Gag!

I turned off anonymous comments about 18 months ago due to the high volume of spam that was getting through. I didn't have time to monitor 100-plus garbage comments per day. If I checked them from my phone, one always got by me. Then I'd spend an hour or so when I got good signal going through the approved comments one by one to get rid of the garbage.

So I turned off anonymous comments, thinking the sudden explosion of spam would eventually be managed by Blogger's sharp eyes.

I recently turned anonymous comments back on to see what would happen. After just 12 hours, only one spam comment had come through! I assumed Blogger had fixed the problem, and I was tickled!

But then I checked the spam folder.

62 spam comments in 12 hours. That's about five an hour. True, at least Blogger is catching them in the spam net. But holy moly!

There were two valid comment in there with all the muck.

So I turned off anonymous comments again. It means questions about snowflakes aren't as easy for less-experienced computer users, and I apologize for that. I moderate all comments because when you have a popular blog, jerks find a way to get through, even when you are taking every precaution. That means I have to spend time making sure my blog is safe for anyone who might be perusing and clicking links.

So if it's more difficult and time-consuming to type in an email address or log into Ravelry to ask pattern questions, just think about how much time it takes one person to review every single comment and sometimes even every single link to make sure no rubbish gets through.

Plus, email or logging into Ravelry is SO much better than word or number verification...

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WV

Some non-bloggers are intimidated by word verification and the whole "sign-in" concept. I have always believed signing in to comment on a blog is no different than signing in to participate in a forum. Word verification, I could take or leave. I'm not intimidated by the requirement, and it won't prevent me from leaving a comment.

Some very popular bloggers say comment moderation can become a chore when there are more than 20 or so comments per day every day. If I ever reach that point, I may have to look at the time I put into maintaining my blog. But for now, my comments are manageable. That is, when my comments come from people who actually take the time to read.

In an effort to be just a little more non-blogger user-friendly, I turned off my word verification. Then something happened. Being discovered can be such an exhilarating thing!

It appears I have been discovered by mass spammers, and it's not an honor for which I sought or one I would recommend to anyone.

At first, the spam was just slightly annoying. Then it began to increase. Then it began getting dirty. Then it went international. And then it got really dirty. Now it multiplies and replenishes my screen deep in the middle of the night while my virus scanning program is running.

So, I apologize for requiring anyone who wants to comment to go through the WV (word verification) steps, especially if readers find that process intimidating or time-consumming. But at this point, I don't have a choice.

I want to maintain a family-oriented blog that is safe for all eyes, regardless of the time of day or night, and I don't wish to be innundated with useless, unwanted, truly offensive spam when life is already quite full enough.

Pretty sad when you run a foreign language comment through a freebie translator to find out what it says, and then wish you hadn't because you had no clue anyone could be so vile, and for no reason!

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