FAQ

Q: Why is it that sometimes my comments don’t appear?

A:  My spam filter is hypervigilant and looking out for the best interest of the group.  It has saved us all from thousands of viagra ads, links to online gambling, Japanese stuff, and things I cannot describe in polite company.  However, sometimes it will think that you, dear reader, are spam.  I cannot always explain why this happens, but I offer the following insight and suggestions.

• If you put multiple links in your post, you may be considered spam. 
• If you put a link and nothing else, you may be considered spam. 
• If you drop the F-bomb, you will definitely be considered spam. 
• If you have been spammed before, you will more likely be considered spam.

Once you are thrown into the spam queue, your post will sit there until I come save it.  I usually try to do this twice a day, but spammers are relentless and make it difficult to keep up sometimes.  When I see you buried there, I click a little box, liberate you from the Viagra party, and put you back to the discussion. 

***However, if you have posted 8 or 10 times, I only liberate ONE post.  That means I have to throw 8 or 9 of your posts in the spam queue.  This means you are more likely to be considered spam the next time.  So, be patient, and know that I will retrieve your post as soon as I can.

 Q:  What do you do about trolls?

A:  If someone is an obvious troll, I banish them to the cold harsh world outside the Mudflats.  However, just because someone disagrees with me, I do not automatically consider them a troll.  If someone is respectful, curious, or willing to offer another side to the story, I’m all ears.  However, disrespectful language, profanity, personal attacks, and thoughtless outright trolling will not be tolerated.  If there is a quasi-troll, I will first “spam” their comment.  They will henceforth be immediately put in the spam queue.  Then, when I go through the spam, and I see future posts, I can decide if they will enhance the conversation or not, and act accordingly.

If anyone sees an obvious troll, please drop me an email, or post in the most recent thread.  Remember to tell me where the troll is – name of post, and time of comment – so I can find and vanquish them quickly.

Engaging trolls in conversation generally pumps them up with all kinds of goofy brain chemicals that make them behave even worse, and stresses out the community.  So, unless you really can’t help yourself, the best thing to do is not to feed the trolls.  If they are ignored, they usually go away.

Q.  Who are you?

A. I have chosen to remain anonymous.  I have also chosen not to reveal my gender.  There has been much discussion about this in the group.  Many loyal Mudflatters are concerned about preserving my anonymity, and I appreciate that.  I’ve been called Bro, Dude, & Sistah.  I’ve been told “You da man!” and “You go girl!”  This is fine with me.  I like human beings of both genders, and I take no offense to being called one or the other.  You may use whatever pronoun makes you happy.  I refer to my spouse as “spouse”.  I have been interviewed for various print media and been asked to give a pronoun to make life easier for the journalist.  I have given both. 

There are so many head-fakes at this point, that I’m really not worried.

Some day I may “out” myself, but I have no desire to do that now.  There are other capable voices to speak on the issues from an Alaskan perspective, and I am happy to let them have the spotlight.

Q.  How do I make smileys (emoticons) show up in my post?

Simply hover your cursor over any of the emoticons below and you will see the piece of code you need to use.  Just type the code in the comment box and your emoticon will appear.
🙂 🙂 🙂 😆
😀 😀 😀 😳
😦 😦 😦 😥
😮 😮 😮 👿
😯 😯 😯 😈
😕 😕 😕 🙄
8) 😎 😎 ❗
😡 😡 😡 ❓
😛 😛 😛 💡
😐 😐 😐 ➡
😉 😉 😉
 

Q. How can I upload an avatar?

The default avatar is a randomly generated geometric pattern.  Some people call them quilts, others call them snowflakes.  If you want to use your own avatar, you’ll need to go to www.wordpress.com and create an account.  Then follow the instructions to upload your own avatar.  It will automatically be used throughout WordPress.

Q.  Any other guidelines about posting?

A.   Please keep comments on topic.  Off topic comments and conversations are welcomed at the Mudflats Forum (link in sidebar).  I reserve the right to remove comments which I find offensive, inflammatory, or disrespectful.  Differing opinions are welcome, but play nice, or don’t play at all.  I am all for free speech, but the Mudflats Kingdom is a benevolent dictatorship and I make the final call.

If you see a great article you want to share, please copy and paste only part of the article, and then include a link.  If you post the entire article in a comment, it may be copywright infringement…and that’s not good.  Same goes for the other way around.  If you want to share one of my posts, please include part of the post, and then link back to Mudflats.

Linking to your own blog in a comment is occasionally acceptable.  Please don’t abuse this.  But outright promotion and solicitation to promote traffic on your own blog is generally not considered good form.  If you enter your url as you make a comment, readers will be able to link to your blog from any comment you make.  If they’re curious, they’ll come visit.

Any questions I’m forgetting?  Email me at akmuckraker@yahoo.com and put FAQ in the subject line.

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