UPDATE, 10/13/18
I have updated this post as of today, because I have gotten more SPAM comments. So the comment moderation will now stay in place PERMANENTLY.
I have decided to publish this post because I have had to enable comment moderation as of today, and I will need to leave it enabled, at least for the time being.
Let me begin by stating that I have NEVER liked comment moderation. Some blogs do have it, though, and I am in NO way criticizing those bloggers who have enabled this feature. Personally, I feel it makes commenting on blogs a bit disappointing, because one has to wait for one's comment to be published. However, I don't have any choice at this time. So I'm publishing this post to explain to all of you, my visitors and regular readers, why I have suddenly taken this action.
I have come across an unpleasant surprise on my blog: the very same SPAM comment on FOUR of my posts!!
I came across the first one yesterday, on my Book Blogger Hop for last Friday. There were four total comments on this post. I expanded it, and scrolled down to see who the commenters were. The first three were regular visitors and readers of my blog: Sue @ The Great Raven, Brian @ Babbling Books, and Stephanie @ Bookfever. They are good blogging buddies of mine, and we regularly comment on each other's blogs. However, the fourth comment was from somebody I didn't know. When I read THIS comment, I was shocked and ANGRY to discover that it was a spam comment advertising an ESCORT SERVICE in a Middle Eastern country!!
As usual with spam comments, the grammar was atrocious. The whole thing consisted of words strung together, with the phrase "call girls" randomly included somewhere in the text.
As usual with spam comments, the grammar was atrocious. The whole thing consisted of words strung together, with the phrase "call girls" randomly included somewhere in the text.
Now, I've had spam comments on this blog before. I've simply deleted them, but I've also gone to the person's Google + page, blocked their profile, and reported them to Google. End of story. But this comment REALLY angered me, because of the very nature of the comment. I am a feminist, so any reference to "escorts", "call girls", or anything related to the sex trade really bothers me.
When I went to their Google + page (I am not going to reveal this person's name, as this could result in free advertising for their "escort service", which is really thinly-disguised prostitution), I saw that all the posts had photos of women in them, along with a link advertising the website for this "escort service".
I have reported and blocked this profile. But, I have also taken the extra step of enabling comment moderation, as I don't want this to happen again.
In the past, any spam comments on this blog were usually limited to one comment, on one post. This time, however, there has been one comment on four different posts. That means I really need to nip this in the bud.
In the past, any spam comments on this blog were usually limited to one comment, on one post. This time, however, there has been one comment on four different posts. That means I really need to nip this in the bud.
So, dear visitors and readers, I do apologize for taking this step. I want everyone to feel welcomed here, as well as to feel that it's easy to comment on my blog. However, I don't want spam comments such as these to be visible on my blog, not even for a few minutes. Since I get up late, these four comments were, unfortunately, visible on my blog for several hours.
I hope to continue to receive comments from all of you who regularly visit and read this blog. I GREATLY appreciate all of your comments, and read every single one. As you all know, I always do my very best to reply to everyone, as well as to visit the blogs of those who have left the comments.
So, thanks again to all of you who always take the time to reflect on my posts and let me know your opnions!
Along with the comment moderation, I have enabled email notification of new comments, so I can get to them as quickly as possible. This will actually be an inconvenience for me, as I will have to be checking my emails on a constant basis. However, it's a necessary inconvenience.
Thank you for your patience and understanding!! Love all of you guys!! <3 :)
Hey Maria - Sorry to hear about this issue. Spam is bad enough but the nature of the comments that you are getting is really bad. If you recall this post of mine:
ReplyDeletehttp://briansbabblingbooks.blogspot.com/2013/06/attack-of-spambots.html?m=1
I was getting dozens of spam comments at one time. I enabled comment moderation for a couple of months and it eventually all went away. I think that there are automated systems out there that will zero on on your blog of they detect spam comments getting through. Thus, I think that it is a good idea to set up moderation for awhile.
I do not think that it is that inconvenient for commenters to deal with moderation.
Hi, Brian!
DeleteYeah, I was REALLY ticked off about those comments!! Actually, it was the very same comment, on four different posts on this blog. I hope Google takes down this spammer's profile, but I've checked twice today already, and it's still up. I will keep checking, and reporting this person every single day, until they DO take the profile down.
Some feminists might not mind this kind of spam at all, but I'm certainly NOT one of them! As you know, there are the so-called "sex-positive feminists". Some of them are actually trying to make prostitution legal! I think that's DISGUSTING!!
I went to the link for that blog post of yours, and reread your post. It was very funny! I remember that post. I like your lighthearted approach. In my case, though, the nature of the comment made it impossible for me to laugh about it.
I think you might be right -- there are automated bots that will zero in on a blog if they detect other spam comments. The thing is, though, that I had not had any spam showing up on my posts on this blog for quite a long time now.
You might recall that I, too, had comment moderation at one point. In fact, it was in 2013, because I reread my comment to your post, and I mentioned this in the comment.
I have permanently enabled comment moderation on my other blog. I'm not removing it. That's because that blog is currently inactive, so any spammers cruising by can have a FIELD DAY! They will think, "Heck, this blog is not active, which means that the blog owner rarely comes by to check. ZAP!!" So I'm not removing the comment moderation on my second blog, EVER.
As far as "A Night's Dream of Books" goes, I really don't know how long I'll keep the comment moderation enabled. I think it might be a couple of months, but I've been thinking of just keeping it enabled permanently. I do worry about losing commenters, though. Some people might not like it when they comment, and don't see their comment published right away. Time will tell, I guess!
Thanks for he TERRIFIC comment!! Hope you're having a nice Sunday!! <3 :)
Yikes! I get spam every now and then too but never anything THAT bad. I used to have comment moderation enabled on my blog too before I switched to Disqus for comments and now I have way less spam, still a little but nothing like it was before. It still sucks though. =/
ReplyDeleteHi, Steph!
DeleteYeah, I was REALLY ticked off by that comment!! An ESCORT SERVICE!! WHAT THE HECK?! And the very same comment showed up on a total of FOUR of my posts!
I remember you used to have comment moderation, too. As for Disqus, I might look into it. However, you're telling me that you STILL get some spam, although not much. Well, I don't want ANY spam, so maybe I should stick with the comment moderation feature available on the Blogger platform. And yes, it DOES suck when you go to your blog, see a "new comment", and it turns out to be spam!! ARRRGGHHHH!!!!!
Thanks for the nice comment!! HUGS!!! <3 :)
I have used comment moderation for years now because of the amount of spam I get. It saves those comments getting through so my readers do not have to deal with them, especially those who subscribe to comments. I get where you are coming from though as different ways of dealing it with it work for different people.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you had to deal with that kind of comment. Those types of comments, unfortunately, are not that uncommon. I'm just glad you haven't had to deal with them before.
Hi, Wendy!
DeleteYes, you have, and you still get LOTS of comments! I kinda envy you, except that, if I got as many comments as you do, I don't think I'd be able to keep up with them all! Lol.
Spam is definitely a pain in the butt! The thing is, bloggers have to keep checking to see if they have this spam on not one, but several posts. None of us wants to see this on our blogs, because not cleaning up spam does make a VERY bad impression on new visitors to a blog. So comment moderation is the perfect way to have automatic spam protection. The down side is that we bloggers have to continuously check our emails, or the comment section in the Blogger editing software. Oh, well.....
You know, this is the very first time I've had to deal with this type of spam. Usually, the spam I've gotten here in the past has been for tech websites, or accounting websites. But an ESCORT SERVICE?! I tell you, that made me see RED. I think the sex trade is totally DISGUSTING, as well as DEGRADING to women. I took down those comments right away!!
Thanks for the empathy, Wendy! I'm thinking that I'll probably do the very same thing you have done -- keep comment moderation enabled indefinitely. HUGS TO YOU AND MOUSE!!! <3 <3 :) :)