I used to check my SPAM folder once a month. About 99% were actually SPAM…weird messages, ads for ED medication guaranteed to be better and cheaper, etc etc.

Lately, however, I’ve been checking my SPAM folder on an almost daily basis. Some of my long time blog friends have ended up there. How? I don’t know. After three years of leaving comments on my blog, I’m guessing that should be some sort of clue that it’s an actual comment from an actual person.

But that’s just a weird WP algorithm glitch…

What about the comments that you get that you need to approve: first time caller so to speak: The ones that don’t make it to the SPAM folder…

How do you determine if it’s a real person or not?

I’ve had a bunch of comments lately that, on one hand appear completely harmless. But on the other hand, they seem a little too formulaic. How do you determine if someone is overly polite or if someone has a more formal tone but is actually just a new blogfriend?

What are the clues that you look for?

I try to go back to someone’s page- see if they actually write posts. See when the posts were written, what the content was, whatever.

But is this a good way to shush out spammers/actors? I mean, anyone can copy and post anything they want with probably little regard, so anyone can “fake” a website.

So do you look to see how many followers someone has? But there are problems to this method as well. Just because someone has a lot of followers doesn’t make them more legitimate: it really only makes them better at marketing. And a few followers doesn’t necessarily mean something fishy- it could just mean that the blogger hasn’t yet found an audience.

Does the commenter resemble you in any way? I remember one of my blog friends saying that she was reluctant to accept a comment from anyone who appeared to be much younger that her- she felt that there was no way a twenty something would legitimately read the blog of an almost senior citizen. Now I don’t look at the age: I follow bloggers that are very different from me because they are just good bloggers with something insightful to say. But is there something to be said about looking at the “About” section of a blogger before accepting them into the fold?

Other than offering a product for sale, or excessively long comments, what are the tell tale signs that someone is not for real?

What are the methods that you utilize when accepting comments or followers?

83 thoughts on “Spamornot”

  1. I read blogs and sometimes respond, but I don’t believe there’s anyway to check up on me to see if I’m real or not. I don’t have a website, just my e-mail. You could always write to me via e-mail and see what I say in response. I do get mail that sounds stiff and way too formal to be written by a human which isn’t ‘proof’ of being a robo response, but tells me not to waste too much time reading the entire thing.

    Besides, I like the pictures of your cat and your weekly French Fries to be automated!

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    1. You seem real though. I have no doubt you are an actual person. But I’ve gotten comments lately that seem off, for lack of a better word. Those are the ones I’m unsure of

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  2. I just went through my spam comments. They were all spam. I’m pretty sure I have several spam followers. I usually don’t think much about it. I look to see the blogs of my new followers. Some I follow. Some I don’t. If they look like spam I never bother to do anything about it.

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  4. Lately I’ve had a few comments that appear legit until I read them more carefully and realize they’re a conglomeration of bits and pieces of other comments left. Since I don’t generally get a large number of comments, it’s easy for me to spot that.

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  5. Thankfully, I think the akimet thingy and myself have identified the spam so far. Weirdly, the majority of spam comments hit just two of three posts and those from last Dec! Usually, they ask what platform I’m using or say that their brother recommended the post etc. Sometimes, I have some gloriously Pythonesque spam that I’ve been tempted to let it through. For instance, a post on megalithic stones attracted a load of spam about dog grooming kit!! 😉

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  7. Anyone that invites me to read one of their posts in their first comment on my blog is probably someone I’m going to ignore. Write a good comment about my post and I’m far more likely to look at your blog. I recently wrote a post about this very issue. You should check it out (although don’t actually check it out because I wrote nothing of the sort…)

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  9. I used to approve any comments with a picture and a working blog. (There’s your first indicator: actually having a picture.) Now, I check that they’re trying to write content and not phishing for sales, because getting a link on your site boosts their ranking in Google’s search algorithms.

    And I agree with you about age! I wouldn’t be allowed on almost all my blogger friends’ pages if they were ageists!

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  10. I’ve blocked a couple which were obviously from people with over-active conspiracy theories but I generally approve everyone else, even the ones that have clues in the title of their blog like “Icanchangeyourlifeblog”. I also approve young people. It’s not their fault they were born too late to be fully formed human beings. Let’s face it, if I start being fussy I’m going to be confined to comments from grumpy old men and women who dress their cats as Big Bird. 🙂

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  11. I think I was the one who was surprised by a 20-something male showing interest in my blog. But it was a bit of a joke. I mentioned it to my swim coach at the Y and we joked that it must be a bot. WordPress always asks me to approve comments, but I know many blogs instantly post comments. Could this be causing the spam??

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  12. I have had more problems with people following me and when I check out their blog to reciprocate or see what they wright about, word press states that the site doesn’t exist. As for comments, I mostly approve but I have blocked a couple who had what appeared a legitimate first comment and then further comments were so far off of the topic and left me feeling uncomfortable.

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  13. I just looked at my spam. Not alot but very interesting. 2 comments were just a bunch of letters. I received the same comment from two different people on two different posts. The rest were advertising some product they were selling. Weird. None of the comments were not even close to the subject matter of my blog. Thanks for writing about this topic.

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  15. I like looking at the about page. Typically I do check new bloggers out who visit me, the last few posts, and if they have an about page. I’m always intrigued at people who are different from me. Makes for an interesting potential friendship, don’t you think?

    In terms of spam, I get those too. “Hi, great blog, check out my blog and buy something” is spam. lol I get a lot of those.

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  17. ugh I hate people that don’t even bother to finish setting up their blog.. like it’ll say ” This is an example of an about”, or someone with only reblogs but no theme and nothing they wrote themselves. I usually check the about, because I love knowing about people more.

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      2. I have to go back and look at it! I think most people don’t read the about. I usually like seeing where people are from so I can hear their voice in my head

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  18. I forget to check my spam regularly, but sometimes find comments from my regular readers. Everything else has clearly been spam, so I guess I haven’t come across the “are they or aren’t they” type of comments.

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  19. Interesting post, LA. I also occasionally get things that have no “right” being labelled SPAM ending up there. I don’t usually pay attention until I know I should have received some email that hasn’t shown up and go looking. Irritating. Re judging motivation of commenters, I usually go by instinct. If it doesn’t feel right I don’t approve it. I try looking st new bloggers’ About to see if I’d like to follow them, and agree that I find it annoying if there’s no About set up.

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  20. As a new blogger, I don’t have the most intelligent answer here. Still learning. I will read the other comments in the thread, as it is a good question, LA. I do always check the websites of those that follow me. Always. Be well.

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  21. Most entries in my spam folder are easily judged. They are written in a foreign language or are repeated endlessly in countless comments. Once in a great while a follower ends up in spam. The spam folder is something most of us don’t learn about until we are committed to blogging.

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  23. I rarely blog, and just get a few comments when I do, since I rarely blog 🙂 I’m glad that you didn’t decide I was spam! I did by the way fill in my “about” section a long time ago, after reading your blog suggesting that idea.

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  24. It’s not a problem I have I don’t get that many comments, perhaps I should check the spam, that’s something else I don’t do.

    I do seem to get a lot of likes from sites that are trying to sell something though.

    Bright Blessings

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  25. The spammers are getting more creative in trying to make themselves sound like real bloggers, aren’t they? I can see the URL in my spam folder, so that’s always a tip off. So is excessive compliments on my content, with no specific reference to the actual post. I also check to see if they have a blog that is up and running….”coming soon” doesn’t count. If I can’t tell, I give them the benefit of the doubt and let it appear in my comment section. But if the comment is in any way creepy or hostile, then of course I don’t approve it.

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  26. I think I’m gonna answer two blog questions in one. I’ve never really worried about spammers, and I don’t think I’ve ever been trolled lol Well, let me go back. Sometimes, I get what I call the serial liker. You know the person who likes 10 posts in 5 minutes. I always know there’s something weird about it because there’s no way you can read 10 of my posts in 5 minutes lol

    I get a lot of long commenters, who are actual people, so I had to chuckle about that one.

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    1. Ok. I’m going to ask your opinion. Today someone commented on a post from a month or so ago. It was titled live like you’re dying and it was about how I was tired of hiding behind quarantine. I stated in it I wasn’t a risk taker, but I plan on going to concerts when they resume and museums and such. Someone commented today that being too fearless might turn out to be a suicide mission. Is this a legit comment from someone who is actually worried about me trying to kill myself by visiting the Met during pandemic, or someone just being an idiot?

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      1. LOL both/and? Just kidding. I’m sure they’re not really worried about you because they haven’t even established a relationship. You know? If I said that, you’d be like kg actually cares, but some random…probably not, but I don’t think they were being jerky, necessarily. They probably just think you should stay home.

        Did I ramble or answer the question?

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    2. I get those too, Kathy! And I just delete them all, because they haven’t read a post at all. Ordinarily, if someone “likes” or comments on one of my posts, I also visit their blog. But when I see fifteen “likes” at exactly 4:19, I don’t bother…..

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  27. OMG i hope I don’t fall in one of those categories that you try to tune out, ignore, goes to spam, etc. I mean, can you give me a chance here? And, do you think I’m insecure much? JK

    If you have gone to my blog I’m sure you noticed that I blow hot and cold on that, as I do on most (new) things in my life. So I really don’t care much if anyone follows, comments, likes, etc..

    I just started blogging because an old, and I thought close friend, has done it for years and I’ve been following her on WP for quite a while now. During this time, I’ve learned a lot about her that I didn’t know before, that for some reason she hadn’t shared with me and for some reason still does not seem to want to. So does that make me a stalker or a troll, or just an interested and caring friend? I hope the latter.

    I mainly follow bloggers with whom I think I have something in common. Like my blunt and direct personality, I guess, that may turn some of them off. This is based on a very adverse reaction I got from one of my favorites when I suggested her viewpoint might be different if her life experience was different. I had to abjectly apologize to get back in her good graces and be able to follow her again so IDK maybe this is an example of my following someone with a different view, as you’ve suggested you like to do.

    Most of the bloggers I follow are people I feel I can learn something from. And now, thinking about it, they might really be people, like you, who are doing what I wish I could/would have done. I know I like to live vicariously so maybe that’s what I’m doing in following bloggers I like on a pretty regular basis.

    This is not meant to be insincere flattery, but many of your posts really make me think, darn it!

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