Moron

When someone writes really good stuff on a blog, you want to reward it with links. Many links. You want to spread the word so other people will make links, too. You want the good blog to rise in Google rank and, thus, be more visible in searches.

On the other hand, massive linking can be used for fun, too, as in googlebombing. For instance, everyone knows about the #1 hit when you google failure.

But, I have never thought of another way this can play out. If a blogger is an idiot, massive linking to him will raise his Google rank, thus making his idiocy more visible to everyone. So, we should all link to this moron. He has trolled a comment thread here and got banned for it. It happens all the time. Quit trolling and understand that a blog is a privately owned website.

Well, this guy's ego got hurt and he started threatening the owner (and another commenter). [Edit 12-5-05: Removed a sentence upon insistence by Deignan, as it may, depending on one's interpretation and word-definition, be understood to contain a statement that is, in fact, incorrect. As I am not a lawyer, and have no inclination to get drwan into thhis deeper, I retract that statement.]. He is spending inordinate amount of time watching his sitemeter which makes him look even more of a moron. Then he digs himself deeper. These kinds of threats should really get him in trouble with the law, not just the public opinion. This kind of idiocy has to be rewarded with profligate linking so his advisor, his colleagues, and his potential future employers can easily see what kind of petty dumbfuck he is.

You can find more details here and here. So, go ahead and link to him. Perhaps clicking "I feel lucky" when googling "moron" should bring up his blog at #1 position.

Update: Here's some more commentary:

Norwegianity.

Unfogged One Two Three Four.

Buridan's Ass.

Corrente Wire.

No More Shall I Roam.

Metacomments.

Creek Running North.

Dadahead.

Notes in Samsara.

Litotical Construct.

A Partically Examined Life.

Hiram Hover.

Siris.

And the guy has now gone off the deep end. Check out his series of increasingly unhinged posts (some of which he edited for content without disclosure):
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here.

All of the above (his and others) are worth digging through the comment threads as much information is really revealed there.

Update 2:
There is now even more commentary:

Frogs and Ravens has an excellent analysis.

if:book.

Even Inside Higher Ed has an article on this.

They Get Letters has a good blow-by-blow.

The Heretik is succint and to the point.

Notes from Samsara.

Unfogged is really following the saga closely (with lost of comments worth checking): One, Two, Three, Four and Five.

The Stopped Clock.

Eschaton.

Rox Populi.

Rebecca Goetz.

Easily Distracted.

Deltoid.

Hatchet Sack.

The Liberal Avenger.

Feministe.

The Heretic.

Deignan is digging himself even deeper here, here and here.