By The Way...

Here's one big difference between AOL Journals and lots of other blogs/journals:

Not less than a minute ago, I finished clearing out about 70 pieces of "comment spam" from my non-AOL site that cropped up overnight. Since Monday, I've probably cleared out more than 200 comment spams.

From my AOL Journal, the number of comment spam I've ever had to clear out: 0. That's a pretty good comparison.

Now, as it happens, back when AOL Journals started, I questioned the wisdom of having comments on AOL-J open only to AOL members (and those folks with AIM, Netscape and Compuserve accounts), for the simple reason that more comments are always good. As time's gone by, I've seen that AOL Journalers and other AOLers are good with leaving comments as it is, and that AOL-J has been free of the comment spam that's plagued other blogs. So while I'd still like to see an option to open comments to non-AOLers, on the whole I have to say the benefits of doing it this way are there. The time I don't spend clearing comment spam here is more time for other, more important and enjoyable things I can be doing with my Journal.

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• #2 Comment from freeepeace 
  1/19/05 1:41 PM | Permalink

  Good point.  Thanks for the info.  That's a lot of spam.  It's easy enough to create an AOL screen name.  When reading some high profile newspapers online, an account needs to be created first.  Works for me.  Keeps us accountable for our comments.
• #1 Comment from oceanmrc 
  1/19/05 8:29 AM | Permalink

  I for one wish that the comments section were open to non-aolers.  I often get email comments from friends who aren't on aol, and it would be nice to see their .02 added to the mix.