Comments on: All the Bigotry That’s Fit to Post at John McCain’s Website

By: StockBoySF

StockBoySF — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:04:18 +0000

I'm with elrod too. We shouldn't blame McCain (or Obama) for 3rd party postings that appear on their websites. I would hope that those postings are appropriately handled as quickly as possible. I think if a campaign consistently takes a few days to pull these sorts of postings down, then there might be concern. While the internet is open to everyone, it doesn't excuse a campaign from forgoing reasonable (and responsible) precautions/editing. And until the requirements are better understood by the campaigns, we should give McCain's and Obama's websites the benefit of a doubt.

If there's a bigoted thread on a campaign website, I would hope that someone from that campaign would step in and say that such language is not tolerated on that web site. I don't know if it can be done from a technical standpoint but perhaps if certain words, i.e. as fag or anti-christ, could be flagged so that as soon as they are posted a notification is sent to the campaign, then someone from the campaign website (maybe a webmaster of sorts?) can log in and state that those comments are not acceptable.

And if there are a dozen comments and the campaign says such language is not appreciated, then I would hope no further comments are posted, but if they continue to be then the campaign should respond further and shut down the thread, if necessary.

By: Dymersion » Blog Archive » The Pros and Cons of Political Web Commentary

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:07:40 +0000

[...] posted by a blogger. On the McCain side, TMV’s Michael Stickings has linked to a report and provided his own commentary on equally stupid postings going on at the blog [...]

By: Michael Merritt

Michael Merritt — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:36:28 +0000

I'm with elrod. Yet, some prominent bloggers and talking heads on TV (e.g. Bill O'Reilly) will lay the responsibility at the feet of the heads of those websites, e.g. Barack Obama or, for the personal enemy of Big O, Ariana Huffington.

By: Slamfu

Slamfu — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:31:48 +0000

We are not seriously blaming McCain for things people coming to his website are saying are we?

By: runasim

runasim — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:34:19 +0000

'Some liberal bloggers contended it was a Repub plot…just as this could be the work of some Democratic provocateurs'
————-

One techie claimed most of it came from one website, i.e. one person, who often does these cut and paste operations across the blogosphere under different names.
The Internet can get ugly.

By: Marlowecan

Marlowecan — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:19:50 +0000

Elrod's caution is wise.

Aravosis' post was basically retalitation after conservative bloggers noted not very nice pieces about Jews - notably "How the Jewish Lobby works" - that someone had stuck up on Obama's site.

When this became news, it was immediately pulled down by admins.

Some liberal bloggers contended it was a Repub plot...just as this could be the work of some Democratic provocateurs.

Elrod's caveat is well-taken. We will see a lot more of this as the "Guilt by Association" election heats up. I wonder which site will host the first posts-comments from the NorthAmericanManBoyLoveAssociation or the KKK?

Odd to think that TMV can be moderated, but not these candidates' web presence.

By: Neocon

Neocon — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:16:49 +0000

Right. I agree with runasim

Plus I havent been banned here yet, which Im not sure what that means but its bound to mean something

By: runasim

runasim — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:12:21 +0000

You missed the first act, I think.
The revelation about McCains's website came after days of blog postings about what's on Obama's website.
Searching McCain's website was a defense and retalition move.

When there are community blogs on which anybody can post, anybody and his crazy brother will post.

I don't know if it's even a good idea to enter into comparative bigotry wars among anonoymous bloggers not representing candidates.

By: elrod

elrod — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:08:20 +0000

I'd be careful about opening that can of worms. Campaign blogs can be opened by anybody, included “trolls” who want to make them look bad. Consider the “New Black Panther Party” blog on Obama's site. That was almost definitely put there by an opponent of Obama.

Perhaps these blogs should be moderated – like Moderate Voice. But if they aren't, there's no way to hold McCain accountable for wackos on his site.