Disqus: Bad for Public Discourse? - Comments Page 1

Hi Bob,
How very timely. I just came across Disqus for the first time this past week when I was trying to sign in to make a comment using Facebook. Since I didn't know what it was, I declined. After reading your article, I'm sure glad I did. Thanks for the heads up.

Wow, thanks for this heads up Bob! I don't post things I'd be ashamed of, but I don't necessarily want all posts that I make on specific sites plastered all over the internet! I'll be throwing the Disqus right back at 'em if it comes my way. I almost never use social media sites but I have accounts on a couple of them. Now I'm wondering if it's time for them to go too.

I agree with you that anonymity plays a role in the lack of civility on the net. The lack of civility overall in all facets of life, including the internet, I blame on the decline of parenting skills and of parenting in general. I know that's not within the purview of your newsletter - just saying.

It's a sticky problem. But if the intent is just to send you "targeted ads" then I can't worry about it too much.

Thank you Bob. This is an exceptional article in many ways.

Do anyone know of a way to cancel an existing Disqus account? I visited my Disqus page and was unable to find any clue as to how to close my account.

I really appreciated this article, too. It was really very informative.

I recently came across Disqus too, and wasn't sure what it was about, so now I know, thanks to this article. :)

I have to say that I am really saddened by some of the comments that I see people leaving on the internet regarding message boards, news sites, and so on.

What has happened to civility, respect for others, and manners?

I have a Disqus account precisely because I wanted to avoid the data-mining and linkage possibilities of tying comments to social-media accounts. Now I learn that Disqus is facilitating those very threats by mining data and making it publicly available. Not only that, but they allow tampering with a poster's reputation, without recourse. Charming. Sadly, many sites on which I want to post comments now have NO option to register directly with the site.

Very useful information. Thanks.

Bob, Thanks for the info on Disqus and for taking time to publish your very helpful newsletters. I frequently read "Ask Bob" before I read several products with whom I have paid subscriptions.

Hey George,

Google is amazing thing for finding info. I just googled, "close disqus account" and here's what I found: http://help.disqus.com/customer/portal/articles/472013-deleting-your-account

Good luck!

This is good information. Some sites do have good filtering, while others don't seem to really have any at all. I did complain to one, and have noticed a significant improvement. Sometimes complaining about types of posts, or even individual posters, can be effective.

The information on Disqus is quite interesting. It offered a lot of information that I didn't know. However, I do have an account with them and really don't worry much about it. So far I haven't been stalked (directly) or gotten a lot of additional SPAM. I used the e-mail registration, so maybe that has something to do with it. With what you said, at least I know what to watch for. Thanks.

Your commentary on Disqus is disappointing and disgusting. As another poster mentioned, I was deluded into thinking the Disqus forum would be a convenient method of commenting and avoid any underhanded activities by the provider.

I use a pseudonym email account to sign up for almost all online activities. I seldom have my real name or information associated to any account. Oddly enough even when making purchases the fact that my shipping name doesn’t match my email name has ever been a problem. It seems the key is that shipping and billing info matches.

Sometimes I wonder though if I am not deluding myself in thinking I am really sheltering myself from unethical advertisers bombarding me with ads or my legal ID and info form those who wish to dig a bit deeper. No matter what email address I send from, it still tracks back to the same unique ISP address. I would guess, on line posts are imbedded with a sender ID too. Some spammers seem to have found ways to mask their ISP but I haven’t figured out how to do that. If I did know a practical way to hide my ISP address, I would most likely do it for most online posts and some emails.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I think you meant "IP address". See http://askbobrankin.com/personal_vpns_for_anonymous_web_surfing.html

Yes, Thank you Bob. I did mean IP address. I think I have an old age memory lapse and my hard drive hits a few bad spots on occasion.

Bob's information on VPNs is quite good, but for all out simplicity, try 'UltraVPN' (UltraVPN v 1.00) by UltraReach, found at this site:

http://ultrasurf.us

The 'UltraVPN' link is the bottom line of this page:

http://ultrasurf.us/support.html

That link is:

http://ultrasurf.us/downloads/ultravpn/v100.zip

If you can't access the site, UltraReach's similar software, 'UltraSurf' can be downloaded here:

https://goo.gl/vqyQs

Read through the site. The original UltraReach software, 'UltraSurf', only encrypts your browser traffic (IMPORTANT: Read the site for critical details about various browser's security requirements), while the newer 'UltraVPN' encrypts ALL traffic from and to your computer. They both route their traffic securely through the UltraReach servers, making it impossible to trace your IP address (Read the site for caveats). There is no installation, they leave no trace of having been run on the system (though I turn off the Paging File to be more cautious), and can be run from a flash drive for portability and security.

There is another UltraVPN software (currently v. 2x) that is not the same software as UltraReach's 'UltraVPN v 1.00' (v100.exe), so use the link above to get the correct software.

Sorry for the overly long post, but I'm an UltraReach nut.

I had a Disqus account, but when I used CCleaner it deletes passwords. I have never signed back into Disqus.

I think Bob's article is rather alarming and I'm glad he brought this to my attention.

I just deactivated my Disqus.
And there were my comments. (Lord love a duck, whoever wrote those comments sounds stupid!)
Each comment has a Delete button, which appeared to do nothing. Then I clicked on "You only" to show only my comments. This brought up one of those spinning activity indicators, which won't stop spinning.

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The security issues on their system have been going on for months now. There are a few things that I want to get fixed in Disqus festzelte verleih

I post with Disqus because many times there is no other way to post a comment to an article or blog. Comparing Disqus with Facebook or google+, Disqus by far has the nastiest ignorant comments and replies to my comments. On the other hand I do believe in free speech. I do not believe in censoring and free speech leaves us free to admonish and reprimand nasty commentators. And I do also believe in nom de plumes or aliases. Artists and writers have used pen names since time immemorial. My nom du plume is sacred to me and I like to use it as i would use my real name. I use an alias for privay purposes and that is all