Thursday, June 11, 2009

Bots Get Confused

Now this is interesting -- just moments after today's post, I got an automated message from Google saying that my blog had been marked as a possible "spam blog." Logging on to check, I saw the message: "This blog has been locked due to possible Blogger Terms of Service violations. You may not publish new posts until your blog is reviewed and unlocked. This blog will be deleted within 20 days unless you request a review."

No reason was given. I'm guessing that the references to "Jews" in the previous post, and perhaps particularly the quotation of "kill all the Jews" from the crazy anti-Semite who shot up the Holocaust museum, triggered Google's bots' sensitivities.

I presume it will all work out, but it's interesting that automated devices designed to cut down on anti-semitic spam can also interfere with basic social commentary.

And by the way, if you see this post, then my blog isn't really locked. But I am required to type in a nonsense word as verification that I am at least a real human posting this.

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