Spam invasion
The first spam comments to land in WordPress’s comment moderation on this blog were simple and to the point, and better yet, rare: “Viagra, viagra, viagra,” followed by a link. But this week they’ve gotten obnoxious, to the tune of 50 or more a day. The first line is always some vacuous, generic compliment regarding the targetted blog, and from there on, words from the English language are arranged in approximately grammatical but nonsensical formulations, interspersed with three or four links which have nothing to do with one another.
I don’t mind the links and the annoyance of deleting this crap as much as I mind the first line, the compliment which isn’t one. What blogger would read only that and ignore the three or four bright blue links beneath? What blogger would believe any word of the opening and let the comment stand? What blogger would not feel such arrivals to be a mockery of a project of some value - at least personal value? Delete. Delete. Delete.
This week I’m cleaning out comment spam at least three or four times a day. I find myself relieved at the content of this morning’s first offering, which announces itself only for what it actually is - thirteen links for used car sales. Delete.
R J Keefe wrote:
The worst thing about comment spam for me is the false promise of the notification that someone has commented. It feels like a slap.
Posted on 02-Dec-05 at 12:29 pm | Permalink
mindspin wrote:
The spam hordes have, like locusts, swept through and gone, except for the used car sales crew.
When I see a comment noted in my inbox, I now figure 10 to 1 it’s spam. That’s because I’m an incurable optimist - it’s really more like 100 to 1, but I check anyhow.
A real comment is quite the treat.
Posted on 03-Dec-05 at 6:47 pm | Permalink