Here are some from recent mornings:
"I love it when people come together to share great views! Keep up the good work..." (on a blog post from several years ago).
"We are a group of community organizers and find your blog of great use...." (Hmmm, I've gotten that message at least 25 times a year.)
"I need help with my webblog. Can you contact me..." (short answer, No.)
"It's not my first time to pay a visit this blog page" (again, on a post from years ago).
"Hey there I am so happy I found your blog, I really found you by accident..." (I'm sure you did, especially as you said you found it on Ask Jeeves, which hasn't been Ask Jeeves in some 12 years).
"I know this is off topic...." yes, it is and no, I'm not responding."
"What blogging platform do you use?" No comment, including to the anonymous blogger asking.
Yes, I get these comments and I'm sure you (if you are a blogger) do to. But: WHY?
Back in October, I encouraged (legitimate) bloggers to visit a post that had been, by far, the most hit-upon by spammers. It was a Halloween themed post about Yonkers (a large city in New York State) and zombies. I asked bloggers to comment about their most spam-hit upon blogs and the responses were interesting.
But getting this obvious spam (and some of it makes you think for a minute if it is really spam, as it is so well done) makes me feel like someone has taken a (insert word of your choice here concerning removal of waste material from your body) on my blog, and that is not an image any blogger wants.
(So here's a better one for you - my last garden flowers in a vase from early November).
In case you've ever wondered why spammers come to your blog, this is a fascinating blog post about why.
This blogger gives three possible solutions for his platform. On the platform I use (Blogger), there are several options - first, don't accept comments at all (which I will not do). Then, use comment moderation (which allows me to read comments, sent to me in emails, before I decide if to post). And finally, only allow commenters with Google accounts to comment.
At this point in time I can add that Blogger has made it so hard for people to comment, maybe soon all will be left are the spammers. Too bad.
So, a question for you today: has spam ever made you want to quit blogging?
Day 22 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost
No. Lack of direct reader response has made me think about it...
ReplyDeleteMore than ten years ago I wrote that although some topics, like interviews with middle school kids, attracted really nasty spam--not even business links, just hateful and filthy content you wouldn't want kids to see!--I'd rather be responsible for my own "Troll Patrol." Even though on AC we had to remove nasty comments one...by...one!
Blogspot's anti-comment policy is not meant to protect us; it's meant to harvest data for Google. I don't like it, but then again, how often do I follow through by cross-posting to Live Journal, where anybody can and does post anything.
No, spam doesn't make me want to quit (that's a lot of other issues) but it did make me go to comment moderation. One thing I hate that people use to cut down on spam comments is captcha, too much work just to leave a comment, moderation is so much better.
ReplyDeleteMost of those comments sound like they were badly translated. Have you noticed? The syntax is off.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's always the same post. It's the post where I wrote out the pattern for a water bottle carrier. I think of the 100 or so spam comments I've gotten 3 have not been for that post.
It hasn't made me want to quit blogging, but I agree it is extremely annoying. My first chore on checking my blog each day is to delete all the spam comments that have come in overnight. In my case, the spammer(s) target one post in particular: my review of The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen from April 20, 2015. Consequently, that post has thousands more page views than any other post I've ever done! The author(s) of the comments are obviously writers for whom English is not the first language and they are all anonymous. Occasionally I worry that I might be deleting some anonymous commenters who are legit - but I can't say that I worry overmuch.
ReplyDeleteSo, I use moderated posts with a spam sniffer. Unfortunately, two legitimat folks which sites 'get you noticed', e folks are routinely classified as spam. But? the real reason I get bombarded with spam is that there are a few blogs that "get you noticed", that help raise you up on the SEO ranks. Fortunately, my blog is one such blog. Unfortunately, my blog is one such blog. (Sorry, Mr. Dickens...)
ReplyDeleteNo it has not.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't get too much spam. I only accept comments from people with Google accounts, which probably cuts down on legitimate comments but I just can't handle the spam. I get enough of it on email! And don't get me started on all those telemarketing calls from perky girls like "Jessica."
ReplyDeleteSome people hate Yahoo, and they have reasons, but it *does* have an excellent spam filter. Too tight, if anything. (I set it to block drug ads and it blocks my Congressman's newsletter when drug laws come up for review.)
DeleteI do occasionally get spam but I go to the comments section of blogger and mark them as spam. When you do that, the comments and any future comments from that address are removed/blocked. Mine often contain links to strange websites. It's never made me want to quit blogging. What I find infuriating is finding blogs that copy, word for word, image for image, my posts and claim them as their own. Blogger does have a way to dispute this but a form has to be filled out for each individual post, even if one of the fake blogs has copied several years of daily posts. It takes a while but the copy blogs have eventually been taken down by Blogger.
ReplyDeleteAlana,
ReplyDeleteSome spam is hard to tell if it's legit or not but for the obvious I just hit delete. It's a bit frustrating but thankfully WP is good about filtering the junk out and placing it in my Spam folder. I don't accept anonymous commenters so that might help a lot, I don't know. I have never once thought about quit blogging. These goofy spambots or individuals will always be around, so why give up something I enjoy because of them? I shouldn't! Hopefully, you don't feel that aggrevated to want to throw in the towel. :)