No, please, don't hold back, tell us what you really think!

I'm not an apologist for Odeon by any means - but it's a little tabloid of you to be calling for Luke Vetere's head.

Have you sent an email to Luke asking him to start a conversation ? If not, maybe that's the first step...markets are conversations first, only when conversation fails will we have to go all Daily Mirror on his ass.

Oh, and I'm highly amused by you preaching the uncontrolled talk and then using a comments moderation system.

Let's see what gets though.

Anu, Luke Vetere's conduct in his job suggests - to put it mildly - a case of terminal stupidity and myopic non-thinking. If you'd employ someone like that, bully for you and best of luck. I wouldn't. And I see no more reason to "start a conversation" with Vetere than I do to employ him. For one thing, I don't care enough about Odeon to do their dirty work for them. Why should I? They should sort themselves out - it's certainly not my or Adriana's job (or anyone else from outside the organisation) to do so. Markets are conversations, but just as with other conversations, life is too short to waste talking to the lost causes in this game.

As for this:

Oh, and I'm highly amused by you preaching the uncontrolled talk and then using a comments moderation system.

Well, glad to entertain, but you've badly misread this blog if you can find us endorsing - let alone "preaching" - uncontrolled talk. You seem, in fact, to have mistaken blogs for forums, where everyone gets to have a say until the admins can come and clean the graffiti off the walls. Blogs are not forums.

We're happy to allow critical comments - answering them is such fun! - but at no point will we sacrifice our blog to the spam monsters. Until there's an effective defence against spambots, the comments moderation is here to save us a huge amount of time and effort that would otherwise be devoted to clearing hundreds of intrusive, annoying spam comments. (After all, we're all working hard here, and we'd rather use that time to converse with readers like you, Anu!) If you would like more information about the problem of comments spammers, feel free to email me and I'll send you a beginner's guide to this common problem for blogs.

Thanks for the feedback!

Err - ok.

Whew, you kids took those comments to heart didn't you !

You talk about the Cluetrain, markets as conversations, yet seem happier shouting from afar - which as I said I find a bit tabloid.

You say that uncontrolled experience is desirable, but I guess that's for other people and companies.

But I'll take a copy of your beginners' guide to comment spam. Anything to avoid those nasty "spam monsters".

Anu, I detect a serious humour failure on your part, any post with overtones of Carthage, should not be taken seriously, let alone honoured with an attribute of 'tabloid'...

Hm, where do we say that 'uncontrolled' experience is desirable? Neither Cluetrain nor us advocate 'uncontrolled' anything, we call for 'authentic'. Would you say that your interaction with friends is authentic only because it is uncontrolled? That does not make sense really. If somebody is a jerk, you treat them like a jerk.

Markets are conversations, which is clear from the internet. Companies must and should join in, which is not to say to throw away all caution and start shooting off right left of centre.

What do you mean shouting from afar? I'm happy to talk to any marketing director any day...

I'd enjoy this "conversation" more if the Cluetrain Rajneeshis here wouldn't drop the phrase "markets are conversations" into every other sentence. Why not just shorten it to "Y****h"?

From what I gather from your muddled up comment, you seem to confuse us with someone who gives a damn about whether you enjoy this or not.

We will keep saying that 'markets are conversations' as often as needed and there is nothing you can do about it.

My point exactly, buzzword-dropping cultist Adriana.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... whatever. Just go and troll somewhere else.

Whatever you do, don't speak the truth, Adriana! It might not be enjoyable for others! Proceed with caution!

I can't exactly be considered a "troll" when I wrote a book about Web accessibility (the ostensible subject of this posting) and have dealt with our dear British friends about cinema accessibility at length.

The question at hand is only peripherally related to marketing and is more centrally about Web standards, accessibility, and discrimination. None of those things-- amazingly!-- is a conversation, and not everyone believes the statement that markets are conversations is a "truth."

I'm aware that some of you resent having your central maxims questioned, but that hardly proves those maxims correct.

Joe Clark - ah, a name I know well. Talk to people in Toronto about this joker. A legend in his own mind, Mr. Clark is - as if he is unable to troll just because he's a self-appointed expert. Having heard the stories about how Clark's 'dealt with' close captioning departments in Toronto, I'd love to hear what the Brits have to say about him.

Andy, do not feed the trolls, please.

Joe, no one is resentful of having the truth questioned; what you believe is your business, we do not care, have a nice day. Perhaps we're just amused that you assume that we should welcome and thoughtfully ponder your pointlessly snarky remarks. I'd enjoy this conversation more if you didn't think it appropriate to lecture and admonish, but I'm not silly enough to expect you to care about my enjoyment, either.

I just found this article and am genuinely shocked. For Odeon to target the web computers of the disabled, and to get them unloaded from the UK internet system is unbelievable. Was he allowed to save his work, or will all of it have been moved to the Recycle bin? I can only assume he had some sort of virus on his site?
Anyway, I agree and Luke Vetere should be sacked.