I believe I need to post rules and policies about comments on this blog. I should have done this when I first started this blog, but I was fortunate for a year and a half that no problems came up in the comments section. That is until now.
First of all, I have a very open comment policy. This means that anyone (even anonymous people without aliases) is welcome to post a comment without being approved by me. I found that a majority of blog owners overall (not just sharity bloggers) are either strict about who can comment or what can be posted as a comment. They also moderate comments, that is they read and decide to approve comments for posting. It has not come to the point where I need to moderate comments and I hope it will not be necessary to moderate comments.
The reason I decided to write this post is that people recently have decided to post spam on my blog. I just deleted several comments posted by one individual who posted such spam in several of my posts.
My policy is that the comments section is not to be used as a means for advertising and attempt to direct people to whatever is being advertised. If you have something interesting and relevant to offer, I am willing to make an exception as long as it is not in multiple posts. Examples include letting me know that you have an interesting blog or website and/or offer interesting material (preferably for free). If spam shows up, it will be deleted shortly thereafter.
I have the comments available for anyone to post their thoughts about the posts, add information to the posts, let me know about technical issues, to ask questions or even to make requests. Yes, your requests are welcome. You can have conversations with each other or me. This is a social blog as well as a blog about my cool and awesome collection in both physical and digital form.
If you have any questions or if there is something I need to clarify, feel free to write in the comments form.
11 years ago
Does Blogger have any spam filters you can apply? I just switched to Wordpress a while back and it's got some amazing filters you can employ.
ReplyDeleteAlso, big thanks for running this and the "Closet" blog. I need to rip and send you a few things in return.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteYou know I've always been well-behaved and will continue to be. [So, who were the spammers? "Sexy" and the German guy complaining about a crazy person in NJ? They seem to be a rite of passage for bloggers.]
ReplyDeleteThe individual who posted the second comment has posted a link to a major corporation and its special deal in an attempt to refer me and my visitors. This individual has posted similar comments with the same link in many posts on this blog and my other blog. That comment (among others) is the reason I wrote this post about my comment policies.
ReplyDeleteThose other comments by this person are no longer in the other posts because I deleted them and used the "remove forever" option.
This person appears to be someone contracted by this corporation to obtain more customers in exchange for a commission. Perhaps this person hopefully will get the message that my audience and myself are not a pool of prospective customers and go somewhere else to find prospects. Besides if people want deals from big corporations or interested in their products, they can find them on their own elsewhere.
Michael,
ReplyDeleteGood idea. I'll check to see if Blogger has spam filters. Blogger seems to come up with new features and widgets every few days so I'm hoping there is something I can use.
You're welcome to send some things my way. I look forward to seeing what you have.
KL,
ReplyDeleteYes, you are well-behaved and I do appreciate that. :)
The spammer is someone who has been commenting in several posts and leaving the same link to a certain major TV satellite company for some special offer. This person does not actually comment as this person has quoted something from other comments (more like mimicking other commenters) or says only something like "very good" then posts that link. It's a nuisance for me have to check several posts and delete those comments, but I believe it is necessary. I was irritated yesterday which led me to writing the post about my comment policies.
The two you're referring to are not nearly as annoying. I deleted Sexy's comments although this individual posts a comment in one post every once in a while. I don't think the crazy German guy has visited my blog. He does sound entertaining which can't be said of the spammers.
Dealing with spammers and trolls are par for the course of being a blogger. I take my lumps knowing that the benefits of blogging far outweigh these annoyances.