Spam Gone Wild
My dear loyal readers and commenters,
For the past 2 weeks, there have been an unusually high volume of spam comments on this blog, and as a result (I assume), my spam filter has been marking good comments as well as bad one’s as spam.
This really sucks because I have to check the spam list multiple times a day to make sure no good comments get marked as spam. As more and more spam comes in, it becomes harder to sort through the spam list and find the good comments.
So, there are a couple of options here. First of all, if your comment doesn’t IMMEDIATELY show up when you post it, email me and let me know. I do not hold comments in moderation, and therefore they should go through and show up as soon as you click.
Second, if this continues to be a problem, we may have to start requiring registration in order to comment. I really don’t want to do this at all, as it would discourage commenting.
Please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts on requiring registration. I’d really like your feedback on this, and feel free to be honest. I will incorporate the wisdom of the crowd.
Nathan
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically each day to your feed reader. If you don't have a feed reader, you can always have these articles delivered to your email inbox every day. Click here to sign up.
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
Comments
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
No worries about registration here … yes it’s an extra hurdle, the first time. But from this reader’s perspective, do it; esp if it’ll cut down the spam.
I have never had a problem with registration. I register at many weblogs, and my own weblog requires registration as well.
If folks aren’t willing to be upfront with a legitimate registration, how up front are they going to be about commenting?
Have you installed “Honey Pot” as well here? http://www.projecthoneypot.org/ I hope you at least have Akismet. :)
No problem registering here either. It’s a small hurdle that I think most people will get over. Though it is a hurdle.
I don’t require reg. at my blog, but I haven’t had a big spam problem either.
I’ve read good things about honey pot but haven’t used it. Looks interesting.
Obviously, my regular readers and commenters won’t mind registering, and for that I’m grateful.
I’m wondering if you guys think it will discourage new commenters. I don’t want to get in their way, as new commenters are always nice to have and I don’t want to turn them off :-)
Also, this will only be necessary if it continues to be a problem. If it cools down or if akismet gets better at not marking good comments as bad, then I’d just keep it as-is.
I also need to check out that honeypot deal. maybe it’ll help too.
I have no problem with registration, but then again I’m here fairly often. I can’t speak for newcomers who might see one post that interests them and want to comment on it.
UPDATE:
I’ve confirmed that it is indeed satan himself leaving the spam comments. Need proof? Just check out the photo below:
Need I say more?
That amount of spam? In how short a time? That looks more like an attack than the normal run of the mill spam! I would suggest honeypot, and have them monitor your ip, as well as set some traps on your footer to narrow down what is happening… Did you whizz someone off? Maybe a Scientologist??? HAHAHAHA
Guy,
Well, I have made some enemies since I’ve started this blog, but I doubt very much that they would do anything malicious like invite spammers. We disagree on certain points of theology and methodology, and exchanged a few childish words (which I regret). Nothing major.
I’ve had akismet installed since Feb 12, 2007 and it has caught 3,229 spam comments. I can not possibly imagine having to filter/delete all those things manually!!
I noticed them back in Feb when this site started to pick up steam as far as google ranking and daily visitors. I guess it just comes with the territory.