Anon.

[steepholm]

I have great respect for Anon. - in fact they're one of my favourite authors - but I also have too much going on in my life just at the moment to be wasting several minutes of every day checking screened comments, deleting spam, etc. etc. Also, I get genuine anonymous comments only about once every couple of months. So, at least until the present tide of spam has subsided, I'm disabling anonymous comments here. This journal is mostly mirrored at Dreamwidth, however, where anonymous comments are still welcome. I go by the same name there.

Comments

[nightspore.livejournal.com]

A lot of people have recently been telling me that it's hard for them to tell me about how they feel about me. It's actually better written spam than usual. I feel there's some theory of fiction that well-written spam can illuminate. What if spammers started writing really lyrical accounts of longing? About feeling left naked to laughter when leaves fall and cold winds come? How could I not want to read more?

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

For better or worse, my disabling anonymous comments will have no effect on these professions of love - which I, too, have found deeply moving - since they tend to come from actual LJ accounts (albeit created for the purpose). I do hope however to lose the advertisements for Ugg boots, Viagra, and other useful consumer goods. I don't intend to go friends-only unless things get really bad.

I feel sorry, though, for anyone who is genuinely trying to tell me they have a crush on me just at the moment. Like the boy who cried wolf-whistle, they may find themselves tragically ignored.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

A wise move.

I went a stage further eventually and f-locked.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

If I'm overwhelmed by comments sent from Russia with love, I may have to do that, but for the moment at least it's containable. I hope it's possible to friends-lock commenting while keeping the journal itself publicly visible? That would be my next step.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure.

I know folks on my flist get full access but afaia the only publicly visible posts are those I choose to post unlocked and there aren't very many of those.

Friends only comments may be an approach.