Go away!Seriously.
I am getting tired of logging in to my blogger dashboard, seeing that I have 10 comments for moderation and finding every single one of them is some gobbledygook, very badly translated from whichever language is your native one (it certainly isn't English), that bears absolutely no relevance to the post you have chosen to contaminate and ends with a link to your website that wishes to sell me cheap (fake) makeup/sunglasses/bags/cigarettes or, worse, inviting me to 'enlarge my manhood' (stop sniggering at the back there!), lighten my skin or get rid of my acne scars forever.
I work hard on my blog. I like to think I write well and I take care to include content I think others might be interested in. I spend a lot of time choosing the right images to illustrate my posts - 99% of them are my own photographs which I edit to look their best. I value every single one of my readers and love getting their point of view which is why I have comments enabled and why I don't use CAPTCHA coz I know just how annoying that is. I build up relationships with regular readers, some have even become friends. I am pretty certain none of them really want fake cigarettes either . . .
I'm glad that Blogger's own inbuilt spam defences work well and send most of it directly to the spam folder. It's smart enough to recognise most other types of spam to. In fact pretty much any comment with a link in it goes into my 'awaiting moderation' folder and most are swiftly deleted.
So it's very rare that any spam makes it onto my actual blog.
Which makes me wonder why you actually do it. I mean, do you really think any self-respecting blogger will allow that spam to sit there undeleted? And if it does get missed do you really think anyone would actually click on your link?
Does ANYBODY ever click on a spam link?
Really?
There is one upside - my stats (page hits) look pretty good (and however much we say we don't care about that, we do really don't we?) but as with everything it's quality rather than quantity that counts. 400 hits a day is amazing (for me). It's shame that 300 of those are from sources that have 'xxx' or 'adultblog' in the address!
I want to keep writing and sharing my life, my passions, my makes, my pictures and my random ramblings but I really wish that those of you who wish to use my blog as a platform for your own (probably illegal) money spinning schemes would just bog off.
no love,
Me x
* If you blog, do you get plagued with spam comments too? Is it a sign that our blogs are doing ok and ranking well and we should just put up? I would love to hear your thoughts (and I may even add some of the spam comments - without the spam link - that come through for this post too, just to illustrate my point)
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I've only had 1or 2 spam comments, I get all excited, a comment, and then its a load if rubbish! As if I'd put it in my blog, I don't even visit the link as I don't want to see their rubbish. It seems a bit pointless but they must get something out of it.
ReplyDeleteI get more spam than genuine these days - it's very annoying and a bit upsetting! I really wish I knew why they do it...
DeleteYours is the third such post I've read this week, and I'm not a huge blogger/follower so that says quite a bit as to the extent of spammers I think. I even wrote my own blog entry a couple days ago, but nowhere near as well stated as yours. I'm sick and tired of sifting through spam, and I don't think it is a sign that my blog is doing well, I think it is just people somewhere in the world who have nothing better to do than upset people who enjoy blogging. Regretably, I've upped the hoops the genuine people have to jump through to permit them to speak, which has resulted in a slump in replies. They are saddos who really need to get out more . . then maybe they could share their new lives in their own blogs.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts Deborah. I know it's a common problem across the blogosphere. I guess these people think it's a way to a quick buck - lets face it the world is full of people who think there is an easy way to get rich, and people selling the 'get rich quick' dream. I just wish they would go do it somewhere else!
DeleteGrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not much gets me riled! But like I'd even click a link that's in a comment that has nothing to do with the post that I've written! I mean come on! At least put some effort into it!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's just the point though - they don't read the blog! They probably wouldn't understand it even if they did. They have a set comment that they probably hit hundereds of blogs with. You would not believe the number of comments I've had praising my writing style and informative subject matter on 'Silent Sunday' posts!!
DeleteThe number of spam comments has really spiralled recently! I really don't want to have to add a Captcha or moderate all comments. Luckily only this week it dawned on me that most of the spam comments are on old posts, so I've set up moderation for posts more than 14 days old and that seems to have stopped the few that were slipping through Blogger's spam net and getting published.
ReplyDeleteBut i've had a brainwave - the problem could be reduced to a fraction if Blogger simply blocked and deleted any comment containint a lower case omega character (I don't even know how to type one without pasting it in from somewhere else)instead of a w. Have you noticed how often they are used?
As for why they do it - I really puzzle over that. They put the comments on old posts, so I don't think they are even hoping that people will spot the comments and follow the links. I think it's something to do with having loads of links all over the web pushng their own sites up the Google rankings. So if anyone is googling for a chance to be bigger and thicker, or a treatment for genital warts (I get a lot of spam about that - was it something I said?) their pages are more likely to show up in the search.
I think you've hit the nail bang on there! It IS all about getting the links out there isn't it? I too have set up my moderation for posts older than 14 days, though I think they are wising up to that and some are concentrating on more recent posts. I also think there are 'feeder' websites that display URLs for spammers to leave their links on as I seem to get a burst of comments with different links ( I assume, not just same link with different name. I don't click on them so no idea)on one particular post.
DeleteSo back to the 'awaiting moderation' folder I go...
I get a lot of spam, particularly on two older posts, one about coconut oil and one about sleep issues. I'd say I get 3-5 a day on those. Very weird and random. I don't know why they do it, and why they think anyone will click on them? Also, I do moderate comments (or at least check comments, before I accept them) so they must know their stupid spam offering penis enlargement, knock off Viagra and fake handbags isn't actually going to be let through! Grrr!
ReplyDeleteYou gotta wonder how much of it originates from bots (most I should imagine)
DeleteHave you got a plug in called Akismet? 99% of my spam comments get caught by that and I just delete them all in one go.
ReplyDeleteno spam
I am not sure it's available for Blogger but, as I said, Blogger filters are pretty good - especially now I have enabled moderation on all posts over 14 days old. I just delete it all from my dashboard.
DeleteI guess I'm just a bit sad that I get more spam than genuine comments. :-(
Very well said. I am so sick of spam comments and unlike you, a lot of mine now seem to be getting through :( weird how they seem to hit the same posts all the time - ends up rocketing some fairly mediocre posts into the hotspot on my blog! Do one spammers! Every comment counts though hey?!
ReplyDeleteI am totally with you! Over the last couple of weeks spam comments have been making it through the filter on blogger and onto my blog. Right now they're mainly about raspberry ketones, whatever the flip they are. A personal gripe of mine is when I see a post about Christmas being my most viewed post this month and I know it isn't something which is being read by actual human beings, just hit hard by spammers. I want people to appreciate what I'm writing now!
ReplyDeleteyup - this is another problem with spam - it totally skews all your stats and makes old posts insanely 'popular' in terms of page hits. Very annoying if you are trying to grow your blog and work out what type of posts are most popular!
DeleteHello There. I discovered your weblog using msn.
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This is exactly the kind of comment I mean! But you can see they are getting smarter - this one did not go directly to the spam folder but into awaiting moderation as it was left more than 14 days after the post was published. Obviously the irony is completely lost on Anonymous.
DeleteI trust you guys not to actually click on the link...