Comment Section Management, Larry Johnson style: a Tutorial
Monday, April 24, 2006
Because of his background, and his willingness to be a vocal supporter of Valerie Plame, Larry Johnson of NO QUARTER, is a magnet for wingnut trolls. (His Wikipedia entry is a battleground.)
He has an interesting post, The Firing of Mary McCarthy: She used to be his boss.
Regardless of what he wrote however, because of who he is and who she is, predictably the trolls show up. What he does with them, I find really interesting (and very funny).
Of course, the most famous of troll management tactics is Teresa Nielsen Hayden's disemvoweling. He doesn't use than one. (Nor do I, actually.) He has some other good ones.
I chuckled the whole way through reading that comment section. I especially admire his willigness to break the frame and respond to them (nail them/warn them) inside their own comments. And an expressed willingness to delete and ban are other important elements. But the overal Gestalt is what I admire most about his comment section management style.