I wanted to touch on a sore subject for many many people....Blogger's Comment Word Verification. This has turned into quiet a dilemma for me as it has I'm sure for many many bloggers and commentors alike.
I understand how frustrating the word verification is ~ honestly I do. When I comment on other people's blog it does get frustrating. I don't even have sight problems and I can't get it right sometimes.
I had for a time had it turned off because it was causing so many people problems. I initially turned it off in July or something and at first it worked like a charm. More people felt they could leave comments very easily.
It was fine for the first couple weeks then the spammers/spy bots/robo spiders found the blog... I started getting 5-10 comments a day that were spam. Of course Blogger filters most of these so they never get posted on the actual thread which is great. These spam comments go to a separate area that I can go into and determine if they are really spam and either post or delete them but I still get the e-mails with the comment for each one. (more on this file later) O.k... I can deal with a certain number of spam e-mails a day...no biggie.
BUT once it started it escalated to around to 150-200 a day!!! I had to wade through all of those e-mails because in among the spam comments were the actual real comments from actual readers of the blog.
The numbers reached almost 300 spam comments a day ~ I finally couldn't take it anymore and turned the word verification back on at the beginning of November. Since then I have had 2 spammer comments from someone who has a google account and did the word verification. At that time I had nearly 5,000 spam comments to delete every few weeks....all of which were hitting my e-mail inbox each and every day.
So, I know it's really frustrating but until someone comes up with a good way to combat the Lazy Good for Nothing Idiot Spammers and their PITA Programs I'm going to continue to have to leave the word verification on.
I will turn it off for short periods of time like when I participate in a blog hop or the upcoming Ink Stains 5th Anniversary but for the most part I am going to leave it on.
If you would like to comment but don't want to deal with the word verification please know that you can always e-mail me at either e-mail addy.... roni jj @ g mail (dot) com or ink stained roni @ g mail (dot) com (no spaces in either addy).
I hope this helps explain why I turned the bothersome word verification back on.
Blogger word verification doesn't bother me.... but then again I dont visit 50 blogs a day either. lol Let your peeps know if they cant read the verification, they can hit the refresh next to the box (not the refresh on their browsers) until they get one they can read easily. I don't blame you one bit for keeping the verification on. I started getting spam, but not nearly as much as you, so I turned on comment approval by owner and it seems to have worked so far. Good luck at your craft show... those ruler stars are fantastic!! everything is, but those stars I'd have to snatch up!
ReplyDeleteIt funny how that is but I don't have my blogger account sending me emails so I find no spam on my blog. But what I did find was bloggers that took over old names of blogs that use to be used and convert them to advertising those I did delete from my blogging list. Blogger does have an area where you can just check comments now so perhaps that might help you out :)
ReplyDeleteHi Roni, I never get any spam, due to not accepting anonymus comments... you might want to try that, so let only registered users comment, that does the trick...
ReplyDeleteI don't like word verification, that's for sure, i see a text and number for which I'll have to guess what's written...
I don't mind word verification so much. It's a little challenge to solve. I sometimes refresh a few times to get something readable, or even a shorter word. I have it turned off on my blog cos so many sites ask you to do that if you are linking to them but if I start to get loads of spam I will turn it back on. I don't accept anon comments. If someone can't leave a name, even a nickname, then whats the point of commenting. Some sites it's like anonymous is having a whole conversation! Very disconcerting.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand. It just means if I really want to comment I just know it may take a few tries.
ReplyDeleteWOW! That's a lot of spam emails! Don't blame you a bit for turning it back on.
ReplyDeleteNo worries Roni - you do what you need to. I can't even imagine having to go through that many emails to make sure you don't miss a few real ones.
ReplyDeleteElaine Allen
Yes it is a pain, and it often takes me three attempts before I get it right, but if you have to have it for a happy life then so be it. I understand. You will have to be resigned to receiving less comments. for awhile.
ReplyDeleteSmiles:)
Sue
We love you anyway! And I sure as heck would not want to weed through all that crap!
ReplyDeleteI always struggle with word verification and my eyesight isn't that bad - however when you are getting that much spam I can see that it is an absolute necessity. It never puts me off trying to comment, although if I mess it up too many times I might give up.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing I've seen if a blog I visit where there is a simple 'tick this box to prove you are not a robot' - no idea now which blog, which platform or if it works, but it is much easier.
Anyway, don't worry, you do what you have to do and having a blog this big, with that much spam, you need to verify.