[Alex Pepple]

Just an update, and it may come to naught, but I've just officially requested of Rssing that they remove all the archives they've stored from Eratosphere, and cease and desist from their unsanctioned practice. We'll see what comes of it!

Cheers,
...Alex

[Allen Tice]

I am completely with Matt Q and Maryann Corbett.

I want to say something that I hope that Alex Pepple will not take amiss (or the other commentators here who are moderators or deeply involved with the history of Eratosphere like Michael Cantor), but it is in the interest of those just mentioned who are attached to Eratosphere to diminish the fears of Eratosphere users, even when such fears may be justified. Alex takes strenuous efforts to protect us, and perhaps there are others here and there who help him, and I say Bravo! But I also say that it is simply not candid and is disingenuous to (how shall I phrase it?) "airily" dimiss fully legitimate worries about demonic high-status magazines that actually and actively do go out and look for online publication, and will not accept anything found there.

Sorry, but that's where it's at from here.

[Michael Cantor]

I just don't see it as a big deal.

1. To the best of my knowledge, nobody has been rejected because their stuff showed up on this kind of search.

2. If you are concerned, Alex's suggestion about including a few nonsense lines at the top appears a bit of a nuisance (personally, I won't bother), but would appear to work. Somebody who is concerned about this can check exactly how it works. If the web scraper copies the first three lines, as presented, then simply start your post with three vertical white dots - one over the other. There'd be a bit of a space, but nothing would show. And indicate a false title for the primary listing (but not on the thread, because the three dots would hide it.) As I said, I wouldn't bother, but if you're concerned there do appear to be easy fixes.

3. This would be a bit more of a pain-in-the-neck for the mods, but we could be more aggressive about pruning. Prune down to the 3 week level and do it automatically every two weeks. So nothing up there would be more than five weeks old. That would also help.

[Michael Cantor]

Double post. Sorry

[Allen Tice]

Those who want to force scraper readers etc to brush up on their classics can turn to a site that quotes (possibly) incunabular nonsense padding that is (possibly?) from early print shops. The first item is rubbished out from Cicero, which is below it.

http://lipsum.com/

The standard Lorem Ipsum passage, used since the 1500s. [Some would say this statement is bald-faced advertising fluff.]

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum."

Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC

"Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"

As an example of brand new lorem ipsum text generated today and inserted in a poem thread, I offer this link http://www.ablemuse.com/erato/showth...110#post343110 .

Or, you can insert your best loved phrases from the works of Allen Ginsberg. I suggest "Howl" as a pleasing starter.

[Michael Cantor]

Yup, you can either treat the Sphere as a workshop; or as an excuse to call attention to yourself. You do realize, Alan, how confusing it would be if everybody used the nonsense of their choice to start a thread? (I have the vague recollection that you did something like this several years ago when we had a related discussion of problems with hiding threads, and that this isn't your first rodeo on this subject, but I fortunately forget the details.) At any rate, I believe the object should be to maintain confidentiality with as little interruption as possible to the normal flow of a workshop. The object is to look at the poems, not the accoutrements.

Or were you just joking? One never knows.

[Brian Allgar]

Originally Posted by Michael Cantor

You do realize, Alan, how confusing it would be if everybody used the nonsense of their choice to start a thread?

And of course it would be tricky for those of us who sometimes write nonsense verse. Still, we could always prefix it with a few lines of serious verse.

[Julie Steiner]

There's always the possibility of introducing a password-protected subforum, à la the two Deep Drills subforums (one of which is completely invisible to lurkers), for poets with shy bladders.

Personally, I'd like to be able to post some poems about my kooky family, without my kooky family being able to see them. You guys haven't seen the really juicy stuff because if they crack my pseudonym, I'm toast.

Not too long ago, someone suggested password protection as a way to reinvigorate The Deep End. I disagreed with him pretty vociferously at the time, but since then I've come around to his way of thinking.

[John Whitworth]

Editors have refused my poems for all sorts of dull-witted reasons, but nobody has ever refused one because it has appeared elsewhere. I once asked the poetry editor of the TLS this (Alan Jenkins) and he said he couldn't care less, or words to that effect. Mind you, I've had only one poem there (apart from the one that came second in their competition).

[Michael Cantor]

What John said. For every publication that makes a major fuss over this, I would guess there are between 25 and 50 who don't. Unless, of course, you call it to their attention and demand a detailed statement of policy.