Spam, spam, spam

I’ve got fed up having to delete spam comment posts from China in the comments section on a daily basis, so I’ve just turned on comment moderation: no more instant posting.

I don’t want to have to do this: to me, it kind of defeats the purpose of the comments area – if you don’t know when your comment is going to appear, and there seems to be a conversation going on in the comments section, moderation feels like it’s disconnecting you from the discussion. You don’t know when your post is going to appear, and you don’t know who else has also commented, and if they’ve already made the point you were going to…when your comment if finally approved, it can look as though you’re disregarding the points made before you, by others. It can make you look accidentally rude.
But, allowing free commenting means regular spam postings (usually in the middle of the night for me), and the longer they sit on a post, the more it feels like the blog is unmanaged and uncared for.
What do you think? Better to have unmoderated posting, and a few spam comments, or better to have moderated, and no spam? Do you notice spam comments on a blog? Does it make you feel that blog is slightly abandoned if you do see them? How long would a spam comment have to be viewable/not deleted, before you would start to think the blog owner doesn’t care?

Happy workday to meeeeeeeeee!

Oh yes, today I’ll have been with my current employer for 5 whole, entire years (of course, I started work on a weekday, not a weekend, but lets not be picky here). And long may my present employment continue: I do enjoy my work, there’s always something interesting to learn each day, and I have a fabulous and fun boss who supports me and encourages me to explore any techie interests I have. These are rare and wonderous things to be able to say, and I know it. *I am now touching wood and doing any other superstitious manoeuvres to avoid bringing disaster upon me for these outrageous statements of happiness and contentment*

For someone in their early thirties (ok, thirty one, but early thirties sounds much more grown up), to have been in the same position for anything over a few years is slightly uncommon, and it seems this sort of “settled” employment is something that the newer generation of professionals are unlikely to have. There ain’t no such thing as a “job for life” any more, but is that a good or a bad thing? I suppose it depends on whether you’re moving on from a position because you want to, or because you have to. A voluntary move must be an exciting thing, and I can sometimes find it difficult to keep track of professional friends, as they suddenly announce they’re off to pastures new!
So, what are your expectations in a job now? A few years, then moving on? Or staying for as long as they’ll have you?

Free SLLG member event in Edinburgh

Thanks to the lovely @technollama, I’m pretending to be professional, and organising an event for the Scottish Law Librarians Group. The Mighty Llama himself will be presenting on this topic:
Digital Copyright: The Next Generation
During the first decade of the century copyright law has been one of the most important legal issues when it comes to the Internet. Recent developments may give copyright law a different face for the next decade. From the passing of the Digital Economy Act, to the rise of user-generated content and open licensing schemes such as open source and Creative Commons, the future of copyright is shaping up to present an interesting juxtaposition between two very different ideas about content management.
Date: Thursday 1st July 2010
Venue: Edinburgh Training and Conference Venue, 16 St. Mary Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SU
Time: 5.30pm
Members should have received their email invite by now, but if not, and you’re a member, email me on the address in the contact details on the right and I’ll add you to the attendees list.