Hello. It was a relief this morning to find I have no spam to check through. I could just zap the whole lot in one fell swoop, but occasionally there is a genuine comment in there, so rather than lose that one I scan through before I zap. It may take only a few seconds, but to keep on top of it I might check the spam folder several times a day, dumping as I go. If I didn't I would have 100+ to scan through, and that can get really annoying.
Spam is generated automatically, a human sets it up initially, but from then on it appears at set times. The comments follow a pattern, same ones over and over again. Some are in another language, easy to spot, they will get zapped whether they are genuine or not. Some spam comes through from account holders, meaning their name is a link to their site, they want to place a free add on my blog, Their comments are often complimentary, but do not relate to the post they are replying to. Some have only one word. If someone cannot be bothered to string a few words together, they get zapped.
I have disabled the anonymous option for the time being. I'm sorry if this upsets genuine readers who want to comment, but can't because they don't have an account. You could set up an account with Google, it's free. You could sign up for a blog with Blogger, and not make any entries, that would enable you to comment on any Blogger blog. I have put a button on the top of my sidebar to subscribe to this blog, but to be honest I'm not sure how that works.
I have checked other blogs for a link to subscribe but haven't found any. My questions to Bloggers are.....
Do you allow anonymous comments?
How much spam do you get?
Do you use word verification?
Does that work?
How are people subscribing to your blog?
If I was a business I would accept it as part of the working day, but this is my hobby, I can only allocate so much time to it.
Thank you for replying.
Catch up later.
Ilona
Ceramic Christmas trees
5 hours ago
If you subscribe as a reader, the blog post is sent to the reader's email. I also have verification and don't allow anonymous. That said, if one wanted to, one can open a bogus account under an alias. I filter all of my comments. Rarely do I get SPAM and it's usually poorly written English (as in from a foreigner).
ReplyDeleteI use blogger, it's free. It's a hobby, not a business for me as well. HTH
It must be a nuisance having to go through the comments like that. I use comment moderation and thankfully don't get much spam anyway. X
ReplyDeleteI don't allow anonymous comments. as you said it's very easy to set up a google account or a blog you don't write anything on.
ReplyDeleteI have the settings set so comments are published automatically within the first 3 days of the post being published. I only get very occasional spam comments and they usually come in on older posts so I mark them as spam. I'm sure you have a larger readership than me. I have a lot of followers but not that many page views. The spam must be very annoying.
I do always enjoy looking what your readers have to say. I hope they understand and take the simple steps to keep commenting here.
Jacquie x
A lot of my spam comes in on older posts. I'm sure they think I won't notice them.
DeleteSnap same here I am getting rather a lot lately.
DeleteForgot to say that I don't bother with verification.
ReplyDelete2, 3 or 4 spam comments which are in the spam folder. I check through and delete about three times a day. Mine is a hobby (blog). I have no verifications on.
ReplyDeleteGlad you understand what you are doing - sounds very technical x
ReplyDeleteI'm too busy, I live in the real world 99% of the time so posting comments is a hobby
ReplyDeleteI'm new to blogging and don't have many followers, so I haven't received spam comments yet. But I moderate comments and allow only registered users to comment. Until recently I had word verifications on, but I turned if off.
ReplyDeleteYes, I allow anonymous comments. I haven't gotten spam comments yet, but I have received it in my email. I don't know what word verification is. I moderate the comments, and read them before posting them. Some subscribe by email, most of them visit. I'm a pretty new blogger, and your following I'm sure is a lot more work. As you said, it's your hobby.
ReplyDeleteHello. I don't get spam emails, because my email address is disguised on my blog, so the electronic bots can't pick it up. I get the odd few who want me to write about them in a post, or they want to send me a guest post, but I decline those requests.
DeleteWord verification is when you get distorted letters and sometimes numbers and you have to say what they are and get it right before your comment is published. I find they can be quite difficult sometimes and if I get it wrong I don't bother as I find it off putting. It does work in stopping spam comments I believe.
DeleteNo anon comments on my blog and all comments are moderated.
ReplyDeleteI have been blogging for about 20 months now, at first I got no spam then just the odd one. Unfortunately it has increased the last four months or so. Also I started getting more unusual comments that didn't quite ring true asking for advice from anonymous, I started to realise they came from the same person and after replying on the blog they became more personal and I really didn't like it. By this point I had turned on comment moderation for all comments and I also stated anonymous comments would not be published. I got a couple more but thankfully they seem to have stopped now. Personally I don't like word verification, I think it discourages genuine commenters. I love quilting and I have met many wonderful quilters and developed great friendships since I started blogging, I will continue but I'm keeping the comment moderation turned on.
ReplyDeleteHi. I get lots of those odd comments asking for advice, they are not from legitimate readers. I get critical comments as well, telling me what I should be writing about, and how I can make my blog better. All from Anon, I delete them all.
DeleteI have received loads of those kind of spam comments recently but after reading your post last night I altered my settings.
DeleteBeen to Tesco for a late shop tonight. Too tired to write a post. Catch you tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI am currently getting a lot of porn related spam. I didn't realise that I could block anonymous comments. I am off to block them
ReplyDeleteHi Ilona -
ReplyDeleteHope you slept well after the Tesco trip!
I do allow anonymous comments, and people can post comments without me moderating them. I don't use word verification as I find it a bit of a faff when I'd like to comment on other people's blogs. However, I suspect I get fewer views and comments in my little corner of Suffolk than you do! It's lovely seeing new comments and familiar names posting.
Earlier this year, I switched over from Blogger to WordPress. Seems to have some kind of spam filter, because now it emails me if I get the ones in different languages, giving me the option of deleting them. Do get some random ones with unrelated comments and links to weird garages in America or Indonesian cleaning producs (delete! delete!).
Some people follow my blog on Bloglovin. I don't have the RSS thingie so people get emailed every post, but I have just put up a box so people can subscribe to a newsletter. Just need to write a newsletter now...
All the best
Faith
I really admire those of you who blog. I always think it's a big commitment and it must be a total pain to have to deal with spam, abuse and other rubbish.
ReplyDeleteI consider your blog as a huge commitment and service to the wider community.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just the ideas and level headed comments that you make but also the humour, serious ideas and encouragement that underlie your writing.
There must be many spin offs including the walking group. I have several friends who, curious by the walking we do, have started to walk far more themselves.
I'm sure to many reading your blog helps them to feel less lonely and isolated.
All this is a roundabout way of saying, don't be put off by a few sad people who are either jealous of your success and popularity or too lazy to do anything worthwhile.
Your blog may be your hobby but to many could be a great encouragement . Sue
Thank you, I needed those words. I need to focus on the positives, rather than those assholes that get to me from time to time. Sometimes it feels like an uphill struggle, but I know that to succeed you have to keep on, and the support I get from my readers helps me to stay on track. xxx
DeleteIlona,you are a friend to so many of us here and elsewhere.We love you because you make the world a better place.When unpleasant things happen in my life I do dwell a bit and then think of all the good stuff.We can't let the B's get us down.We are stronger and better than all their nonsense.Do whatever is right for you.Rock on Ilona x
DeleteHanging around the yellow sticker man is one of my favourite past times :) Great blog BTW - I love the idea of downsizing and am working on it myself, step by step.
ReplyDelete