Comment Spam… Green Eggs and a Soured Ham
By 
andrew daum on Jan 22, 2008 in Featured
I recently had a bit of a run in with a comment spammer (a Soured Ham). More than likely he would not call himself a spammer, so you be the judge.
It was bound to happen - with all the new “comment” tools that finds blogs on specific subjects, high PR, whether or not the “no follow” tag is used and the ability to make a comment from within the program, it was inevitable and a sure bet the spammers would use and exploit these tools.
This is really to bad - because the tools can be used for legitimate purposes. There is nothing wrong with using a comment tool. In fact, they can help when searching out subjects you are interested in and you can join in with the conversation (social networking). I use my comment tool daily in conjunction with my social marketing activities.
So it is okay for me to use a “comment” tool and not the spammer?
Yep… it is.
For one thing, I do not use the tool for the purpose of spamming my affiliate links or ads. I join the conversation and comment if it is something of interest to me. I may only post a comment to one out of thirty sites I visit. Unlike the spammer, my intention is not to post an ad when I do make a comment - it is to participate in the conversation. I do leave a link back to my blog (link juice), which is an acceptable practice and exchange for meanginful comments.
The key word here is “intention.” The spammer’s sole purpose for visiting is to post an ad and sell something. Which is ironic really, as most of the money making spam is “how to get rich on the internet” related. I assume the product(s) being sold is teaching how to spam blogs with useless comments as that is the way the spammer is marketing the product.
This has always been something that bewildered me - some of these people market products on “how to make money“, yet they resort to techniques that are nothing more than spamming. I will not even get into the forum posts where someone is selling a “how to market on the Internet” product, and yet asks others in the forum how best to market the product… go figure.
Back to my little run in with the Soured Ham.
This blog is set up where anyone can make or leave a comment. You do not have to register (that may change), but you are required to give your email address and name. I prefer this method of “moderating” as it allows people to leave a comment without jumping through any hoops - and it makes it easier for me as well.
Whenever someone makes a comment, I receive an email - and at that point I can decide to either allow the comment to stay or delete it. Standard Wordpress stuff.
The problem with managing your blog this way is the Spammers can sneak in and post their drivel and it will show on the blog until it is deleted. Thank goodness for Akismet and the built in spam tools within Wordpress as most of the “enlarge your……..“, “ephedra” and “get rich quick with AdSense” posts are rejected or put into moderation status.
Take a look at the image above.
Do any of these comments look like legitimate comments? Before you answer - try to determine the subject of my article or post. If you cannot determine which post or at the very least the subject of my post, then it is spam.
If you were having a real world conversation with someone in person about the weather - and as soon as you stopped talking they started telling you about Amway and how you can get rich selling soap, they are not discussing the current subject. They changed the subject of the conversation. It is now a totally different conversation.
It is the same with “comment spam.”
There are no comments in the image. Every one of them is an ad - not a single one of them makes a comment related to the post I made on the blog. They have made a lame attempt at starting a new conversation. If you will notice - two of them are on marketing.
It reminds me of forum posts where someone is asking a question - and someone else jumps in and hijacks the thread by asking a different question and basically takes over the conversation.
It’s about respect. If you do not show others respect, they will not show you any.
One of the posters in the image above even made a follow up post and emailed me - basically saying I did not want any other opinions. Maybe I am blind - but I do not see where anyone gave an opinion, do you? If you do - tell me the post are they commenting on? (without finding the part of the post I left up).
Also keep this in mind.
If someone deletes a comment you made - they can delete it for any reason. They do not owe you an explanation. Maybe they do not like you… maybe the comment is not in the spirit of the original post… or maybe they just keep a tight ship with a zero tolerance for spam - their definition of spam, not yours. If you do not like it, leave.
Better yet… don’t leave.
Join in the conversation and make meaningful comments. If you do this, you will not only receive the “link juice” you came for in the beginning - but you will also make new friends that respect you.
That’s what it is all about.
On Jan 22, 2008,
Michael Lodispoto (Check me out!) said:
They’re spam. I detest when people do that. The worst ones of all are when they have stupid non-fitting statements and then have like 3 links in their signature for all different sites. What are they thinking?
Whatever you do don’t make your blog one that people need to register to comment. Only do that once you have a very loyal readership and have high numbers/traffic. It is a turn off to commenting and people will just leave.
On Jan 23, 2008,
Andrew (Check me out!) said:
Yea… I agree. I’m not going to have people register to comment.
Some of these “time wasters” do amuse me though. Like the one guy saying I did not want any other opinions, when all he did was post an ad for another product… unreal.
On Jan 31, 2008,
Eric (Check me out!) said:
I came over from SPL to checkout the pink and black. Thought I was going to hate it but, Andrew it looks great. One day I hope to have a blog that looks this nice.
I noticed that you use CommentLuv so I started to look for the perfect place to comment.
Saw the green eggs and ham and thought perfect.
As the proud owner of a two week old blog, I just encountered spam comments for the first time today. Ten lovely unwrapped presents. Nine were prefiltered but one was this strange friendly thing that pitched a product without really commenting on my post. Thankfully I do moderate. I also Do-follow comments.
So Andrew, if you approve of my post, hop on over and claim a link from my site. Installing CommentLuv is about 15 things down my list but I won’t complain if you go for links from two different posts.
Ahhh, the joys of social linking.
Eric’s last blog post..Renewal HGH Original HGH Review
On Feb 18, 2008,
Gray Cells (Check me out!) said:
Sometimes spam is in the eye of the beholder.
I visit sites and try to add useful comments about the content. Often returning to follow the conversation. After spending a few minutes actually reading the site it seems to me that there is a line between th becoming a part of the conversation and just posting stupid text. I get the stupid text to on my site and just delete and forget it. What else can be done?
Gray Cells’s last blog post..Scientific Investigations Of The Mangosteen
On Feb 18, 2008,
andrew daum (Check me out!) said:
I think there is a pretty hard line in the sand in what is, and what’s not Spam.
Pretty much clear cut.
I usually just delete it as well and move on… but when the Spammer emails me bitching that I deleted his Spam… that’s another story.
Andrew
On Feb 18, 2008,
Gray Cells (Check me out!) said:
I guess it takes all kinds to make the world go around.
I have chopped of a lot of comments and posts in my day, but it does not take much effort to strike up a inteligent conversation. We just did.
Maybe if more people talked to the guy next to them on the bus the world would be a better place.
On Feb 18, 2008,
andrew daum (Check me out!) said:
I totally agree… please stop by any time.
Andrew
On Mar 11, 2008,
outsourced product development (Check me out!) said:
i have the same problems with my blog.
people leave comments which make no sense
On Apr 20, 2008,
JP from Mens Watch Review (Check me out!) said:
I totally agree with you Andrew. It’s annoying and definitely shows a lack of respect for a blogger’s home turf.
On Apr 20, 2008,
andrew daum (Check me out!) said:
Yea… I hate those “drive by” spammers. Funny thing is… I leave up just about any comment as long as it at least references something in the post.
I love giving out link juice — even to Spammers, as I know they are just trying to make a living too… they just need to do it the right way.
On Apr 23, 2008,
Zibblu (Check me out!) said:
I often get comments where I feel the person is mostly leaving the comment just to get a link back but as long as they are on topic I will leave it. It’s only when I get a comment that is totally out of left field that I mark it as spam.
Using a KeyWord as the name is also something that will make me suspicious. I don’t necessarily delete such comments but it’ll make me look at them closer.
Zibblus lastest and greatest blog post..Market Health Affiliate Program
On May 5, 2008,
Jason B (Check me out!) said:
I agree, I have gotten this Adsenseboy on my blog as well. I wish all information from every spammer was public. Either way, I think spamming them back is the best way to get them, or at least report them to their hosting company.
On Jun 16, 2008,
dan from life coaching (Check me out!) said:
There’s a real advantage to posting meaningful and interesting discussion in your comments - people are much more likely to click the link and visit your site!
At the moment I’m grateful that my blog comment spam is only about 5 per day and it’s easy to manage and get back the comments that are incorrectly flagged…
Wouldn’t it be a useful addition to see how long people have been on your page before they comment? If it’s a few seconds then it’s either a bot or a human spammer.
Regards, Dan.
dans lastest and greatest blog post..June Assertiveness and Confidence Course Sold Out
On Jun 16, 2008,
andrew daum (Check me out!) said:
that would make for a great plugin — 30 second - 2 minute — however long you set it for delay when commenting.
Andrew
On Jul 3, 2008,
Louise from Crab Meat Recipes (Check me out!) said:
I’m getting a lot more savvy with the comment spammers now, but when I started out I was really examining every comment even if it didn’t sound right.
Here’s the one I hated: “At first I didn’t agree with you but you got me with your second point.” Huh?- it made no sense as to the post.
And then I got hit with a lot of insurance spam that made no attempt to make any sense.
I still have a manageable level of comments so I am not going to require registration but I do moderate all comments before they appear.
Louises lastest and greatest blog post..Maryland Crab Cakes Recipe
On Jul 9, 2008,
Paul from English Coast (Check me out!) said:
My blog has been going since April and so far out of 40 comments, 39 have been spam… That’s right, only one genuine comment!
Pauls lastest and greatest blog post..The Martello Towers of the Kent and Sussex Coast
On Aug 3, 2008,
Karlonia from How to Avoid Spam (Check me out!) said:
Fortunately, spam has not been much of a problem for me. The WP-Spam Free plugin seems to do well with this because most of the spam comes from bots rather than manual human commenters. I don’t even use captcha or Akismet; I like to keep things nice and simple.
Occasionally I do encounter human seo spam, but this can be handled easily thorough judicious moderation. If someone tries to put a keyword in the name field and they’re obviously just trying to get a backlink, and especially if they are trying to link to a site that could get me in trouble with Google (link farm, bad neighborhood, etc.), I will simply remove the link but let the actual text content remain for free speech purposes.
Karlonias lastest and greatest blog post..100 Quotes About Power
On Aug 20, 2008,
Jason from Atlanta SEO (Check me out!) said:
Great post! I also use commenting software, however like you I simply use it to find articles that will give me the best benefit. Meaning, if someone doesn’t have the good will to pass me a little bit of link juice if I comment, I am not going to be one of their readers. Its as simple as that. In order to stay up on the seo world, I have to read quite a bit, and I like to read. Its not a problem, but a post is going to have to be highly recommended for me to read it if the blog owner is not passing link juice. Its as simple as that.
I do not use commenting as a primary form of link building. But it is nice to combine my efforts of educating myself and gaining a link here and there.
On Aug 22, 2008,
Justin from Internet Marketing Blog (Check me out!) said:
I couldn’t agree with you more, I have a blog too that gets raided with these types of spammy comments all the time. I had to enable several spam filters to filter all the crap out and let the true comments get approved. It’s really a shame that it has come to this, but eh what do you expect?
Justins lastest and greatest blog post..Using Ebooks for Link Building - Day 27
On Aug 31, 2008,
Andre Thomas (Check me out!) said:
I hate comment spam too. I receive tons of them in blog but thanks to akismet, most of them are prevented to be shown.
I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it…
Andre Thomass lastest and greatest blog post..Reeling Your Readers In (Capture Their Attention and Hang on to It)