Monday, March 4, 2013

APPARENTLY, I'VE ARRIVED....

And so have the spammers.

Yesterday, I had to delete 17 comments which were posted by computers.

I wanted to leave the comments open to anyone, including those who want to post anonymously.  I did NOT want to use the "prove you're not a robot" text box which is damn near impossible to read.

Lately, I've noticed a few spam comments getting past what were excellent filters devised by the folks at Google.

Since the tech gurus at Google are busy working on some rather interesting and what appear could be ground-breaking, forward thinking projects, I'm not going to moan and complain.

I have a few choices.  I can completely disable anonymous comments which means anyone who wants to join the conversation will have to get some sort of ID.  I HATE that idea.  It stops the free exchange of thoughts.

I can add the aforementioned text box and I HATE that idea, too.

I can moderate comments and truthfully, I hate THAT idea, too.

I'll wait another day or two and see how it goes.  I'm guessing comment moderation will be the least annoying choice and the one that will keep this space open to all.

The problem is the whole chemobrain thing.  Even with a smart phone and constant access to email, I know adding THAT to the never ending to-do list is going to be a big mistake.  I'm sure I'll forget to moderate anything....

Which leaves me right where I started.  If you see some stupid comment, do not click the link.  I can't figure out how to get a clickable link into the comments and these stupid (actually they are very smart) "bots" get clickable links into their comments.

Go Figure.  And Stay Tuned.......


8 comments:

  1. Sorry you are having to deal with spammers. No matter what you choose there are always advantages and disadvantages. Whatever you choose, it will be the best possible choice you can make at this time. I hate spam! Hugs to you, your mom and the rest of your family.

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  2. AnneMarie I had a music website and the bigger it became the worse my spam became I had a site I used to see from where they were coming from The majority were from Russia & China. these bots were crazyyyyyyyy!!!
    Here is the site you can use by copying & pasting their email and you will have a pretty good indication what you are dealing with. There is a way of getting rid of them. If you know of any techy savy teenagers bet they could help!
    Missed your posts while I was without internet...
    Love Alli XXX

    http://www.stopforumspam.com/search

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Alli! That's helpful. I've missed you... are you in Paris???

      I have been horrible about keeping up with everything and everyone. I'm working on it, not too successfully, but I'm trying.

      xoxox

      AnneMarie

      Delete
  3. I have still had spam in droves even with captcha. They post an address for their business. So far I don't have a solution other than to moderate comments before they post. If you hear of a better way, please let me know. It's a shame that commercial interests are trying to interfere with genuine attempts to communicate & connect.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for letting me know that captcha isn't catching anything.... If I figure something out, I will definitely share. Today, I only had 7 comments to delete. It's an improvement.

      Jokes aside, it IS a shame that "junk mail" has now found its way into what is a great way of communicating and connecting.

      AM

      Delete
  4. AM I had/have this problem too. I had to revert to turning the Captcha thingy back on. Because every time I turn it off, I am flooded with spammers. Hate that! So for now, it's staying on.

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  5. Um, I think you arrived WAY before your influx of spammers.

    Just sayin. :)

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