Hi Barbara - those comment spammers are so annoying. What I hate most is that sometimes I’m so busy deleting them that I accidentally delete genuine comments. I really need to install Askimet, as I waste way to much time deleting spam.

And you are right. They are getting more creative - I had one recently attack me for pretending to be a biker! When i checked out the site it linked to an online store. So I deleted it.

And anything which just says great site or great post etc gets deleted. Plus anything linking to porn, drugs etc.

What I have noticed recently are the creative spammers that come along once and deliberately criticize to try to encourage people to visit their site. On my blog, they’re usually people who claim to be millionaire entrepreneurs, but when you check out their site, it’s some spammy make money blog and they clearly don’t make much money at all!

In those cases, sometimes I delete, sometimes I leave them up. Depends how offensive they are.

I think the fact that I use do follow in links encourages them. I like to use it though, as it rewards regular commenters with links. And also, when you link to others, it pings them to let them know.

But, I really don’t understand the spammers Barbara. Do they ever stop to check just how many blogs are deleting their spam? I delete every single scrap and they still come back. Why on earth do they bother?

CatherineL’s last blog post..7 Must Do’s Before Starting An Online Business

I use Akismet, Bad Behavior, and Spam Karma 2 on my website. It usually catches them all. What it doesn’t track I’ll definitely find. In Spam Karma 2 I ban by I addresses and emails. Those who’ve spammed me before instantly go into Spam Karma’s “spam folder.”

I really don’t mind businesses leaving comments on my website as long as the comments are legitimate as with anyone else they are just promoting their website. I won’t punish them because their link leads to a business.

A few months ago a blog buddy told me he banned anyone with a business link. I asked him how was that different from what he was doing? He has adsense and promotes affiliates on his website. He, like many bloggers who make money online failed to see what he was doing as a business? It is.

@Ian,
I don’t think they’ve gotten there yet. People actually pay others to comment on other blogs. I’ve seen the advertisemens on many of the job boards. It’s listed under “writing”. Some of the paid comments left have actually been great and added to the discussion, but there have been many that were just “spam”. However, the clients have gotten smart and will not pay them if the comment has been deleted. I had one business owner contact me because he wanted me to remove a comment that was made by one of his “assistants” I left the comment because it wasn’t bad. He just had a different opinion; however, the business owner didn’t want to have his website associated with that comment.

I use Akismet, and it does a pretty good job. 20 spam comments caught, none missed, and 1 false positive. So far all the spam I’ve gotten has been obvious, like a bunch of links with no actual comment. I don’t know why spammers bother with that. Have they analyzed their return on investment? Creative spammers would do much better…but not to say that I encourage spamming!

Hunter Nuttall’s last blog post..Are You A Gryffindor Or A Slytherin?

Hi Catherine,

Akismet is so easy to install, and does a great job for me. I know it must have saved me dozens of hours. For new bloggers using WordPress, Akismet is preinstalled, and is just a matter of entering an “API” key (a string of numbers which is provided to you).

I would guess, spamming must generate revenue for “someone”, otherwise we would have seen an end to it already.

Hello Ian,

You do bring up a good point. If spammers used software, they could spam tons of blogs, all at once.

Greetings Opal,

I noticed you are using three spam blockers. Do you use all three on each of your websites?

Hi Hunter,

Aren’t those comments with like 30+ links amazing. They take up a whole page…..link after link.

I gather you’re not interested in advising spammers on creativity

Hello Nez,

I, too, still get bombarded with email spam, even though I use a spam blocker. That’s where I spend a lot of time hitting the delete/block sender keys.

If any friend says they have a job in “creative writing”, you’ll have to ask them “What exactly do you do/” “Care to share some of your work?” Reminds me of a neighbor I used to have who worked for the IRS. They would just say, they worked for the Federal government.

Barbara’s last blog post..Are Spammers Saying “Gotcha”

I have been fortunate not to really have a spam problem. I suppose that is one of the benefits of flying under the radar.

From the sample spam that you posted, I would definitely say that they are using software that scans the page looking for key words, and then the bot tries to assemble those words inside a pre-made message to post.

I never understood why people leave links in their actual message, usually the “website” box leaves a link and it makes your post look that much more legit if you are a spammer. Its a good thing smart people aren’t spammers (although I imagine this is a result of smart people being able to make more money more easily through other methods than spamming).

Rashy’s last blog post..Oh nuts…

Well there’s Barbara, readin’ my mind again.

Just yesterday I decided to browse through my Akismet spam to see if there were any false positives. There was 2, but that’s still a very good track record.

Most definitely spammers use automated software, that’s why they’re spammers. If you look closely, you’ll see that spammers almost always mention the page title in the comment. Weird.

Anyway, yes, Akismet does a nice job, but I’ve been considering implementing http://recaptcha.net/

Kekoa’s last blog post..The Fiery Tiger’s Jubilee Poem