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| Courtesy of the Plain English Campaign |
Have you noticed a greater intrusion from spammers recently? More is making its way onto my blog, rather than being sidelined by Blogger's excellent 'Spam' detector. I've got away very lightly compared to some, but it is so annoying when a spam comment gets through.
I shall have to have a dig around to check that I haven't left a crucial box unchecked...
There's a sort of fascination for me in such gobbledegook though; I like to imagine the blog-owner actually typing this stuff into my comment box...
"You actually mаke it appeаr геally easу with youг presentation but I find thiѕ matter to be actually one thing that I feel I'd by no means understand. It seems too complicated and very extensive for me. I am taking a look ahead to your subsequent submit, I'll attemρt tο get the gгasp of it! Take a look at my homepage: "
It seems like such a lot of trouble to go to to encourage new visitors. Is anyone else vaguely tempted to visit the webpage suggested and leave an equally ridiculous/mysterious/obscure (delete as appropriate or add your own!) message?
Hmmm....just me then?
Hello Annie:
ReplyDeleteWe do agree that there appear to be more 'spam' comments than in the past. We too wonder at the mentality of those who take the time to type out these barely incomprehensible messages which, in fact, we have never been tempted to follow up. Having all comments go for 'Blog Owner Approval', or whatever it is, does mean that none actually gets through!
Hi there, Jane and Lance:
DeleteI have contemplated having comments go through the approval stage but I don't get that many ...not like you! I am convinced that the spam comments are computer generated, not hand typed, though I rather like the idea...
It's a shame, when comments really are some of the best bits of blogging, that these silly things are proliferating. Reading Perpetua's comment below does hint that Blogger can become wiser over time and help to remove them as they arrive. Clever, that!
Axxx
Yes, I've seen more too, Annie, though thankfully none have made it onto my blog as yet. My tip is NOT to delete such messages on your blog's front page, but to go to the Comments section of your dashboard and carefully mark each of them as spam. This will instantly remove them from your blog and also help to educate Blogger's spam filter to be even better.
ReplyDeleteHi Perpetua. I think you're quite right about not deleting from the blog post. I always delete comments via the dashboard but hadn't thought of marking them as spam. I shall start educating my Blogger immediately! Thanks for the tip.
DeleteAxxx
What a wonderful title for a best seller...'Educating Blogger'!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, it just needs writing...
DeleteI find it amazing that the software can learn - but it does!
Axxx
How would any of cope without Perpetua ? I think Ayak, Perpetua and Fly should join forces and write the book Fly suggests.
ReplyDeleteI've had a few strange, computer generated things appear on some older posts, and have just ignored them... perhaps I'll have aclear out and start the education process. Jx
Gosh, you're making me blush, Janice. Yes, if you can bear to do it, I'd go back and mark all those dud messages as spam. From my own experience you'll probably find them clustered on just two or three posts, as spammers are creatures of habit. :-)
ReplyDeleteBlogging is an education, but dealing with spam takes away just a little bit of the enjoyment.
ReplyDeleteI always delete from my comment box but I'll be following Perpetua's advice and deleting from the dashboard in future.
Me too, Gaynor. Even though it might make her blush, I do think I'd be more than willing to follow any of her advice. And I don't say that about most people!
DeleteI haven't had much spam before so was a bit confused to start with and read all the comments that seemed to turn up quite suddenly. Then the penny dropped and I've seen similar ones on one or two of the blogs I follow. I'm sure it's randomly generated, it's such twaddle, but maybe there really are people who waste their lives (writing blogs and on blogs??? - no, that's not what I mean at all!) doing this.
Axxx
I'm not sure if the spam is computer generated or google-translated. Both seem to be gobbledy-gook
ReplyDeleteThe Plain English Campaign website has a business gobbledygook generator. I even gave it a go and it really does produce the sort of gobbledygook that you find in business. I just find it hard to believe anyone has really written this stuff and am sure there's a clever little program that does it all for them. Though it still doesn't really explain why....
DeleteAxxx
Just to get you to click on the link, Annie, which you'll notice is always a live one. We bloggers don't normally know how to create live links in our comments as Blogger doesn't have the facility built-in, but the spammers always manage it. Our job is to foil their nefarious aims. :-)
DeleteI have had lots more spam comments recently (I'm also getting vast amounts of junk email as well which is annoying). I am quite fascinated by the gobbledygook..clearly a lot of it is stuff translated by google. I know that Blogger's spam filter works pretty well but I still don't trust it which is why I moderate all comments before publishing.
ReplyDeleteVery wise, Ayak. I sometimes mistakenly feel very safe in my own little blogging bubble - obviously it's not all quite as I imagine it to be. Worth remembering this from time to time. So far, it has been just the occasional comment on my blog but I know some people feel very targeted. Until then, I shall stick to educating Blogger - my latest cause! Axxx
DeleteAck, the spammers are insane at the moment... and some of them are barking mad rude. I know how to do live links in the comment box, but only do it sparingly as Blogger notices it and thinks it might be spam, it then traces the comment back to your blog and deactivates it! This has happened to me once, and it feels horrible. It's happened to a few fellow bloggers I know. I had to go through the retrieval process to get my blog back, which was a bit of a faff.
ReplyDeleteBe careful out there!
Sxx
Thanks Scarlet - for visiting and for commenting. It's a difficult world we live in sometimes and it's good to learn from each other's experiences. Glad you got your blog back as I am delighted to discover it. I do feel I need to tell you that my younger sister is not interested in analysing it and I won't be letting her know anything about it.....
DeleteAxxx
Wοw, thіѕ ροѕt іs niсе, mу younger sister is analуzіng theѕе things, therefore I am
ReplyDeletegoing to lеt know her.
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HURRAY!!!! I'm going to leave this here until I do another blog post - love the irony!!! Axxx
DeleteGosh, these comments have been very educational - I'll sort this first thing tomorrow....
ReplyDeleteIn the mean time, enjoy your spam....Axxx
DeleteCheeks full, as a huge 'Phew!' escapes... I thought it was just me, sailing close to the wind!
ReplyDeleteLLX
Close to the wind is - I am told - quite the best place to sail, Lettice! Axxx
DeleteIt helps if you change your settings to moderate comments on posts over 4 or 5 days old, that filters out a lot of spam, and don't forget to mark email notifications of spam comments as spam, that helps too. Although when you first do that you will get legit emails moved to spam and you'll have to mark those as not spam. Confusing, sorry, but it does settle down.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the get well wishes Annie :)
Thanks for this Annie. I already do a couple of these and it does seem to help. I don't get a lot of spam so it's not really a problem but I noticed in the past few weeks, more seem to be getting through and can't for the life of me understand why anyone one think it was worth commenting on my blog, other than genuine readers!
DeleteHopw you are on the mend good and proper now, dear Annie. Don't like to think of you unwell. Axxx