Tonight I just found out that one of my recommended spaces, PebblePie, had to turn off her comments because she has been beleaguered by a troll.  I don't know the details, don't know if she had repeated comments, and I don't know if she reported the abuse to MSN.  I hope she reported it and I hope MSN will make every effort to stop it.  Forums can block people who make inappropriate posts so MSN Spaces should be able to do the same.  One report of abuse and that troll should be blocked from access to MSN Spaces--they should not be able to have a Space or make comments on others' Spaces.  Trolls would be the first ones to yell "I have freedom of speech."  So let PebblePie and others have their rights as well.  John W.

I know blogging must be for kids because many of the entries are written in blabble (blog+babble):

kritzflittern, did u c that muvee last nite#  it wuz gr8@ if u mist it 2 bad 4 u cuz i liekt it soooooooooooo much%**#@  my dog is barking  had 2 p ok so i hop u reed this$*--> itz reel impotent 2 me 2 no u care &)@# cuz u r my beast frind in the hole wurld u no, if u & my other 3 frindz vote 4 me i can be feetured on msn cuz msn luvs rilly deep stuff like my thots & stuff =%^ well c u l8r, hugzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz & smooooooooooocheez, ur frind marbella87-->by@#$%^the=+_)>^&$sea

Another reason I know blogging is for kids is that many will think the above is a real entry, say "wow, that's gr8, I want to visit that blog" and go nuts looking for it.

Another form of blabble is the upper case, lower case combo:

wHEN u HAve TIMe visIT my SPAce & CATch SOme CUTe stuff 4 THE CRowd At Portland which really reads like:

HEN HA TIM IT SPA CAT SO CUT THE CRAP

And then there's the fascination with keyboard symbols and icons.  Blogging must be for kids because who else would say, "Wow!  Look at all this neat stuff!  I'll use *%%_(> in my blog and add !*&^$_ because they are awesome."  Those of us over the age of, say, 5 or 6 are familiar with keyboards and pretty much take @#$%& for granted.  I know those icons are so darn cute that it's hard to resist using them but too much of a good thing turns into a boring and monotonous thing.

These are the mechanics, formats, and styles in the digital age of short cuts for cell phone text messaging and computer keyboarding.  Notice I didn't say "writing."  And none of the above are "bad," "wrong," or "incorrect."  They are just different; a new language for a younger generation (read, kids).  Using the language of blabble on the public internet (web sites, forums, chats, blogs, email) interferes with efficient reading and effective communication for those not accustomed to the new foreign language (read, older folks).  I spent a life learning several foreign languages and a career teaching them.  I'm not inclined to learn another language this late in life so I won't be learning, using, or reading blogs written in blabble.  But that's just me.  Will I be missing anything?  I doubt it because such blogs are not written for old geezers like me.  And blabble doesn't need to stop; it's their thing, do what they wanna do. If I were 10 years younger--ok, 20, alright 40 then!--I'd darn sure be using blogospeak; after all, I was the ultimate anti-establishment, do-my-own-thing hippie long hair, flower power, love, peace dude of all time.

My wife just interrupted me to say, "Blogging is for kids because they are the only ones wtih time on their hands and absolutely nothing to say." 

Hmmm, so I could have said all of the above with just one sentence?!  See why my handle, screen name, or whatchamacallit should by Babylon?

And then there's the issue of blog content--what do you say on your blog, do you have anything to say, and more importantly, does anyone want to read it.  Oh, but wait, I'm rambling again; I'll babble on about content later. 

Have a good day, John W.

Quickie #1

Many of us are so accustomed to using the index finger to left click the mouse that we forget to right click for useful tools.  For example, we commonly left click the scroll bar arrows or click and hold the bar to scroll a page.  A right click on the scroll bar brings up a useful menu of options including "Email/IM this page to a friend," "top," and "bottom" of page.  The latter is useful when the web site doesn't include top and bottom of page buttons.

Quote

Google introduces scholarly research tool - Tech News & Reviews - MSNBC.com

If this works well it will be an incredibly useful search tool.  There are several problems with all search engines but two of the most troublesome stand out.  One is the vast number of results (hundreds of thousands or even millions) that are returned for even casual searches, making it tedious and time-consuming to filter through and review numerous junk sites to find a few truly relevant and helpful sources.  The second problem will hopefully be addressed by Google's new scholarly research tool.  Millions of students, teachers, professors, researchers seeking serious, scholarly, academic research and information will have a valuable research tool at their disposal.  Doctor John-Juan approved.