Wisdom from the Unintentionally Sensuous Librarian

j, over at the Scratchpad, posted a very useful reminder, which we would like to quote, in its entirety:

Just a word about the comment form because the info it asks for and what it does with it is a bit misleading.

1) Name
2) Email
3) Web site
4) Comment

Manila requires an e-mail address from people to post a comment. It doesn’t have to be a valid e-mail address; the blank just has to be filled in. Why it does this, I don’t really know. By commenting and surrendering an e-mail address, you automatically become a member of this weblog. Membership has its privileges.

What isn’t intuitive is that beyond keeping your e-mail address in a place only you and I can see and no one else, it does nothing more with it. Names get linked to URLs in the comment box, not e-mail addresses. This blog should not be a source of spam. I will try my hardest not to spam you. I find e-mail addresses useful because sometimes I’d rather e-mail someone directly rather than respond to them via this weblog.

ditto from the Dowbrigade

from j’s Scratchpad