Microcosmic as it may be, I believe this exchange between Raj and myself is indicative of the truth behind commenting live, honestly and for free.

What appeared initially, to me, to be a disagreement, evolved into a brief and positively productive conversation within which I learned something about Raj, he learned something about me and we both became able to use this medium to pass along information of value to someone.

Had comments been turned off, or if this had been a static html web page, this would not have happened. Had Raj’s initial comment been paid for, I would have smelled it out and probably deleted it out of hand as spam. If I hadn’t seen it as spam, Raj may not have responded to my return comment at all, we simply would not have had a conversation.

You then, would not have learned about this – Co-Workers.com

Well, perhaps you already knew about it but what about you? Information gets passed along, not everyone has the opportunity to learn everything at the same moment. Which is one of the magnificent things about communication!

With a hat tip to Mashable, we find that “Coworkers.com is a rating system for coworkers, employers and employees, a peer review site that lets you say how you really feel about them anonymously.”

Heck, they even offer us a “Self Review;”

“How do you rate yourself as a worker? Don’t worry, this is just for your personal amusement. You are the only one who can see your self review, and it does not count toward your average rating. So be honest with yourself! Then check out how others have reviewed you… surprised?”

I doubt highly that Jon Warez will afford anyone the opportunity to be of service through his paid comment spam service because, well, he doesn’t care! He’s in it for the money! Wake up folks!

And now, if you have a boss like we discussed you can “review” that boss anonymously and get it off your chest without fear of reprisal.

Post from: EveryJoe

Live, Honest, Free Commenting Has Positive Results

Comments, on Blogs of course. OR – how about – Letters to the Editor?

Seems to me that if you own your own Blog you’ll make the decision whether or not to allow, moderate, or disallow comments on your Blog. It’s up to you.

On the other hand, if you’re writing on a Blog owned by a person or entity other than yourself, the decision actually isn’t yours. A real world Newspaper doesn’t approve and print every single letter to its editors, does it?

Now, let’s suppose that b5media decided to disallow comments on the Blogs I write on for them. I know I wouldn’t have any difficulty making an instant decision that its their right to do that. I don’t tell them how to run their business and I receive that respect in return.

Currently, part of the “job description,” in my eyes, is to be a guardian of their “real estate.” Therefore, each day after I log in I check all the comments and delete the garbage and moderate what is to be moderated. I even get to approve a couple here and there…

For the immediate future though, and possibly long after that, I’ll be watching for “paid comment spam” initiated by the purchase of Blog Comments from Jon Warez (oh, did I spell that wrong… I didn’t think so). If, and when, I see them, they will be instantly deleted if they have made it past b5’s Akismet.

It is my personal belief that anyone, on any Blog, ought to give the same actions serious thought. No matter where I am, I am not your online tool to be used and discarded, in order for you to make money, Mr. Warez. You have not one iota of care for those who will be purchasing these comments from you.

Folks! Pay Attention! He’s not about you, he’s about him!

Darren, I find this very interesting – from your post, two sentences.

1. I just had a rather disturbing email from a company advertising a new service called Buy Blog Comments
2. I know that of late spammers have been getting taken to court for sending unsolicited emails

Was the first email solicited? I’m not betting it was…

Post from: EveryJoe

To Each Their Own? Depends…