Muti wars - a simple solution

Admittedly, I have also supported the anti-self submission protocol on Muti in the past, but have since made my peace with it and quite frankly (possibly due to lack of time) given up caring about what I consider spam posts. I think it is becoming a rather senseless argument and there will always be those that are going to be unhappy by the state of affairs. Although Vince have a point about the Terms and Conditions and the possible prevention of creating duplicate accounts, I think that by implementing a simple filter could possibly be the best solution.

Most of Muti users are logged in all the time. So what needs to be done is that you as user should be able to “ignore” other users and their submissions by adding them to your exclude list. This way anyone and everyone can submit whatever they want and if you do not like what they submit, simply exclude them. Every time you come back to Muti, you will see everything, but submissions by those users you excluded.

There has been self submissions in the past thats been very valuable and interesting links which then get voted off just due to the fact that it is self submitted. It has also been the bane of Muti right from the start. The source of all unhappiness. This way, you decide and if you are excluded by users, you take it up with the users and leave Dave and Neville out of it. They are both outstanding people for the record. Then there will never have to be a banning ever again by them. If you don’t like the so called SPAM then stop bitching about it and exclude the users you consider SPAMMERS.

Another thing that should also be considered is having a favorite users list. Users can create a list of favorite users and can have a section where only their favorite users’ submissions would be listed. Could be a useful tool.

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Tags: muti, voting, spamming

19 Comments to "Muti wars - a simple solution"

• Justin Hartman said: On 10/22/2007 at 12:30 pm

  I love this filter idea. This will solve all the issues but also keep muti open and free to all to use as they see fit. Nice one!

• rafiq said: On 10/22/2007 at 1:16 pm

  I’m with you on this suggestion stii. Some changes coming to muti soon, all will be revealed in the near future

• Dave said: On 10/22/2007 at 1:19 pm

  Stii, this is why you are AKA “the legend”

• Stii said: On 10/22/2007 at 1:56 pm

  Thanks guys. Rafiq, I have no doubt… We’re all waiting in angst to see the new improved Muti.

• Neville Newey said: On 10/22/2007 at 1:58 pm

  Stii, 100% Brilliant idea! It will be done soon. First priority is getting the Terms out, then probably name filtering after that, then categories which I promised long long ago and have not done yet.
  I like the idea of both ‘favorites’ and ‘ignores’, probably there will end up being three new views in the user actions sidebar, one for fav’s one for ‘all’ and one for ‘ignored’ (less useful for sure but you may want to see them just in case there is something useful!)

  Regards and thanks for the great suggestion.

• Richard Catto said: On 10/22/2007 at 4:20 pm

  A straightforward filter that excludes posts based solely upon who submitted them will FAIL, for the same reason that that method FAILS to stop spam emails reaching your inbox.

  I’ll put it to you as plainly as simply as I can:

  The reason why South Africa lags the world in online innovation is that the VERY people who are involved in developing our local infrastructure FAIL to properly analyze the situation and fail to LEARN from projects which LEAD the way.

  And by leaders, I am referring to two projects that have application here:
  * Akismet
  * Gmail’s ability to detect spam

  If you simply exclude submissions by blocking on submitter, you will fail in TWO ways:
  * Users will not see some things that they actually want to read
  * Users will continue seeing the stuff that they hate

  Why?

  1. Because sometimes a user which has poisoned himself to others by submitting stuff that they don’t like, will hit the jackpot and find something that they do like.

  2. Spammers will take heed of the new block facility and counter this by regularly creating new user accounts before submitting. In fact, since muti does not authenticate that an account is being created by a human being, spammers will automate the account creation process as well.

  Like I said previously, Gentlemen, you are going to have to do so much BETTER.

• Stii said: On 10/22/2007 at 10:06 pm

  Shame Richard, I feel your pain, man. It is hard when something you love that much does not bend to your will. That is why you make such a big fuss about Muti, right?

  Fortunately for you, Neville is one of the best programmers I know and let me tell you something about programmers I bet you did not know:

  We love problems! You do us a HUGE favor by presenting us with problems.

  Thanx Richard! Keep it coming, baby!

• Jimmy said: On 10/22/2007 at 10:46 pm

  When I used to hear about illiterate students graduating from school, I often wondered how that was possible. But after encountering some of Mr. Richard Catto’s more grotty disquisitions, I now realize that not only is it possible for people to graduate without having learned fundamental skills such as reading and writing, but that it’s possible for these same people to believe that trees cause more pollution than automobiles do. Although my approach may appear a bit pedantic, by setting some generative point of view against a structural-taxonomical point of view or vice versa, I intend to argue that we mustn’t tolerate the likes of Richard Catto. That should serve as the final, ultimate, irrefutable proof that his method (or school, or ideology — it is hard to know exactly what to call it) goes by the name of “Catto-ism”. It is a morbid and avowedly disagreeable philosophy that aims to bad-mouth worthy causes. Believe you me, intransigent and immature, his wisecracks resemble a dilapidated shed. Kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will collapse, proving my claim that it’s irrelevant that my allegations are 100% true. Catto distrusts my information and arguments and will forever maintain his current opinions. Still, if we look beyond his delusions of grandeur, we see that I know some obscene, nit-picky politicos who actually believe that if Catto kicks us in the teeth, we’ll then lick his toes and beg for another kick. Incredible? Those same people have told me that stoicism is a be-all, end-all system that should be forcefully imposed upon us. With such people roaming about, it should come as no surprise to you that Catto does not tolerate any view that differs from his own. Rather, he discredits and discards those people who contradict him along with the ideas that they represent.

  To believe that Catto is always being misrepresented and/or persecuted is to deceive ourselves. The time is always right to do what is right. That’s why we must bring Catto to justice. The first step in that process is to realize that if one believes statements like, “The reason why South Africa lags the world in online innovation is that the VERY people who are involved in developing our local infrastructure FAIL to properly analyze the situation and fail to LEARN from projects which LEAD the way,” one is, in effect, supporting irascible, birdbrained sybarites. He says that at birth, every living being is assigned a celestial serial number or frequency power spectrum. You know, I don’t think I have heard a less factually based statement in my entire life. The “facts” Catto has often stated contain some serious distortions. Some are blatant; others are subtle. One of the most sullen is Catto’s discussion of the most uncontrollable yobbos I’ve ever seen.

  If you’re still reading this, I wish to compliment you for being sufficiently open-minded to understand that Catto says that every featherless biped, regardless of intelligence, personal achievement, moral character, sense of responsibility, or sanity, should be given the power to replace intellectual integrity with pathological sloganeering. This is noxious falsehood. The truth is that this is not the first time I’ve wanted to plant markers that define the limits of what is unscrupulous and what is not. But it is the first time I realized that I plan to stand up and fight for our heritage, traditions, and values. This is a choice I have made; your choice is up to you. But let me remind you that if Catto gets his way, I might very well adopt a new world-view. Forgive me if I ramble; I’m really upset, as I think you can tell. I have two words for Catto: Grow up! I understand that the deep-seated, unbridled hatred that his surrogates have for us is visceral and inculcated from cradle to grave, but it’s a pity that two thousand years after Christ, the voices of laughable hermits like him can still be heard, worse still that they’re listened to, and worst of all that anyone believes them.

  As stated earlier, I’m not a psychiatrist. Sometimes, though, I wish I were, so that I could better understand what makes people like Catto want to reward those who knowingly or unknowingly play along with his assertions while punishing those who oppose them. Forgive me for boring you with all the gory details, but he would have us believe that he has answers to everything. Such flummery can be quickly dissipated merely by skimming a few random pages from any book on the subject.

  When I say that Catto’s animadversions are dictatorial, I mean it. I don’t mean that they remind me of something dictatorial or that they have one or two dictatorial characteristics. I mean that they are dictatorial. In fact, the most dictatorial thing about them is the way that they prevent people from seeing that Catto maintains that he answers to no one. This is hardly the case. Rather, there is growing evidence that says, to the contrary, that honor means nothing to him. Principles mean nothing to him. All he cares about is how to force me to become the target of prejudice, ridicule, discrimination, and physical violence. Violent, incomprehensible gaberlunzies serve as the priests in Catto’s cult of unsophisticated, officious despotism. These “priests” spend their days basking in Catto’s reflected glory, pausing only when Catto instructs them to create an oligophrenic world of guilt and shame. What could be more wishy-washy? Well, once you begin to see the light, you’ll realize that he keeps saying that human life is expendable. Isn’t that claim getting a little shopworn? I mean, he managed to convince a bunch of feeble-minded fiends to help him make people weak and dependent. What was the quid pro quo there? Any honest person who takes the time to think about that question will be forced to conclude that his lapdogs believe that ethical responsibility is merely a trammel of earthbound mortals and should not be required of a demigod like him. Although it is perhaps impossible to change the perspective of those who have such beliefs, I wish nevertheless to ensure that the values for which we have labored and for which many of us have fought and sacrificed will continue in ascendancy.

  Are you still with me? Catto’s commentaries are not the solution to our problem. They are the problem.

  It seems to me that Catto is both stupid and ugly. Now there’s a dangerous combination if I’ve ever seen one. His arguments are full of hair-splitting, lawyer-like quibbling, and references to obscure authorities. Let’s remember that.

  Developing a policy of inclusion will not be easy, because Catto ignores a breathtaking number of facts, most notably:

  Fact: Compared to smarmy skinflints like Catto, every pimp is a man of honor.

  Fact: Catto is incapable of rational thought about the real world.

  Fact: Catto’s janissaries allege, after performing shoddy research and utilizing threadbare scholarship, that a number of their enemies are planning to threaten the common good.

  In addition, Catto’s subalterns are unified under a common goal. That goal is to deny the obvious. Not that I ever believed his lies, but at least before they had some kind of internal consistency — a logic, albeit twisted, that invited refutation. But now, it seems Catto is desperately flailing about for any pretext, no matter how ludicrous or slight, to lock people up for reading the “wrong” types of books or listening to the “wrong” kinds of music. Think about how easy it’s become for pharisaical voluptuaries to create an untrue and injurious impression of an entire people. According to the latest scientific evidence, this is not wild speculation. This is not a conspiracy theory. This is documented fact.

  Catto’s “I’m right and you’re wrong” attitude is jaundiced, because it leaves no room for compromise. Now there will, no doubt, be gloomy delinquents out there who will ask, “So what if Catto’s drones focus too much on one side of the equation and not enough on the broader perspective of things? That won’t affect me.” Such crippled thinking is the best example there is as to why Catto knows how to lie. It’s too bad he doesn’t yet understand the ramifications of lying. There’s only one proper consideration here: the harm that’ll truly be caused if he’s allowed to revile everything in the most obscene terms and drag it into the filth of the basest possible outlook. All else is abstract, stuck-up, intellectual hooey. A deep, ineradicable hatred of everything that is not dotty energizes him to pose a threat to personal autonomy and social development. Sounds pretty pea-brained, doesn’t it? But is it any more so than his abhorrent propositions? I challenge you to ponder this subject with the broadest vision possible.

• Richard Catto said: On 10/23/2007 at 2:47 am

  Stii, I wrote my critique of your filter proposal, not to mindlessly attack you, but to make you aware of the pitfalls of your approach.

  Right now, Muti, is a very rudimentary system. It suffers from lack of user adopton primarily, I feel, because it lacks an attractive user interface. It also lacks social tools, such as the ability to friend someone and follow what they’re interested in.

  I think muti developers should see if Matt Mullenweg has anything to offer them in terms of combatting spam. Mullenweg developed Akismet. Right now Akismet is being applied to recognising comment spam, but it could also have application against spam posts.

  It may come as a surprise to you to learn that I have a programming background myself. I used to develop in C++, amongst others.

• Richard Catto said: On 10/23/2007 at 2:52 am

  I don’t know where you found Jimmy, but he makes me sound important.

  I like that.

• Clickafricana said: On 10/23/2007 at 4:11 am

  This is a great idea. I think that is how it should have been right from the beginning. Let anyone submit whatever they want, in the end it’s the users who decide what they want to read or not, you know?

• Jimmy said: On 10/23/2007 at 7:50 am

  My topic is nothing new. However, since no one else has found it fit to address directly, I will address it here. In the text that follows, when I quote from Mr. Richard Catto, I will use the word “excrement” in place of another word which is now apparently permitted in general circulation publications and which I have edited out. He would rather talk about making changes than actually make them. History offers innumerable examples for the truth of this assertion.

  Richard craves more power. I say we should give him more power — preferably, 10,000 volts of it. It is common knowledge that his perspective is that he has the linguistic prowess to produce a masterwork of meritorious literature. My perspective, in contrast, is that when Richard says that the cure for evil is more evil, that’s just a load of spucatum tauri.

  Will the worst sorts of infantile duffers there are ever tell him where he can stick it? Don’t bet on it. I have no idea why Richard makes such a big fuss over this issue. There are far more pressing issues that present themselves and that should be discussed, debated, and solved — issues such as war, famine, poverty, and equality. There is also the lesser issue that if Richard were paying attention — which it would seem he is not, as I’ve already gone over this — he’d see that he accuses us all of being narrow-minded.

  Does he aver we’re narrow-minded because we refuse to accept his claim that Muti lacks an attractive user interface and social tools negligible? If so, then I guess we’re as narrow-minded as we could possibly be. Okay, I’ve vented enough frustration. So let me end by saying that the ripples of reaction to Mr. Richard Catto’s slogans have spread, giving rise to universal calls to bring the communion of knowledge to all of us.

• Andre said: On 10/23/2007 at 8:00 am

  Seth Godin writes about “early adopters” as the ideal market segment to target with new products/ideas, as these are the people who generally break new trends and inform the opinions of late(r) adopters.

  Technologies such as RSS and platforms such as Muti.co.za are the playground of the early adopters, and as a climate change blogger, I need to target this audience with what I believe to be a very relevant and urgent message.

  I am aware that self-submissions have less ranking credibility than peer-submitted articles. Yet if one’s content has current relevance, and the tagging is reflective of the subject material discussed, how big an issue is it really?

  Surely more established sources and “higher value” content will outrank spammy submissions, regardless?

• Stii said: On 10/23/2007 at 10:13 am

  @Andre: My point exactly.

• Richard Catto said: On 10/23/2007 at 10:53 pm

  Stii, actually I’ve realised that what I am talking about is something entirely different to what you proposed.

  I’m thinking of an automatic system that recognises spam submissions at the time of submission and then quarantines them so that a moderator can approve them or delete them.

  Muti would most likely benefit from both systems. Yours being the ability of an individual to block a person they decide to; mine being about a global level watchdog that prevents muti from a spam submission attack.

  Two different things really - both having application.

• Richard Catto said: On 10/23/2007 at 10:54 pm

  substitute “protects” for “prevents”

• Maximillian Kaizen said: On 10/25/2007 at 12:11 pm

  Genius as ever Stii.
  Damn I’m looking 4wd to seeing you & the other best & brightest from George on Saturday!

  elegant and effective solution, that ’s why we have RSS, to cleanly deliver the quality and cut out the cr*p attention spam. So be it, good muti to deal with the inflammation.

  quick aside for Mr Catto regarding failure of adoption being connected to an attractive user-interface : del.icio.us

• Stii said: On 10/26/2007 at 9:39 am

  Lol, good one Max!!!!

• stii.za.net » Blog Archive » Follow your friends’ submissions on Muti said: On 04/14/2008 at 3:01 pm

  [...] just implemented a great new feature IMHO. You can add Muti users to your friends and view only their posts. The standard pool of submissions stay as it is, [...]

Spit it out!

Filed in: muti.co.za by: Stii