Sock Poppet at Play

Laughable article by the non-journalist Nola Cancel, who apparently can turn any incident into a plug for Anne Rice.

In yesterday's episode, she managed to make the case of Granny Goodwitch, who used a fake name for her Facebook account (against FB's TOS) and got deleted by Facebook, into an Anne Rice sob fest. She even used a picture of Anne Rice. Where, you ask, is the picture of Granny Goodwitch? Good question.

http://www.examiner.com/article/recent-social-media-issues-strike-anne-rice-s-facebook-page

If I didn't know that Nola was one of Anne Rice's biggest fans, I would think this article was a parody. Let us examine (<---- see what I did there?)

>>Apparently, no one is safe from the pit-falls of social media including Anne Rice.<<

Translation: I love Anne Rice and must talk about her, even though this issue has absolutely nothing to do with Anne Rice. And pitfalls shouldn't have a hyphen, but that's just one of the many things I don't know.

>>Granny Goodwitch, subjected to the arbitrary rules of the Facebook hierarchy.<<

Translation: Granny Goodwitch used a pseudonym. Facebook's rules state that one must use their real name. Notice how Nola implies Granny is innocent and FB is the evil overlord?

>>A constant presence on Mrs. Rice's page, Granny is a beloved figure whose many enlightening posts on everything from bees to bats to ancient archeology,<<

Translation: Granny is beloved, therefore shouldn't have to follow the rules.

>>In the four years the "Anne Rice Examiner" has been covering Mrs. Rice's Facebook page, we have never witnessed a negative post or hint of bullying from Ms. Goodwitch.<<

Translation: Granny is positive, therefore she shouldn't have to follow the rules.

>>However, she is a constant target of Facebook's "real-name" policy and has had her own widely popular page shut-down on numerous occasions, losing access to life-long contacts and personal pictures, not to mention, the inability to post to those pages she loves to frequent, including Anne Rice's.<<

Translation: Constant target = About a week. "Real-name" policy = Real-name policy. Granny shouldn't have her page shut down even though she wasn't using her real name, which violates FB's real-name policy.

Nola quotes Anne Rice: "Granny Goodwitch has AGAIN been blocked on Facebook! What is going on? Why is Facebook relentlessly persecuting this lovely and benign member of our FB community! What in the world is prompting this? Oh, I know, there is some regulation about real names, but FB is filled with people posting under fake and fictional names, and filled with people up to mischief with their fake names; whereas this poster is a loving, positive person, who has always offered us wonderful, informative links and comments on this page!"

Translation: Facebook is enforcing its own rules and blocking someone who is not. Anne Rice's outrage is hilarious. I love her use of the phrases "relentlessly persecuting" (as if they have had Granny handcuffed and thrown in jail at every opportunity) and "some regulation about real names" (as if it is a little-known rules that FB has, for the first time ever, used so they can "relentlessly persecute" the poor, helpless Granny Goodwitch).

The fact that other people have been able to get away with using fake names to do mischief has no bearing on FB's right to use their own rules to delete someone's page. If people don't like FB's TOS, they are free to complain, boycott, email FB, go elsewhere or take their chances with using a pseudonym. What they are not free to do, if they want to be responsible and honest, is claim that Granny has been persecuted. That is ludicrous. But Anne Rice and her Puppets of the Page are famous for being ludicrous. Or should I say infamous?

>>However, this rule has never been strictly enforced and Facebook continues to be a site that contains millions and millions of fake identities and countless necessary or unnecessary pseudonyms.<<

Translation: I don't like it when Facebook enforces a rule I don't like. I actually don't know how many fake identities Facebook contains, but saying millions and millions sounds really cool even though I have no idea how many fake identities FB really has. But I'm not a real journalist, anyway, so lack of facts is no problem for me.

>>Anonymity on the internet has long been an issue of Anne Rice as she continues to fight the good fight against social media trolls and bullies. On some sites, such as "Amazon" and "Goodreads", many first time authors bear the brunt of harsh reviews and constant "down-voting" for a variety of reasons, while the perpetrators safely hide behind the particular site's anonymity policy. This particularly "mean" practice has caused many a newbie writer to suffer poor sales at best and to give up writing for good, at worst.<<

Translation: This has nothing to do with the Facebook issue, but AR likes me to put in a plug for her fight against anonymity, even though it is totally the opposite of her trying to get FB to allow Granny to use a pseudonym. Don't try to make sense of this. Just read the part about all the many newbie writers who have suffered poor sales or given up writing for good, because of anonymous "bullies" and please don't ask me to name any of them. I don't know any names, because nobody has ever really said who they are or proved that what I'm saying is the factual.

Another fun quote from Anne Rice, where she gets twisted in her own lack of logic. ""So we are living in an interesting world today on the net ... becoming deeply invested in websites which aren't necessarily going to enforce their own rules, or tolerate any appeal of any decision they make about banning someone ... or ignoring someone whom others claim is an abuser. It's part of the reality we have to face." - Anne Rice"

Translation: Facebook enforced their own rules! How dare they! They won't tolerate an appeal! How dare they! I'm Anne Rice! How dare they!

>>And, she may be right. Though some have fought back against these huge conglomerates and succeeded, so many others have lost years of time spent developing their pages and friendships without any thought or consideration of the devastation that follows.<<

Translation: People took their chances when they broke FB's rules and got caught. How dare they have to take responsibility! Not fair! Not fair!

>>However, until a better method of policing these sites is found, instituted and maintained, we have no choice, if we wish to continue having an online presence, to bear with them.<<

Translation: OK, this one just makes me roar with laughter. Policing these sites? Seriously? What business is it of anyone to police a site they have voluntarily chosen to join? Gah, how did our society become so immature as to think we can make the rules for someone else's site? No wonder Nola is an apologist for Anne Rice. She thinks just like her.

>>As of this writing, we are happy to report; Granny Goodwitch has once again been allowed on Facebook (check out Anne Rice's page to find her). Maybe this time, the internet police will leave her alone.<<

Translation: I want to police these sites!!!! So other internet police, go away and let Anne Rice and me do the policing. We know what's best for everyone!!!

We Are the Anne Rice. You Will be Assimilated. Resistance is Futile.

Dream, Long, Prince, Rock, Rose, The, Wind

Say Yes To the Marquess / Tessa Dare ~ 4/6/15

May's Reading Challenge ~ You May, But Should You?

Blue, City, Face, Night, Power, To

'Twas the Night After Christmas / Sabrina Jeffries ~ 3/12/15

Death Comes to London / Catherine Lloyd ~ 3/3/15

This is the second in a series. I thought the romantic leads were done in the first book, but nope. They were once again involved in a mystery and their relationship was rocky and fun. Makes me eager for the next book to see what happens with them and the other characters.

 April's Reading Challenge ~ Spring in Your Step

In the comments on my blog post "Who Am I Really?"

http://sockpoppet.booklikes.com/post/1130224/who-am-i-really

Dor Does Books posted a March 19 quote from the vile site:

"Now, at the very end of Idiot’s re-blog, it says:

This is a really hostile environment for WoC and especially black women …

Uh, women of color and black women… is there a difference?  You can tell the author put a lot of thought into this post.  *sarcasm*"

Uh, yeah. There is a difference. 

I'm finding it hard to believe that in 2015 anyone would have to be educated that WoC (Women of Color) or PoC (People of Color) encompasses all non-whites, not just black people. 

Look around, you spewers of hate. The world is filled with a variety of skin tones, cultures, countries, religions, points of view.

At least we know who the real idiots are. 

Not that we didn't know that before, of course.

On Booklikes I post as Sock Poppet At Play.

On Amazon I post as Anna Karenina (of the many name variations, but always Anna Karenina).

It was never a secret. In fact I posted the same editorial here as I did on Amazon.

http://sockpoppet.booklikes.com/post/1125515/the-right-of-petition-name-or-book-what-s-the-difference

http://www.amazon.com/forum/top%20reviewers/ref=cm_cd_tfp_ef_tft_tp?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx2Z5LRXMSUDQH2&cdThread=Tx103QOI97VSRIP

Why a certain site thinks they're such great investigative reporters is beyond me. I've been here a year and a half and they didn't even spell my name correctly (it's POppet, not PUppet).

Don't feel badly if you didn't realize who I was here or there. Just means you're not reading every.word I post on Amazon or Booklikes.

It's worth it, though, if you want to start. ;)

There's a controversy raging in a segment of the book world due to an author asking readers to call Amazon and ask them to remove a book from being sold. I've been reading the merits of the book and debating whether this is a good idea, as I oppose censorship and book banning. It took me a few days to realize why I was having so much trouble figuring out where I stood on the issue: I was asking myself the wrong question.

In order to ask the right question I want to present two cases.

1 ~ Author A supported a petition asking Amazon to force customers to use their real names when reviewing/posting on Amazon.

2 ~ Author B wrote a blog post requesting readers call Amazon and ask them to pull a book from sale that contained real-life characters (a former president and his property).

Whether one agrees or disagrees with the merits of either request has no bearing on my argument.

This is the right question that needs to be asked: Is petitioning by citizens of the United States legal or illegal? No matter where you come down on the merits of each case (and arguing that is fine), the important question is whether either petition is legal.

Some are saying that author B is calling for censorship or book banning, but that is not the case. She has neither the authority nor the ability to censor or ban the book in question. The only bodies who have that authority are governments. Privately-owned businesses have the right to sell or not to sell a book. Individuals have the right not to read/buy a book. Neither action is censorship or banning of the book.

Author A supported a petition.

Author B supported a petition, but chose to go directly to Amazon rather than take the time needed to gather signatures. But her actions are a petition, just as Author A's are.

One might argue that both petitioners are making requests that infringe on the rights of others. They are. Both petitions, if granted, would infringe on others' rights. But those others have the same right to petition Amazon not to force people to use their real names or not to remove the book from being sold.

Now I think we are ready to ask the question I posed at the beginning:

What is the difference between Author A's petition and Author B's petition?

I hope you have reached the same conclusion I have: There is none.

If one supports Author A's actions in petitioning Amazon, then one must support Author B's actions in petitioning Amazon. And vice versa. There is no alternative.

The contents of either petition can be debated. But the right to petition is equal for both parties.

Whether one likes the subject of either petition is a choice. Claiming one act of petition is right and the other wrong is hypocrisy.

Literary Birthday Challenge

Innocents: A Story for Lovers / Sinclair Lewis ~ 2-7-15

Monthly Key Word Challenge

Chase, Heir, Key, Lie, Once, Water

Seven Keys to Baldpate / Earl Derr Biggers ~ 2-6-15

Read-by-the-Month Challenge

1 ~ a book with the word love (or variation) in the title.

Love, Lies and Murder / Catherine Winchester ~ 2-8-15

2 ~ a book by an author you love.

Holiday at the Dew Drop Inn / Eve Garnett ~ 2-7-15

I've completed one of the February Prompts for my 2015 Read-By-the-Month Reading Challenge.

I chose the prompt: a book by an author you love.

I recently read the first two books in the Family From One End Street series by Eve Garnett. For this challenge prompt I read the final book in the series: Holiday at the Dew Drop Inn.

I can't decide if this is my favorite of the series, but it doesn't matter. They were all wonderful. I love the way Eve Garnett endeared this family to me.

The only downside is that this is the last book. I now have to say goodbye to the Family From One End Street and it's not making me happy.

I'm doing three challenges this year (links at the end of the post).

This month's reads were wonderful. I enjoyed all of them and found two new authors that I've already read again (Eve Garnett and Mignon G. Eberhart) and one that I have two books ready to read (Margery Sharp).

Literary Birthday Challenge

Queen of Hearts - Wilkie Collins~ 1/11/15

Family From One End Street / Eve Garnett ~ 1/18/15

Further Adventures of the Family From One End Street / Eve Garnett ~ 1/26/15

Eye of Love / Margery Sharp ~ 1/30/15

Monthly Key Word Challenge (Last year I completed a book for each of the monthly key words. This year I'll do at least one, but I won't be challenging myself to do all the key words each month.)

Bad, Bird, End, Ever, Girl, Silence, Truth

End of Her Honeymoon / Marie Belloc Lowndes ~ 1/10/15

Truth About Alice / Jennifer Mathieu ~ 1/18/15

Family From One End Street / Eve Garnett ~ 1/18/15

Read-by-the-Month Challenge

Dark Garden (alternate title Death in the Fog) / Mignon G. Eberhart ~ 1/2/15

http://sockpoppet.booklikes.com/post/1074737/sock-poppet-s-2015-read-by-the-month-reading-challenge-january-prompts

http://bookmark2blog.blogspot.com/2014/11/2015-monthly-key-word-challenge-sign-ups.html

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1859056-literary-birthdays-challenge-2015