Working at Home on the Internet

Here We Go Again, Akismet Is Eating My Comments

 Way back in November of 2006, Akismet started eating my comments. I have no idea why except somewhere, somehow, I got stuck in someone’s Moderation or Spam cue and ended up being reported as Spam to Akismet.

At the time, I wrote a post about My Comments being Eaten. I got some good advice from my friends, but it just took a lot of perseverance and de-spamming to get the problem solved.

I do moderate my comments and try to de-spam everyone who makes legitimate comments, but it is starting to get a little overwhelming with well over 500 spams caught a day. It is getting to be very time consuming and takes away from other business responsibilities.

I know exactly When it started, but not Why. I was participating in Open Comment Night over as Successful Blog and had No Problems. But after I left and answered a comment on my own blog, My comment didn’t show. I immediately went into Akismet (after my last experience) to see if it was there. Shore enough, I was caught, right there in my own Akismet cue.

The last time, it went on for over a full week which led me to write a rant called Akismet Sucks. I was so fed up with not being able to comment anywhere I almost stopped using Akismet. However, not too long after that post, things started showing in my comments that I had written, then they started showing in other peoples comments on their blogs.

The problem went away all by itself, really with a lot of perseverance and monitoring of comments, and I got happy again and stayed with Akismet.

So, help me out here, if I comment on your Blog and it ends up in your spam cue, Please release me, let me go.

Hopefully, it wont take as long as the last episode. I don’t need the aggravation.

New Here? You may want to Subscribe to my RSS feed for daily updates. Or if you prefer, Subscribe by Email What is RSS? Thanks for visiting!

May 23rd, 2007 at 10:35am | Posted by Joe | Akismet, Commenting, Rants | 4 reader remarks | Print This Post

I Was Forced To Write a Comment Policy

 Did you notice the little icon in the sidebar?

It’s been there for about 2 weeks. I thought I would quietly reward all of the people who contribute to the Blog by Commenting. And I intend to keep it there for as long as I own this site.

I never really got the reason behind “no follow” other than as a tool for the SE’s in the Fight Against Spam. Since I have Akismet, that is not really a problem any longer for me, so allowing links to get credit as a link back to the commenter is not a problem either.

However, there are always Some who try to take advantage of the kind-hearted nature of Bloggers and people that have a community built up over time by trying to get link backs for things that are Totally Unrelated to the Content of Posts or the Intent of the Blog Itself by posting Totally Irrelevant Comments just for the Sake of a Link. (sorry for the run-on sentence).

Therefore, I Have Been Forced to Write a Comment Policy. I never wanted nor did I find the need for one before, but I feel it has become a necessity. So, I will have a link to the page in the sidebar for those who have questions if I Deleted Their Comment(s).

Sorry for the inconvenience to any and all of the regulars who visit. Please don’t be discouraged from commenting. We are still a strong community and the “Do Follow” will Stay as Long as I Own This Blog.

Technorati Tags: do-follow, comments, spam, splogs, Comment Policy

May 5th, 2007 at 09:56am | Posted by Joe | Akismet, Blogging, Commenting, Community, Linking | 5 reader remarks | Print This Post

To Post or Not to Post, That is the Question

Will you post something that you don’t feel is of any benefit, look right or is substandard just for the sake of having something “out there”?

 That is a question I have asked myself many, many times. Most recently today.

There is a post I am working on that, I feel, needs Screen Shots in order to present it in the best possible light. The problem is, I have no way of doing a Screen Shot and I don’t feel comfortable doing a cut and paste. Just doing a copy of the information will not look right. It needs to be presented in such a way that I can show the page, and have a click-able screenshot to enlarge the pictures and graphics for the best results.

I see many of you (and I do read my blogging friends work) use Screen Shots quite often to great affect. I have looked around for Add-ons to IE7, Google Toolbar and for Plug-ins for WordPress. I have found Nothing. I know there has to be some application somewhere. But Where?

If you have something that you use and is dependable, Please let me know in comments.

I already put the post off for one day, but I would like to get it done soon, before it is outdated. Even though I am not the best writer in the world, I refuse to put something “out there” just for the sake of having something out there.

Related posts:

Always Check Your Own Work

Would You Read Your Own Blog?

February 5th, 2007 at 02:15pm | Posted by Joe | Attitude, Blogging, Commenting | 4 reader remarks | Print This Post