Disemvoweling

Having trouble with a obnoxious commenter in your blog, forum or other social media space? Try disemvoweling them:

“How can moderators walk the line between unregulated anarchy and oppressive censorship? Some have begun discouraging problem commenters by simply removing the vowels from their posts, a process known as disemvoweling. The offending message is rendered less obnoxious, but it’s still possible for other readers to decipher it — f thy rlly wnt t.” [Time Magazine - link]

Simply genius! Check out an example of this in action [here]. (I know, I may be a little late to the game on this one, but it still is simply genius). If used in conjunction with a stepped approach where the next step would be to implement “selective invisibility,” hiding a troll’s comments to everyone but themselves. [wired - link]

Oh, and while you are at it, take a moment to read about the recent abuse suffered by Canadian Science Fiction writer Dr. Peter Watts at the hands of the US Border Guards of Port Huron, Michigan. Chilling!