but also will allow readers to determine whether Ben’s frequent criticisms of XGW are rooted in balanced, comprehensive analysis and sound logic — or counterproductive cynicism and the isolated potshot.
At the risk of sounding like a total moron, what is this all about? Just what is a ‘trackback’ and why is it an issue? Arn’t trackbacks something in music recording? While it is clear that Ben is yet another Jizzball for Jesus, I can’t follow this dispute. (Such people appear to be the overwheming majority of living evangelicals.)
Looked over Ben’s site. Like a glass bottom boat trip through a sewer. Here is a typical line:
“This isn’t a discussion forum. It’s my blog and I will limit, harshly if I need to, what happens in these comment threads and what I let stand.
I’ve made the guidelines very clear. But if you criticize me, whether it’s good criticism or bad criticism (which most of it is) — I will respond and I’m usually not going to be kind about it. ”
It seems to be typical of evangelical christian thought.
A blog writer can draw attention by inserting hyperlinks to one’s own web site in other people’s web logs. These are called trackbacks — they offer readers of the second blog a link to related material on one’s own blog.
For example, “Ben” inserted two links on this Ex-Gay Watch page to a single page of his blog.
Duplicate links occur when the creator of the trackback links (in this case, “Ben”) is momentarily clumsy while editing and resubmitting a post on his site, or when he uses buggy software, or when he intentionally creates multiple links to improve his ranking in certain search engines.
Duplicate links make the targeted site (Ex-Gay Watch) look sloppy, unless I set aside time to clean up the duplicates. I don’t mind performing cleanup occasionally, but Ben creates duplicate links with every single trackback. And he is completely unapologetic about it.
Btw, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, Dale, I disagree with your generalization about evangelicals.
Ben’s grumpy intolerance toward dissent is typical of political ideologues, imho, not evangelicals per se. Witness Jim Wallis, Ron Sider, Ralph Blair, et al.
Thank you for clearing this up for someone who is computer not so literate.
Uh, I do suspect the list of names you cite, adding you and Steve, constitutes about the whole complete and total sum of tolerant evangelicals. Plus those at BA. Which adds up to several handfulls out of a population of tens of millions. Should there be more, all I can say is: why are they hiding?
A less charitable description of “Ben”‘s trackback spamming is that he’s trying to use trackbacks here to advertise his website.
BTW, I got the impression from this post that Mike might be less willing to believe that this “Ben” character is what he purports to be. I have expressed skepticism regarding “Ben” here before.
Regarding
It seems to be typical of evangelical christian thought.
I’m not a particular fan of religion, in general, or christianity, in particular, but evangelical christian does not necessarily equate to conservative. There are some more liberal evangelican christians, such as the editor of Sojourner (I forget his name–Jim Wallis?). I have a number of problems with things he has said recently regarding gay people, but at least he doesn’t seem to be as closed-minded as the conservatives seem to be.
Dale — me, an evangelical? I don’t think so….
The comments area for that site has dwindled significantly over the past few months. Not only that but most of the comments are from the same 2 or 3 people over and over and over. He claimed that he got as much traffic as ever after XGW delinked him, but since he keeps pimping out XGW to get attention, I guess that isn’t the case. And the nitpicking would almost be funny if it weren’t pathetic. How dare you claim that the 700 Club promoted someone as an ex-gay!
That site is basically just a long regurgitation of anti-gay stereotypes, with much hand-wringing and ponderous lecturing. I’ve never believed a word of it. It’s like a bad soap opera.
In the comments section of the trackback Mike linked above, Ben says of Mike, “You’re afraid to face the criticism you get in an honest, open way (I, on the other hand, consistently point it out).” It is an interesting thing for Ben to say, especially since (as Mike pointed out), he has effectively limited almost all criticism on his own blog. He even went as far as to warn a poster not to make him mad (or he would ban him) because the poster politely offered a differing view point (and I do mean politely, the poster made the point that he was not trying to pick a fight very clear in more than one post).
What is worse for me, though, is that many of the readers of the blog jump to attacks and defensiveness more quickly than he does. It strikes me as unChristian to see the attack any dissenting view, no matter how harmless.
Oh, I almost forgot. I noticed that poor Pam Spaulding got involved in the fray as he heckled and harrangued her to death as he tries to do to Mike. She is far too kind and sensible a person to get involved in that mess.
You should consider going to her blog. She has some very eloquent things to say about the destructive anti-gay ex-gay movement.
https://www.pamspaulding.com/weblog/
For people who are now straight, EX-Gays seem to pay a whole lot of attention to gay people.
“For people who are now straight, EX-Gays seem to pay a whole lot of attention to gay people.”
For people who are happy to be gay, or ex-ex-gay, the commenters on this forum (and indeed the forum itself) pays a whole lot of attention to ex-gay people.
Nathan- one reason for that, I think, is that most of the ex-gay movement is fighting against many “gay rights” issues that gays hold so dearly.
Many articles posted on Exodus’ blog even advocate keeping gays away from kids altogether- so as not to spread the gay agenda.
Many (most?) ex-gays also equate their gayness to the risky sex, drug and alcohol abuse, and physical abuse. I think it is worthwhile to comment about the separation between these issues and homosexuality, lest mainstream America think all gays behave this way (and yes, many people do fall for those stereotypes, my dad is a prime example).
I pay attention to the ex-gay people because I have made it my job to keep tabs on homophobic statements from the far right, and to counter those statements wherever they occur. Because the principle players of the ex-gay movement is comprised of those who are trained psychologists and psychoanalysts, their statements are picked up by the broader anti-gay groups like Focus on the Family.
Years ago, it was “researchers” like Paul Cameron who provided the ammo for everyone else. But Paul Cameron has been eclipsed by the ex-gay movement. (Cameron, by the way, is very skeptical of the ability of gays to change).
So yes, I pay attention to their every word. It tells me where Dobson will go a few months afterwards, and the Republican party a few months after that. Ex-gay leaders are the canary in the coalmine.
For people who are happy to be gay, or ex-ex-gay, the commenters on this forum (and indeed the forum itself) pays a whole lot of attention to ex-gay people.
Um, maybe that the interest of those gay people who post here, in regards activities, not only of “ex-gays” but also of those who support “ex-gay” people in denying gay people equal civil rights is:
because the name of the forum is–um–“ex-gay watch”.
One wonders whether this Nathan character read–um–the title of the blog.