Early in my blogging career I realized that because John Scalzi is an extraordinarily creative and innovative blogger I might fall into the trap of constantly writing about his every triumph. People who care click on Whatever first — there’s little I can add to what they’ve already seen for themselves.

But just the same, on a day like this I feel compelled to rush from the brewery and join the applause. And I see The Guardian feels the same way about Scalzi’s post, ”Solving My Racist Sexist Homophobic Dipshit Problem”, to which it has devoted an article —

Fed up of being constantly targeted on his website by one particular individual and his followers, Scalzi decided to take action, pledging US$5 every time “the Racist Sexist Homophobic Dipshit in question posts an entry on his site in which he uses my name (or one of his adorable nicknames for me)”.

Scalzi put a ceiling on his “troll tip jar” of US$1,000, figuring that gave his bête noir 200 opportunities to abuse him over the coming year, and said he’d give the cash to four charities: RAINN, America’s largest anti-sexual violence organization; Emily’s List, dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women to office; the Human Rights Campaign, which works for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equal Rights; and NAACP: America’s oldest and largest civil rights organization.

Scalzi inspired Will Wheaton to match his $1,000 pledge, and the total of all pledges to these charities has already surprassed $50,000.

[Thanks to Andrew Porter and James Bacon for the story.]