Rich Rambles:

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

http://auto.techchuck.com/2009/06/12/barrel-fever-nc-state-student-arrested-for-creating-barrel-monster/

                 Though this was created as an act of vandalism, it is really pretty neat.  If he’d gotten permission from the city/township/state/whatever to do it, I’m sure it would be something well received in the community.  For added fun, the traffic sign system could even have a warning of the barrel monster ahead.

            Well, one of the fun things is that I had 679 comments pending my approval.  Wow.  I’d almost feel important if it weren’t for the fact that 677 of them were for either Viagra, porn sites, or other adverts.  Oh well, can’t win them all. 

            I wonder if the sex for gasoline story has drawn a disproportionate number of adbots to here?  Well, as long as I’m on the job, you should be able to view the comments section spam free! 

          Oh, and if you’re one of the people who sent a legitimate message but I spammed you anyway, sorry.  It may have happened, though I don’t think it did. 

             Today we’ll be taking a slight deviation from the Auto Industry focused postings. 

             I’m a moderator at several forums, mostly hybrid car related ones.  Any time I take a moderator action, such as moving, merging, editing, or deleting a post, an automated PM or personal message is sent to the user in question letting them know that I’ve taken moderating action. 

             For example:

Hi Username

Thanks,
The Moderating Team

              Seems pretty clear right?  So, why is it in the last week I’ve recieved three (3) responses from said autogenerated messages?  In the last 3 weeks, I’ve recieved five (5)!  What is it about “This is an Automated Message, Please Do Not Reply” makes people immediately think to hit the reply button and type out a reply?

              I have recently heard a complaint that 6 out of 10 Adult Americans can no longer read an essay and then surmize what the essay was about.  Is this the same effect on a smaller scale?  Do people think that I need to read their apology in response to a moderating action I’ve taken?  I’m glad you’re apologetic and won’t do it again, but my job as a moderator is to fix the problems and then move on.  You don’t have to reply, you don’t need to reply, on behalf of moderators everywhere, please don’t reply unless you actually have something relevant to say!  I understand that you’re new, or that you didn’t see the better forum to post the thread in, it doesn’t matter, it’s been fixed, move on! 

                Follow the forum rules, let the moderators do their jobs, and enjoy the boards.  Report threads and posts that need to be reported to the staff and don’t undertake actions when you’re asked not to, like replying to messages which say, “This is an automated message, please do not reply.” 

             Just some fun, this is from NAIAS (North American International Auto Show) 2008, from Tang Hua’s display of one of their three electric cars, eloquently named “Book of Songs”.  Enjoy!