In about September last year, Blogger, the Google outfit that host this site, introduced a new spam filter. Until that time I had been very happy with them. I still am, in most aspects. But the spam filter is making dialogue on the site impossible. It is supposed to learn from the liberations that I make, but it seems to be just getting worse. I have not yet been blest with a single item of real spam, but about one in three genuine comments go to the bin for no obvious reason at all.
The problem is compounded because, since I'm on Australian time, they can sit in the spam bin for hours before I can fix it.
I've done what I can to raise the problem with Blogger. They don't offer direct communication, but delegate feedback to a forum. The response is that, no, you don't get a choice here, your sacrifice is for the general good. We seem to be conscripted into an experiment whereby Google uses our rescue activity to improve its spam database.
So I'm looking at Wordpress. Blogger has just announced a revamp, but from their aggressive attitude about the filter, I don't see much hope. I'll wait a few days longer, and listen to advice on whether Wordpress is likely to be better, but it's looking inevitable.
Open Thread
48 minutes ago
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WordPress is pretty good - at least at Science of Doom.
ReplyDeleteI find a certain number of legitimate comments in the *moderation* queue for reasons I can't fathom - I assume that one of the words I put in the list is being found, even though I can't work out which one.
The spam filter seems to incorrectly catch around 1 genuine comment per week, maybe 1 every 2 weeks. It catches almost all real spam - which varies up to around 100 spam comments per week. Perhaps 1-2 (innocuous) spam comments per month make it through.
WordPress also offer tech support - so when I ask a question they answer. All for the princely sum of $15 per year including the domain registration and hosting.
Thanks, SoD, that's encouraging. You get a lot of comments, so the percentage is good. And the cost is no problem.
ReplyDeleteIf you are looking at wordpress look into self hosting not wp.com. For the cost of your own domain and getting access to theme features you can get hosting and more control with wp on your own host.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pepper,
ReplyDeleteIt does sound like the best way. I worry a bit about time demands - Lucia seems to spend a lot of time tinkering with her blog. But I'm very tempted.
I just got spammed for the first time in four years over at my blog. The fellow complimented me on my expository style, but something bugged me about it. It wasn't until I clicked on his name and got dropped onto a generic WordPress page that I realized that the guy did not say anything that required reading the blog itself.
ReplyDeleteThe best filter still seems to be experience, but of course, I only get tens of comments per month - not hundreds.
Steve
Steven,
ReplyDeleteI too got my first spam the other day. And of course the spam filter missed it.