Truly Moderating the URL
I’m changing some philosophy in how I handle comment spam: I’m going to largely avoid keyword-based filtering in the default WordPress moderation keyword list, and go to only a blacklist based upon domain names. I’ll test it for a week or so and see how successful it is.
Understand that I’ll also be using things like Spam Karma 2 and Bad Behavior and stuff that generally keeps the ol’ comment box from becoming the biggest trash bin you’ve ever seen—those filter out the people who’re doing automated hose-ups. But if I can keep a handle on the domains that are spamming me, I should be fine.
Why am I taking this approach? I fully understand that what they’re wanting to spam is their URL—for links. So, if I blacklist domains for spamming me, I’ve ended their reign permanently. Can they move to a new domain? Sure. But I don’t want to harm legitimate commentors who might use some of those keywords.
We’ll see how this goes…
I’ve used this approach exclusively for a couple years – it sorta works. Ping me and I’ll send you my blacklist.
The last week, I’ve had to just turn moderation due to comment junk – spam w/o any URL.
July 18th, 2005 at 10:35Does that mean I can comment about poker and phentermine again?
July 18th, 2005 at 21:13A Spammer’s a Spammer
I’ve noticed that, over the last couple of weeks, I’ve caught comment spam outbreaks before they start by watching the same spammers try to hit my referral logs. I use Referrer Karma to keep my referral logs from becoming spam pits, which…
July 29th, 2005 at 02:37