Sincere Flattery
Have you ever thought about how easy it would be for someone to impersonate you on Blogger? I mean, the sign-in is quite secure and everything, so your blog is safe; but what about your comments? It occurred to me a while ago that anyone can easily impersonate a blogger on comment pages that allow the "other" option. Just look up the impersonatee's profile link, type it into the webpage box, type their display name in the top, and presto! You have a comment that looks completely authentic. So if your best friend comments on your blog to say they hate you, or if someone you admire calls you fat and stupid, or, for that matter, if someone who is usually vehemently nasty says something unequivocally nice, you might want to take it with a grain of salt.
This danger is not limited to Blogger. Did you hear about the lady whose house was put up on Craigslist as having a free moving sale? I think I read about it in World magazine, but it might have been online. Anyway, she came home and found her abode in complete disarray, with most of her belongings AWOL.
Stories like that, combined with good old logic and common sense, have convinced me to take all my comments with ample grains of salt.
For instance, should I receive a comment on this post from Ryan saying something like, "You stupid, fat, bucket of lard! I don't see YOU making any high school Soccer teams! I am so much better than you! Hahaha!" I would not be mad at Ryan because Ryan is too nice to say something so degrading. I would simply think, "Some weirdo is impersonating Ryan on my blog." Then I would sigh and forgive that person because of the wonderful spirit of kindness that is deeply ingrained in my personality.
27 comments:
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My, my, cousin; doing a bit of impersonation, are we?
I think you're on to something...
hehe, nice one, aaron! :)
Oh my WORD, Aaron! Howdja do that? Cah-razy...
Dear me, little brother, it appears that you have forgotten what your mother taught you about plagiarism.
Ummm... a certain someone is FREAKED OUT at seeing her name displayed on a comment page where she hasn't commented!
OK, I know I'm taking a break from blogs, but I HAD to comment on this. Crazy boy! What are you trying to do, destroy all bloggers' credibility? Of course, that would be just fine with me. ;)
Dr. Jones says you need to stop impersonating people or your personality will become warped and Bad Things will happen to you...
Wow! I've never had so many comments in just a matter of TEN MINUTES!!! Incredible!
OK, anything after this point is real - at least, I am not impersonating anyone after this comment.
HA! I was impressed with how many people check your blog frequently, and was TOTALLY fooled until I saw I"d commented and I just couldn't remember saying that. You did a wicked good job at sounding like the person you were impersonating. I'm impressed.
You are TRULY nefarious! How DID you get everyone down so well?! I must say though that I'm impressed to see you so prepared for any eventuality. You and my mom- the prophets of internet danger.
Oh my WORD, Aaron! You sure know how to attract comments, don'tcha? I was very disturbed to see my name there, and I'm impressed with your other impersonations. I was pretty well convinced (I mean, who BUT Andrea would talk so in depth about 24 since she's so recently been watching it?) until Craig's keen intelligence caught on before I did, and then I saw your other comment and laughed heartily. Very clevah, cousin!
I still firmly hold to my determination that Kayla's first comment sounds too much like one that I would make.
LIBEL!!!!!
By the way, you can identify the real comments (in the pop-up comment window, at least) by whether the profile picture is displayed.
I was just about to say that.
This is too scary! I must say, I would NEVER stoop to such a thing...except maybe on April Fools' Day. :)
By the way, this is really me. :)
I've diabolically decided to dispose of my profile picture. :)
just remember, you take your life in your hands if you ever put words in my mouth on someone else's site.
seriously...
I wasn't offended. I laughed. I still laugh.
It's clear that you don't intend to use this ploy deceptively all over bloggerdom or you wouldn't have announced it to the world, AND pointed out its primary flaw. You also probably assumed that none of your readers would ever dream of using it "for real" to cause trouble since they're all much too honest.
In that context, it was a very amusing and fun post and I don't for a second question your motives.
Thanks for the laugh!
weird to see me there, when i just got here to see all the craziness
Well if comments are what you were hoping for, you've certainly succeeded!! Your post and the ensuing comments have been the "buzz" in our household today, so much so that I had to read up myself to get all the scoop! Middle son just asked me if I was catching up on the "scoop" or some such thing.
I don't think you were trying to be tricky or snide or mean or seeking to teach people how to do what none of your friends would ever do anyway! And no doubt any lurker would already know way more than you do about ways to "work" the system and cause trouble.
I do appreciate the reminder that not everyone in the world is as trusting and simple-hearted as I tend to be and I might need to beware!
Bother. I just lost my entire comment. Maybe it's just as well; my big sister instincts were kicking in.
Just a word to the wise...It's very difficult to judge the tone of anonymous comments (REad, it seems to me they generally sound harsher than intended.), so they're probably best left avoided. If you know Aaron well enough to rebuke him, you should have or be able to get his email address. If not, what do you care if he knows who you are, or why bother leaving the comments?
Your post was a bit freaky, Aaron. Your imitations had me a bit puzzled.
May I point out that imitating someone's style is not the same as plagiarizing their work? :)
In case anyone wonders why I put this back up, the controversy that was here has been resolved on a direct person-to-person level. And for future reference, that works an ENORMOUS amount better than comment wars do.
If anyone ELSE objects to this post, just e-mail me. :)
?
Was all I thought to begin with, wondering if I ought to credit my towering skills of spaciness with the fact that I'd forgotten making the first comment on this post.
And then I realized that my nose was all wrong!!
:O)
Um, why didn't more people do THIS (since you just taught us how)? And now you'll NEVER know who I am!!!
...except the linking part doesn't work, so isn't that a dead giveaway that I'm not you?
Or does it only work if I do it on MY blog?
WHO AM I? (If you're so good at impersonating, you should be good at identifying.)
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