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| no spam! (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
We've all undoubtedly gotten the spam comments on our blog posts. If you haven't then consider yourself lucky or one who has a very tight rein on incoming comments with your spam filters. Just a word to a few of you (mainly those on WordPress it seems), if you receive absolutely no spam on your posts then good, but you might want to check your spam folders to make sure legitimate comments aren't trapped there as well. If your controls are set too rigidly, your system may be blocking actual blog comments. I can't tell you much about this--I only know it happens sometimes since I often end up in WordPress spam folders.
The real spam is a nuisance, however, and is unfortunately something we have to deal with. If there are any of you still in doubt about what spam comments are think of the content. Does the comment have anything to do with what you've said in your blog post. If not, or if it kind of parrots something you said, but still seems peculiarly worded or just an example of poor grammar you are probably dealing with spam.
Also, spam often comes from "anonymous". Ah, yes--that ever present who's-it sender that starts the conversation with a red flag. On Blogger--and I would assume this is the case on most blogging platforms--we have the option of screening out anonymous comments by switching to "Registered Users" in the Settings section of the blog. I've done this with most of my blogs and it has helped tremendously to eliminate the spam. Sadly, I won't get some of those gems that come from real readers who wish to remain anonymous, but it's the price I have to pay to keep a cleaner comment section.
Of course the spammers can evade this block by actually using a Blogger account. If you don't know the sender it's a good idea to check the Blogger profile to see who the sender is. It's usually pretty obvious if the sender is a commercial account who is merely spamming you to get you to click on a link or go to their site. The bottom line is don't do it unless it's truly something that you'd like to know more about.
That brings us to links. You want to take care which links you click on. This is especially true if a link that sounds very commercial ends the comment or if the comment is filled with peculiar looking links. And in case you don't know this already, do not open any of those suspicious looking links or you may end up with malware infecting your computer.
However, don't confuse signature links with links of ill intent. If what appears to be a legitimate user with an actual good comment that relates to what you have written leaves a link in the signature, it's most likely a safe link that makes it convenient to find the commenter.
Examples of a good link: Shannon at The Warrior Muse or Lee A Faraway View
An example of the potentially evil or spam link accompanied by irrelevant comment:
Also, spam often comes from "anonymous". Ah, yes--that ever present who's-it sender that starts the conversation with a red flag. On Blogger--and I would assume this is the case on most blogging platforms--we have the option of screening out anonymous comments by switching to "Registered Users" in the Settings section of the blog. I've done this with most of my blogs and it has helped tremendously to eliminate the spam. Sadly, I won't get some of those gems that come from real readers who wish to remain anonymous, but it's the price I have to pay to keep a cleaner comment section.
Of course the spammers can evade this block by actually using a Blogger account. If you don't know the sender it's a good idea to check the Blogger profile to see who the sender is. It's usually pretty obvious if the sender is a commercial account who is merely spamming you to get you to click on a link or go to their site. The bottom line is don't do it unless it's truly something that you'd like to know more about.
That brings us to links. You want to take care which links you click on. This is especially true if a link that sounds very commercial ends the comment or if the comment is filled with peculiar looking links. And in case you don't know this already, do not open any of those suspicious looking links or you may end up with malware infecting your computer.
However, don't confuse signature links with links of ill intent. If what appears to be a legitimate user with an actual good comment that relates to what you have written leaves a link in the signature, it's most likely a safe link that makes it convenient to find the commenter.
Examples of a good link: Shannon at The Warrior Muse or Lee A Faraway View
An example of the potentially evil or spam link accompanied by irrelevant comment:
My family always say that I am killing my time here at web, but I know I am getting knowledge all the time by reading thes fastidious content.
my webpage ... rominahotcom
If it looks stupid and suspicious, it's probably because it is exactly that. Don't click on these links and delete the comment from your comment section so others don't click on them.
Just a note about spam you may not see. Do you check your spam folders now and then to clean out the spam and make sure there are not legitimate comments trapped in there? Periodically (at least once a week) you should check to see if you have any spam comments or comments awaiting moderation. If you haven't ever done this, you might be amazed by what you may find there. Especially if you are allowing anonymous comments. You can find the spam folders under "Comments" on your Blogger template page and I guess this would be similar on other blogging formats.
So, now you might want to get an early start on spring cleaning and get ready for the April Challenge. You'll be getting a lot of new comments to sort through, but you want to be sure to separate the good from the bad.
Happy Safe Blogging!
Just a note about spam you may not see. Do you check your spam folders now and then to clean out the spam and make sure there are not legitimate comments trapped in there? Periodically (at least once a week) you should check to see if you have any spam comments or comments awaiting moderation. If you haven't ever done this, you might be amazed by what you may find there. Especially if you are allowing anonymous comments. You can find the spam folders under "Comments" on your Blogger template page and I guess this would be similar on other blogging formats.
So, now you might want to get an early start on spring cleaning and get ready for the April Challenge. You'll be getting a lot of new comments to sort through, but you want to be sure to separate the good from the bad.
Happy Safe Blogging!
