Musings: A Spamification Situation…
“Like almost everyone who uses e-mail, I receive a ton of spam every day. Much of it offers to help me get out of debt or get rich quick. It would be funny if it weren’t so exciting.” Bill Gates
Musings: A Spamification Situation... Ham I am, Not Spam...
Periodically, a glitch causes our comments to get flagged as blog spam but then it self-corrects in a few days or so. I can be a bit of a ham but spam I am not! Yesterday, I used my Photo Challenge post to bring attention to this issue. I used humor to inform you that my comments on your blog posts were being tossed into your spam box by Akismet; owned by Automattic. One way to correct it is to open your spam box and unspam comments from legitimate sources and fellow bloggers. Some of you did and some have not. Please check your spam boxes regularly as legitimate comments do end up there… Some of mine are still there. I have sent a note to both WordPress and Akismet support about my disappearing comments on your blogs. Those comments are in your spam box and you can retrieve them; unless you’ve already emptied your spam box. I check mine regularly because some of your comments have ended up there too. Since reading/liking/commenting takes a lot of time, I’d like you to know that I’ve visited many of your blog posts. Thank you!
“Who has time to manually spam web sites? That can’t be very cost effective.” Eric Cheng
Musings: A Spamification Situation... Spam bugs us all ....
What have I done so far? I wrote to both WordPress and Akismet Support. When I didn’t hear back… as I suspect the weekends are not the best time to reach them, I sent Matt Mullenweg a friendly note too. I’m learning a lot from this event, like the fact that Matt’s sister, Charlene, had something to do with the name Akismet. I love the word kismet and, of course, my first intuitive response is: What is the universe trying to tell me? OK, no jokes even as I’m tempted to crack one. 😆 Below are my letters.
Hello WP Engineers/Akismet,
I follow a lot of blogs and usually when I leave a comment, it either appears right away or a message shows that it is being held in moderation. Today I noticed that my comments were disappearing; even the replies on my own blog which then showed up in my spam box. I do use both of my names and have never had a problem. Please advice as I have a lot of blogs that I need to catch up on with comments.
Thank you,
Elizabeth
Hi Matt,
I love WordPress and support all the wonderful innovations you bring to us regularly. I have a personal blog that I started in 2008. Yesterday, out of the blue, all my comments were flagged as spam. I have reached out to WordPress and Akismet support, even paid $ for an API key and no one has responded. The problem persists. This is incredibly frustrating as I follow a lot of blogs and I’m trying to catch up on commenting on others posts… Please Help. I don’t know what else to do!
Thank you!
Elizabeth
If you believe that your comments are being trapped by Akismet and should not be, you should contact Akismet support. I hope they will be quick to respond to you. More below. Yeah, more later… 🙁
“No one bill will cure the problem of spam. It will take a combined effort of legislation, litigation, enforcement, customer education, and technology solutions.” David Baker
Musings: A Spamification Situation... Typical Spam we don't want.
The last 24 hours have been a great learning opportunity as I read everything on the Akismet site and learned a few things. I have some thoughts about this situation that I will not voice quite yet… But let’s say it is a lesson on the downside of what we do. Blogging is a joyful and creative endeavor. We take it seriously enough to want to support each other and, when things get complicated, we feel the pinch. I will “Like” all of your outstanding posts in my email box, leave some comments, and start afresh with you. In the coming weeks, I will change my blogging efforts and downscale my schedule. Love to all! What are your thoughts? Have your comments been flagged as Spam? What did you do to correct the problem? What lessons were learned? Do share? Thank you! 🙂 😉
Positive Motivation Tip: Spam stinks but being called one is a real drag… Keep striving to correct erroneous labeling.
Related articles
- Weekly Photo Challenge: A Simple Request… (eof737.wordpress.com)
- Akismet slices comment spam and ham (sciencetext.com)
- Over 1,000 Spam Comments In 24 Hours! (friendswhocare.us)
- Who’s wearing her New Year’s Eve party dress? (gypsyroxylee.wordpress.com)
- Should Akismet Really Ship with WordPress? (pressography.com)
- Akismet: Akismet Partner Program: Help Reduce Spam and Get Rewarded (akismet.com)
- How to Fight Spam on a Self-Hosted WordPress Site (progressivemediaconcepts.com)
- WPMU and Akismet (evenfromhere.org)
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos No Spam, Sphaerophoria – Spam Bug, Viagra ad, via Wikipedia and/or Flickr
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
I also use Akismet as well. Every so often, I get an onslaught of spam then nothing for a while. Spam’s annoying. I used to use a plugin in addition to Akismet but I didn’t notice a difference so I disabled it.
Keep us posted.
Spam is annoying and Akismet does a great job protecting us. But when we become the target of something that has helped us, it is not fun. I will keep you posted; it has been quite an enlightening experience. 😉
It’s true!
you did end up in spam in my blog photos!
I’m not very good with technology.
And I knew very little about the function spam ..
but look in the comments box every day and there you will find!!
🙂 Sweet Elizabeth, I embrace you tightly
vento
TY Vento! I’m glad you checked and that you learned about the spam box and what we can do with it. Have a great day in Italy!
😀 thanks!!!!
😉
At least I rescued a comment of yours. Thank you for stopping by under such frustrating circumstances. Yes, it was Pip that got caught a while back as well.
Those of us who tend to comment in “batches” are, I think, most at risk. So far they haven’t got me, as far as I know! 🙂
Yes, it was PiP. I even made a few suggestions to her back then to clear her cache and so on… Anyway, we learn new things every day and it is an eye opener that our commenting marathons are not looked on well. I’m a pretty good speed reader (and a graduate of that Kaplan program), and I prefer to read in batches on the weekends. Oy vey! TBC! Thanks dear. 🙁
you’re un-spamed now – thanks for your technical support!
TY for un-spamming me… It’s been a trying week and I need angels sprinkling miracle dust on me! 🙂
I had already unspammed you. I check mine every day because I know people slip through the net.
TY Tilly and, like you, I check frequently too. I know how much effort we all put into comments and I’d hate to zap any that accidentally fell into my spam box. Gracias! 🙂
Good Morning, Eliz. (I’m back from the sick.) I often check my spam, and some of the comments are quite interesting like dieting tips, selling tips for making a better blog, etc. I did even read something someone said about my blog which was quite negative! I will have to go find your spam.
My youngest is 20 but I so get why you are upset. I’m from the old school where you don’t call in sick to work unless you are contagious or have a limb in the process of falling off. I don’t understand how they think they can get away with it. My husband had an employee whose “father died” and when he called the house to find the address of the funeral home the father answered the phone! The one GOOD thing… this too shall pass!
I also check the spam box, and like you, have found that a lot of “real” comments fall in there. That said, Akismet is pretty good at protecting us from those funny spammers who just love to peddle their wares! 🙂
This may be coincidence, but your recent comment on my blog went to SPAM, and that’s not happened before with you.
A couple of your comments did find its way into my spam box… It can be very frustrating indeed!
it may make you feel better when i tell you this! I’m a subscriber to Wired Magazine (in print form) as well as many of their online news updates. EVERYTHING i get from every Wired department ends up in my spam!!! I’ve done all the things i’ve been told to do to rectify the problem, and the situation hasn”t changed!!!! Annoying! Moral of the story? You’re in good company!
I hope you are “released” soon; you”re too important a member of the online community to be sidelined!!!!
you are right. I found you in spam 🙂
but I am glad i found you nonetheless. Good thing I don’t ignore spam.
Keep trying and things will work out 😀
thanks for coming by my space 🙂
Yup … I just dug you out of my spam box … 🙂
Hang in there, this too shall pass! You are not Spam!
B
Only one of your comments landed in the SPAM folder on SLTW. Your very next comment posted . . . so maybe the problems has been resolved.
I routinely check my SPAM folder to make sure that nothing got stuck in the filter that doesn’t belong there.
I’ve gotten all of your comments until one dated today…it was the first legitimate comment that I’ve ever found in spam.
I really appreciate your comments and ideas…so thank you so much for those…and if I need to look in spam for awhile, until it gets figured out, I’m fine with that. I’ve learned to adapt to the limits of websites/organizations, when needed…so I see it as just one more adaptation, until the challenge gets solved….
I recently switched savings account which I do regularly to get the best rate ( which is very little here in the UK whichever bank you’re with!) and since then I have been inundated with phishing scams purporting to be from that bank…. I have set up a rule now that anything that comes saying it’s from this particular bank gets sent to their phishing dept !! let them sort it out..
Hi Eliz,
You have my sympathies. I was also relegated to the Spam bin “It is official I am now SPAM!” I have approved your comments on both my blogs. So hopefully you have been released. It did take me awhile to sort out and it was VERY frustrating. Like you I am not a “Spammy” blogger intent on self-promotion and leaving spammy links! I was mortified. The only thing I can think of is a “not so nice blogger” selected the report as spam option in the drop down option.
I’ve had a spammy blogger on my site recently; I have been tempted to use this option on someone who was intent on self-promtion using my blog as her platform…
The problem took a week to resolve as I was even unable to leave a comment on the wordpress forum.
Hope you are released soon…
Yes, you and Frizztext were in my spam. I may have had more but never checked the box until I read your post about the problem. Thanks for the update and the information!:)
Reblogged this on Simply Charming and commented:
I found a few blogger friends in my spam box so just passing this information along to you. 🙂
I don’t seem to get spam a lot… Mmmm.. I should check if some comments went to spam as what always happens to me.
I’ve found a few legitimate comments in my Spam box – along with lots of actual Spam.
I LIkES Yor blog. Just kidding. Excellent piece.
Your comment was in my SPAM folder so I un-spammed it. Thank you for telling us about the problem.
Thanks again, Elizabeth….I did check my spam and found one of your comments in it. All your other comments have made it through fine. I’ll watch for other bloggers who may end up in spam. TY…
I found 2 of your comments just from the last couple of days in mine… recovered! 🙂
One day you’re “accepted” and the next day you’re “spam”. Hope you get it all sorted out soon!
I had to turn off my spam blocker in order to get notifications of new posts of the blogs I follow at wordpress. I guess the blocker hickey thought too much was coming from wordpress, so it MUST be spam, right?
I check spam regularly. I had to unspam another of your comments today.
Recently when I was in the hospital all my blog comments and fellow blogs new post was going to spam but wasn’t sure it was going to spam because it was saying bulkmail. Took me to get home to send all my wp comments and new post and mark unspam so I could get all my messages from wp. Let me tell you I wasn’t happy about not been able to visit everyone blog before going into hospital then later on while there I had to to go to my blog roll just to visit. I always check spam on here and the one’s that are actually spam I delete so I can know for a fact when new one’s pop in my box. God Bless 🙂
LIke you said …. you were in my spam box! But today there were several messages right where they should be so HOPEFULLY the issue is a nonissue. Thanks for your hard work and educating us on this problem!