Submit Response » spam

Comments Opened Up

Jack Mottram — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 18:37:07 +0000

I just installed the Askimet plugin for Movable Type, and, to see if it works as well as reported, anyone can now leave a comment without having to wait for me to approve it.

(If you can be bothered, do leave a comment on this entry so I can see everything is working well. If it’s working badly, expect a deluge of comments on all entries advertising dubious things.)

Spam From TypeKey Users

Jack Mottram — Mon, 13 Jun 2005 17:20:46 +0000

Until today, I let users who sign in to this site with TypeKey leave comments without moderation.

From the TypeKey page linked above:

> What is it good for?

> TypeKey enables you to verify and protect your identity on the web. Enabling TypeKey on your own site increases accountability for the content that appears on your weblog and stops comment spam cold.

Not any more it doesn’t. The screenshot below shows a comment, since deleted, left on this post, by a spammer registered with TypeKey as goldyy. (The little icon next to the poster’s name indicates that they’re signed in with TypeKey.)

Another Boring Post About Boring, Boring Things

Jack Mottram — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 13:17:29 +0000

Since the wobbles of the server migration, MTBlacklist, the thingy that stops the daily deluge of between two- and three-hundred spam comments, is a bit broken, and I don’t have time to work out what’s wrong. So, for a little while, all comments to the site will be moderated.

Since I’m guessing I’ll have to reinstall Movable Type and its various helper widgets to fix the problems, I might finally ditch it in favour of WordPress, which, as well as being free in both senses of the word, looks to have great anti-spam features built in, and will be easier for me to tinker with, since it’s written in PHP.

Fascinating news, I’m sure you’ll agree.

(I swear I’ll post something proper soon, most probably about the installation by recent RSA prize-winner Briony Anderson that I’m going to look at tomorrow, in Banff. Either that, or something about those stinking Tories and their blatantly racist traveller-hating dressed up as planning issues, doubtless invoking Godwin’s Law in the first sentence.)

An Open Letter To Comment Spammers

Jack Mottram — Sat, 31 Jul 2004 13:19:07 +0000

Dear Comment Spammers,

Fuck off and die.

Yours sincerely,

Jack Mottram

Mr. Prepositional, I Presume

Jack Mottram — Thu, 18 Mar 2004 18:02:33 +0000

A list of names, being the supposed senders of recent emails:

Snort K. Seward
Woodcraft A. Cleave
Tableaus O. Prepositional
Hottentot P. Peppering
Finnbogadottir A. Calcium
Confluent L. Nail
Epicurus H. Hallucinating

I assume these peculiar pseudonyms are intended to foil spam filters. Whatever, they certainly make the occasional sorties into my Junk folder to check for genuine correspondence that’s been caught in the spam traps much more fun than they ought to be.