IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The 2024 OFFICIAL MASTER LIST: https://tinyurl.com/w54yupwe

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Spam: Keeping Your Blog Clean for #atozchallenge

no spam!
no spam! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         We've all undoubtedly gotten the spam comments on our blog posts.   If you haven't then consider yourself lucky or one who has a very tight rein on incoming comments with your spam filters.  Just a word to a few of you (mainly those on WordPress it seems), if you receive absolutely no spam on your posts then good, but you might want to check your spam folders to make sure legitimate comments aren't trapped there as well.  If your controls are set too rigidly, your system may be blocking actual blog comments.  I can't tell you much about this--I only know it happens sometimes since I often end up in WordPress spam folders.

       The real spam is a nuisance, however, and is unfortunately something we have to deal with.  If there are any of you still in doubt about what spam comments are think of the content.  Does the comment have anything to do with what you've said in your blog post.  If not, or if it kind of parrots something you said, but still seems peculiarly worded or just an example of poor grammar you are probably dealing with spam.

        Also, spam often comes from "anonymous".   Ah, yes--that ever present who's-it sender that starts the conversation with a red flag.  On Blogger--and I would assume this is the case on most blogging platforms--we have the option of screening out anonymous comments by switching to "Registered Users" in the Settings section of the blog.  I've done this with most of my blogs and it has helped tremendously to eliminate the spam.   Sadly, I won't get some of those gems that come from real readers who wish to remain anonymous, but it's the price I have to pay to keep a cleaner comment section.

      Of course the spammers can evade this block by actually using a Blogger account.  If you don't know the sender it's a good idea to check the Blogger profile to see who the sender is.  It's usually pretty obvious if the sender is a commercial account who is merely spamming you to get you to click on a link or go to their site.  The bottom line is don't do it unless it's truly something that you'd like to know more about.

      That brings us to links.  You want to take care which links you click on.  This is especially true if a link that sounds very commercial ends the comment or if the comment is filled with peculiar looking links.  And in case you don't know this already, do not open any of those suspicious looking links or you may end up with malware infecting your computer.

        However, don't confuse signature links with links of ill intent.   If what appears to be a legitimate user with an actual good comment that relates to what you have written leaves a link in the signature, it's most likely a safe link that makes it convenient to find the commenter.

        Examples of a good link:  Shannon at The Warrior Muse   or Lee  A Faraway View

        An example of the potentially evil or spam link accompanied by irrelevant comment:

My family always say that I am killing my time here at web, but I know I am getting knowledge all the time by reading thes fastidious content.
my webpage ... rominahotcom         
          If it looks stupid and suspicious, it's probably because it is exactly that.  Don't click on these links and delete the comment from your comment section so others don't click on them.

           Just a note about spam you may not see.  Do you check your spam folders now and then to clean out the spam and make sure there are not legitimate comments trapped in there?   Periodically (at least once a week) you should check to see if you have any spam comments or comments awaiting moderation.   If you haven't ever done this, you might be amazed by what you may find there.  Especially if you are allowing anonymous comments.  You can find the spam folders under "Comments" on your Blogger template page and I guess this would be similar on other blogging formats.

          So, now you might want to get an early start on spring cleaning and get ready for the April Challenge. You'll be getting a lot of new comments to sort through, but you want to be sure to separate the good from the bad.

          Happy Safe Blogging!


Enhanced by Zemanta

Friday, March 8, 2013

Think Beyond Your Blog's Genre

The A to Z Challenge provides participants the opportunity to find new blogs. We can discover bloggers who share our interests, live in our own city or state, or share our profession. It’s a chance to find like-minded souls and validate our likes and interests.

Sometimes though, it benefits us to step out of our box and discover something new. It challenges us mentally and helps us to grow as a person.

Coming from the position of a writer and author, I know our group tends to gravitate toward each other online. We benefit from the tips and support. Unfortunately, what happens is we end up following mostly writers and authors. The platform building campaigns are fun, but they don’t acquire what we really seek - our target audience.

We need to think beyond the boundaries of our blog topics. There are people who enjoy what we blog about even if they don’t post on the subject. Let’s take gamers for example. You post about RPG and computer games and follow others who also post about games. But who else likes games? Fantasy buffs perhaps? That would include fantasy writers, readers, and movie hounds.

Most of us have more than one hobby. The A to Z is a chance to find others that share our interests. Like to take photos? There are many photo bloggers out there. Travel? Lots of travel blogs. Whatever our interests, there is sure to be a group of bloggers who also enjoy those things. Even if that’s not the focus of your blog, you’ll still share some common ground.

Networking means stepping out and meeting new people. Every person you meet could be an opportunity. Not just to further yourself, but to grow as a human being and possibly help someone else grow.

Take a chance this year. Visit a variety of bloggers. You just might be surprised who you meet.


By L. Diane Wolfe, a.k.a. Spunk On A Stick

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Suit Up! Bring Some STYLE to your Challenge!

If you are looking for a bit of flair for your challenge?

26 letters rolling around your head with matching dates for the challenge?

Well look no further if you would like to use our snazzy post letters and our A to Z Challenge [2013] Desktop you are just one click away from that. Look above you see the "Banners/Badges" page if you go there you will see a couple things that you can use. Not only will you look cool, but you will better help us co-host keep track of the participants just by you showing your support.


Or this desktop, last year I found it much easier to not have to flip back and forth to find the right dates it was all in one place... So be cool, look cool and guess what you are... COOL!


And if you want to be cool and wear some cool stuff including "Alex J Cavanaugh's Ninja Army" shirt... you can check out my art/designs at my NEATORAMA shop...

Jeremy [Retro]