UPDATE: March 2010

I’m getting too much spam again and feel the need to turn the comments off for a while.  Sorry!  Thanks for stopping by, Jenny

Original Post:

When I began this blog back in 2005 I was an experienced Chat Room Participant who understood the roll of Trolls on the web.  I really wanted this blog to be an interactive place where a community could form.

After blogging for a few weeks I had to turn my trackbacks off because of horrifying spam.  The revolting porn that was being attached to my blog along with the thousands of drug ads from pharma companies was so sickening, I just had to turn them off.

Then the comment spam started rolling in. I would wake up and when I opened my email box it would be stuffed to the brim with bogus comments, often some of the most sickening content on the web.  I would spend much time deleting these comments and looking for legitimate ones to keep.  I finally realized that if I wanted to be a “blogger” I would need to let the comments go, because I did not have time to do much more than moderate my own blog.

From the spam that attacked, it was obvious that Drug Companies were having a field day with my online efforts, and I still believe Big Pharma Advertising Whores who spam everyone with drug ads through email are some of the worst abusers on the web, not just for anti drug bloggers like me, but for everyone who has an email box.

When I set up this wordpress blog I really wanted to have it be interactive, but within minutes of it going live the drug ads started. Finally, I set it up so that the comments would turn off after three days and am closely monitoring who sends comments, so I can delete them immediately if they are pornographic or spam.

I hope we can create a community on this new blog and look very much forward to interacting with those of you who take the time to stop by.  Just remember that our “debate” or conversation has to happen within three days of my post.

Please remember that I am a busy Mother and spend most of my day caring for my family.  Also, my blog writings are my first priority.  If I am able to take the time to thoughtfully respond to your posted comments, I will, but please do not think I am ignoring you or your comment if I don’t respond.  Some days I may not have the time or energy, other days I may be focused on a writing project for another web site or doing an interview for my new radio show.

Whatever the reason, if I can possibly respond I will.  I will also not hesitate to ban anyone for any reason who appears to have arrived on the scene just to make trouble.  I have a troll dissection portion of my brain that has served me well in the past.  The guys at HillBuzz are also experts at identifying the losers who go around to Conservative Web Sites to make trouble.  Read this post if you want a primer…

Finally, thanks for taking the time to check out this blog.  It has truly become a labor of love.  When I think about the many dozens of articles, letters to the editor, column proposals, and my books that were rejected by editor after editor over the past twenty years, I just have to believe that I was born to be a Blogger.

Jenny Hatch

With my Nephew Jonah, a few hours after he was born.  I worked as a Doula during my sister Cathys first hospital birth and was so happy to be able to help!