Didn't Howard Dean's campaign have some infrastructure to make it easy to write letters to the editor? Doesn't Barack Obama's?

Oh lookie here! File this one under "they all do it". If it's a sin that McCain rewards supporters for doing this, it's a sin that Obama also gives you points for other stuff (organizing events, etc).

That said editors need some protection against straight-up copy-past jobs ... I remember in 2004 there were some suggested talking points that clearly appeared verbatim in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Didn't Howard Dean's campaign have some infrastructure to make it easy to write letters to the editor? Doesn't Barack Obama's?

You don't understand the game, Nick. It's fine when it's a Democrat.

*Now* do you understand?

Yes, providing people with contact info for LTEs is the same as bribing people for blog comments!

And did you know John McCain was fighting our enemies why Hussein Obama was at a madrassa?

The Howard Dean campaign didn't promise us prize points redeemable for valuable prizes for sending letters to voters or newspapers (that I remember). The paid trolls on the blogs back in that era seemed to be coming from the Bush side. :)

Seriously, pathetic this is.

Making it easier to do something isn't the same as incentivizing someone to do something. And incentivizing people to spam my comment threads? Sort of annoying.

John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will create millions of good American jobs, ensure our nation's energy security, get the government's budget and spending practices in order, and bring relief to American consumers.

John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will create millions of good American jobs, ensure our nation's energy security, get the government's budget and spending practices in order, and bring relief to American consumers.

I want my $2.00.

How many of these do I have to post before I get to be an ambassador or something?

had we but world enough and time....

it'd be fun to pretend to be a dorky McCain supporter going off on tire gauges and what not, plus get memorabilia from McCain for the grandkids

What's that, Lassie? There's a new Barack Obama Activity Tracker? Golly Gee Willikers, what a scandal!

The difference between paying supporters to organize events and paying them to paper the comments threads of opponents with your talking points is analogous to the difference between newsletters and spam. One is welcome, the other unwelcome. Furthermore, the first is perceived by its target audience as honest and the second as duplicitous. Why is the second duplicitous? Because communities come to exist around the comments sections of different sites and these communities have social norms. Among these norms, rightly or wrongly, is that posting in the thread implies acceptance of or at least interest in the community's norms. Also, less controversially, is that comments are relevant to the post that started the thread. A third norm is that one's comments reflect one's own opinion. Parroting talking points on hostile threads to earn points violates all three norms. The implication that one accepts the norms -- by having chosen to post -- while patently not accepting them is perceived as duplicity.


Well, that's my take at any rate.

There are serious issues at stake in this election, and serious differences between the candidates. And we will argue about them, as we should. But it should remain an argument among friends; each of us struggling to hear our conscience, and heed its demands; each of us, despite our differences, united in our great cause, and respectful of the goodness in each other.

Another thing, whoever's posting here as Nicholas Beaudrot doesn't sound much like Nicholas Beaudrot.

Eh, I take that back.

John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will create millions of good American jobs, ensure our nation's energy security, get the government's budget and spending practices in order, and bring relief to American consumers.

Could you please forward my bonus to fundraising at www.barackobama.com?

Thank you.

p.s. "Country First"? Actually it's 'McCain First, Exxon Second and You Last'. Or in other words, 'Bush 3.0'.

(Part of this message was not approved by the McCain Campaign).

For the record, all my comments are my own, and I write them because I believe them. I don't get anything from anyone for writing comments and only write them when I think I have something to say, such as about Ezra's increasing decent into hackery (defined as different standards depending on party affiliation). I assume Ezra writes his blogposts because he believes them, but who knows, maybe he writes what he does to avoid getting fired by Tapped like that other guy a couple of years ago (the Kossacks got mad at him, I forget his name).

Maybe, just maybe, people think differently than you in good faith! I know it's hard to believe since you are right about everything always, but people have different opinions than you about energy, terrorism, the economy and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Oh, look, Nicholas Beaudrot shows more hackery! He must be getting a McCain flag lapel pin soon.

Although I want Obama's message to be broadcast as frequently and in as many mediums as possible, David Houghton has raised a good point. Trolling on blogs could easily become counterproductive. Posts on blogs perhaps should not be incentivized or included in points totals.

They're all me ... I'm mostly being cheeky. I was sort of surprised that the MyBO thing didn't include attending rallies or writing LTEs or ... well, commenting on blogs or newspaper sites.

John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will create millions of good American jobs, ensure our nation's energy security, get the government's budget and spending practices in order, bring relief to American consumers, and get you dirty fucking hippies off his lawn.

John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will create millions of good outsourced jobs for Haliburton and Blackwater, ensure our nation's energy security by keeping us in Iraq, get the government's budget and spending practices in order by extending tax cuts to the wealthy, and bring relief to American consumers by giving tax breaks to oil companies.

Where are my Buffalo Chip tickets?

Scott asserts that he's respecting all three norms I postulated. I don't doubt his sincerity. His having posted this raises another problem with McCain's blog-spamming strategy, though: it lends credence to the claim that any hostile voice in a comments thread is just an insincere troll.

Which McCain talking points are eligible? If I were to post here "Ha ha, your tire gauge is teh suxxor," can I still get the gym bag, or has that particular meme been memory holed?

Additionally, it occurs to me that Jesus' General must have his whole house full of Republican candidate gym bags.

I haven't seen too much pro-McCain sockpuppetry, but I've seen a ton of the pro-BHO variety. See, for example, an average post at The Trail (WaPo).

And, Ezra could even do some investigatin' of his own: look into who left the TAPPED comment mentioned here: peekURL.com/z1uuksd "The coal is getting stoked"???

Also, I'm offering more than points, I'm offering cold, hard cash to those who ask one of my questions at a campaign appearance.

P.S. Today's suggested blogs from McCain include *four* I've been banned from and one that's deleted my comments, so I won't be participating.

Maybe, just maybe, people think differently than you in good faith!

...which is why the McCain campaign has to bribe them to spout its talking points.

The ironic part is that there is certainly no shortage of people who eagerly volunteer, day after day, to mindlessly repeat that day's talking points, word for word, as if they were their own.

"How many of these do I have to post before I get to be an ambassador or something?"

but for that to happen John McCain would have to win and give a shit that you helped him do it.

Maybe he will let you watch his wife do a strip tease instead?

Daivid Houghton: "Scott asserts that he's respecting all three norms I postulated. I don't doubt his sincerity. His having posted this raises another problem with McCain's blog-spamming strategy, though: it lends credence to the claim that any hostile voice in a comments thread is just an insincere troll."

Exactly. People who genuinely hold these opinions and honorably take part in blog comments and discussion boards should be the most perturbed by this. It is like the value of a rare coin, or really any currency. Flood the market with knock offs and all of them become worthless and suspect.

Seems that someone is not entirely aware of the relevant internet traditions. Next thing you know the McCain campaign will start putting up television advertisements based on lies and malicious distortions. Oh, wait...

The trolls comparing efforts to get letters to the editor written, with efforts to spam comments on web sites, miss the point that with an LTE, an editor will choose whether to print the letter or not, and if there is a wave of duplicates, the letter will be printed at most once. On the other hand, comments on blogs get posted again and again; besides, a comment on a blog is normally expected to be relevant to the posting it is attached to, not some unrelated talking point.

Personally I find providing prepared ("suggested") talking points - and Democrats have done that - just as sleazy as bribing commenters. Simply providing contact details or an online form is fine, though.

I too must note that John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will create millions of good American jobs, ensure our nation's energy security, get the government's budget and spending practices in order, and bring relief to American consumers.

Also there used to be a John McCain doormat on his tchotchke list. Are those still available?

For the record, all my comments are my own, and I write them because I believe them. I don't get anything from anyone for writing comments and only write them when I think I have something to say...

A comment that should be quite redundant, and would be were it not for the fact that McCain has posted an ad soliciting astroturfers.

Nicholas Beaudrot should read first before getting out of shape.
This is the Obama Activity Tracker Version 2.0 apparently. I see nothing of lapel pins, posters or signed footballs. And the focus is away from "values" and more toward peer surveillance. (hum....)

"Today, we’re proud to roll out an updated points system called the Activity Tracker. The basic idea is the same: the Activity Tracker helps Obama supporters measure the work they’re doing on behalf of the campaign. Whereas before, the points system tried to measure lots of different activities down to a “point value,” the new Activity Tracker simply displays up front exactly what activity users have been engaged in."

If you get 1000 McCain points, McCain will personally phone your house and call your wife a cunt.

What's that, Lassie? There's a new Barack Obama Activity Tracker? Golly Gee Willikers, what a scandal!

Posted by: Nicholas Beaudrot

what's that, nickie? from the site you pointed to?

From the start, the emphasis was on quantifying an activist’s contribution to the campaign – not on encouraging people to rack up points for the sake of racking up points. For some people, that wasn’t always clear.

christ, what a dickhead.

blake

hey, if anyone wants to troll some comment section and leave my url www.xnerg.blogspot.com, i will give you a skippy tee shirt.

skippy, frightwingers either don't have comments or ban people who don't agree with them. you should know that by now.

As I watched Michael Phelps accept the gold medal for swimming in China, and they played the Star Spangled Banner, and the Americans put their hand over their heart, I felt that overwhelming pride in being an American. It made me think about how I want a President who truly loves this country, as I do. A President who has fought, and is wiling to fight for our traditions, and honors our history ... including the words in the Star Spangled Banner ... not somebody who would worry that the words in the Star Spangled Banner might offend foreigners from other countries ... not somebody who doesn't hold their hand over their heart during the Star Spangled Banner ... and, not somebody who listens to words like 'God Damn America' for 20 years ... that's why I'm voting for Senator John McCain in November!!!

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I really believe that these social networks will have a huge impact on what we can accomplish as groups, it'll help us be very organized and communicate.

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