Sunday, March 22, 2009

Killing Comment Spam

I have started getting comment spam where the spammer leaves numerous links in what appears to be Chinese. This spam is particularly annoying because the post ends up being 20 or so lines long, because it uses one line per link.

Therefore, with some reluctance, I have added word verification to my comments. I also now moderate comments left on posts older than 2 weeks. This only seems to happen when spammers comment on old posts, so I don't think it will affect you regulars.

I hope you won't find the word verification thing so annoying that you stop leaving comments altogether. I'm thinking about suggesting to Google that they have the word verification thing to only kick in after about 48 hours. The spam usually takes at least that long before it starts showing up.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been getting those in my inbox, but not on my blog--I mean the ones in Chinese. But with the few spam comments I've had on my LJ, I also have noticed that it's only on older posts. And they're in English.

ediFanoB said...

Word verificaion is quite common. Should be no problem.
But to be honest sometimes I leave comments on older posts. That happens when I get totally behind with my google reader items.

Mishel (P.S. I Love Books) said...

I understand how annoying that can be. I saw the same thing on another blog. Sorry it's gotten to yours.

Tia Nevitt said...

Ok, Edi, I reset the moderation for a month. I'm really only having that particular spam problem with really old posts.

Mishel, I think they eventually get to them all.

Anne said...

I'm sorry you're having this problem. I hope the spam goes away soon. {Smile}

Fortunately, I don't find word-verification all that annoying. {Smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

ediFanoB said...

Tia, this is very kind from you. Anyway I try to read your blog contemporary.

Mihai A. said...

I hate those. I have a few myself and I don't know how to stop them. I am sorry, Tia, that it got into your blog.
And don't worry about the word verification, I am not annoyed by it, especially if it helps you keep the spam away.

Nancy Beck said...

I have word verification on my blog, and hardly anyone comments over there. (I know, start the violins! ;-))

Really, it's not a problem.