TSA Blogger Bob Watched Closely By Readers

The Transportation Security Administration came under fire from Internet users on Nov. 17 for being too slow to moderate and post readers' comments onto its blog , a sign the site is being read closely.

An impatient reader, noticing that comments weren't coming through, posted to Reddit on Tuesday , "The TSA is censoring all comments on their blog. Do you think we hurt their feelings?"

Forbes ' Andy Greenberg rode on readers' anger on Wednesday morning:

The fact that the TSA blog has seemingly blocked all comments on its best venue for defusing immense public anger over these new security measures seems especially disingenuous given that it's long had a "Delete-O-Meter" on the bottom right of the blog site. As a transparency measure, that plug-in is meant to offer a count of comments deleted by the site's administrator. It hasn't moved in the last twelve hours-it seems Blogger Bob is simply not approving new comments, rather than flat-out deleting anything.

That nudge just might have prodded the site's Blogger Bob into action. A flood of comments -- mostly rabid rants -- went up late Wednesday afternoon.

The site has become a vibrant roasting platform for the agency, which has come under scrutiny for its security screening procedures and full-body scanners. The traffic and chatter climaxed with the surge of media interest around the TSA oversight hearing on Wednesday.

A post that went up as a forum for readers to "comment on things that are way off topic with the current post" amassed more than 605 responses in a day. Blogger Bob's patient explanation of why "opting-out of advanced imaging technology and the pat-down doesn't fly" prompted more than 350 comments in two days.

Not content with just the official blog, readers have found other creative ways to satisfy their anger. Rogue TSA Twitter accounts have mushroomed online, including "Agent Smith" of the handle @TSAgov , who tweeted today,