by Rick Barry
For months I experienced a daily nuisance. Maybe you have, too--spam comments on blog posts. And not the more recent posts. The goblins' comments always targeted my first couple of posts of 2014. But how to block them?
The spam messages might have been less irksome if they at least stated something connected to my post. Instead, I received pointless comments stating, for instance:
When most gamers found out about the i – OS App Store (along with the various other stores for mobile devices), many of them thought the games on the store would never amount to anything substantial.
Other comments arrived in horrendous English:
"Hi mates, how is everything, and what you wish for to say concerning this article, in my view its actually remarkable designed for me. Here is my blog post...."
Yes, I had taken security precautions, and Blogger never actually allowed these junk messages to appear. Yet, it sent me daily email copies of each new message, giving me the option of manually moderating and permitting the message, if I so chose.
Friends offered suggestions. One said her solution is passive resignation, which wasn't good enough for me. Another author explained that she chose to moderate ALL comments, which an additional chore for her, and which slowed the posting of comments by readers.
But my kudos go to author Sarah Sundin for sharing a simple solution. Sarah said, "Blogger actually makes it easy. If they're targeting one particular post, edit that post and click on the box to not allow comments." I had forgotten that Blogger offers that option right on the page where you compose blog posts. Here's what it looks like:
I clicked the option to keep the previous comments but to block all further comments on my two targeted victims. Sure enough, no more spam.
If you have a blog and have been receiving spam, maybe this option will work for you, too. If the goblins have not noticed your blog yet, beware! You could need these solutions sooner than you think.
Perhaps you have additional insights on blog spam? If so, please share below. I promise not to block you!
Rick Barry has freelanced hundreds of articles and short stories, had two novels published, and has more projects in the pipeline.
For months I experienced a daily nuisance. Maybe you have, too--spam comments on blog posts. And not the more recent posts. The goblins' comments always targeted my first couple of posts of 2014. But how to block them?
The spam messages might have been less irksome if they at least stated something connected to my post. Instead, I received pointless comments stating, for instance:
When most gamers found out about the i – OS App Store (along with the various other stores for mobile devices), many of them thought the games on the store would never amount to anything substantial.
Other comments arrived in horrendous English:
"Hi mates, how is everything, and what you wish for to say concerning this article, in my view its actually remarkable designed for me. Here is my blog post...."
Yes, I had taken security precautions, and Blogger never actually allowed these junk messages to appear. Yet, it sent me daily email copies of each new message, giving me the option of manually moderating and permitting the message, if I so chose.
Friends offered suggestions. One said her solution is passive resignation, which wasn't good enough for me. Another author explained that she chose to moderate ALL comments, which an additional chore for her, and which slowed the posting of comments by readers.
But my kudos go to author Sarah Sundin for sharing a simple solution. Sarah said, "Blogger actually makes it easy. If they're targeting one particular post, edit that post and click on the box to not allow comments." I had forgotten that Blogger offers that option right on the page where you compose blog posts. Here's what it looks like:
I clicked the option to keep the previous comments but to block all further comments on my two targeted victims. Sure enough, no more spam.
If you have a blog and have been receiving spam, maybe this option will work for you, too. If the goblins have not noticed your blog yet, beware! You could need these solutions sooner than you think.
Perhaps you have additional insights on blog spam? If so, please share below. I promise not to block you!
Rick Barry has freelanced hundreds of articles and short stories, had two novels published, and has more projects in the pipeline.
Thanks, Rick. This has been a problem for me, too, and I appreciate the information.
ReplyDeleteWe're not alone, Kathryn. A number of friends have commiserated about this problem, and I've seen a spammer successfully weaseling into a literary agent's blog, too. So glad we have options to combat it!
ReplyDeletegreat advice. Securiy is becoming more and more important in this day of internet schananigans
ReplyDelete