Even nicely wrapped, spam is still spam



Of late, it has seemed as if all bloggers, including us two mouse persons, are busy busy busy and have little time to leave comments. On the other hand, I've been finding more and more of those odd comments where you scratch your head.

"They drying because of snow. Just like to share with you a beautiful quote...'You will never be happy...'"

Because of snow? I say. Most likely this person never read our blog. And I mark that comment as spam without even clicking the link. Some other copy-paste beauties are likely successful in many places. I remember the one complimenting me on the photo of the kitty. Now, probably half the garden blogs I read do have a photo of a kitty somewhere, ours doesn't. More spam.

Then we have the comments that clearly show the person read the post, but a link goes to a business, often I business that I would not want to promote (e.g. lawn maintenance). I realize this is a small business owner trying to manipulate the Google ranking for his/her site, but I call spam spam, and mark the comment as spam (if I see some redeeming value in the business, I might just delete the comment). This, dear small business owner, is going to hurt you with Google ranking, so stop leaving spam comments.


Altogether, it's discouraging to find comments that aren't really comments. So, dear spammers, on the off chance that some of you can read English - I think many of you can't - could you just leave us alone?

Comments

Kaveh Maguire said…
I use Wordpress which has a pretty amazing Spam filter. I don't think any of them have gotten through.

The "Please prove you're not a robot" code that you have to enter to post comments on Blogger blogs drives me crazy. Apparently I'm a robot because I can't read half of them. Trying to do the voice recorded one was even worse. It sounded like the grown ups in a Charlie Brown cartoon.
Chaparral Earth said…
I've gotten this too from on my science blog about beneficial mycorrhizal fungi and root interconnections. The topics can be deep and I encourage and want deep discussion that is interesting, but I'll get a superficial acknowledgement and link to tree trimming service or some herbal health site with generic info on ecology that has no real depth about. It appears some site's are fronts.
Diana Studer said…
those entertaining comments, the words are English, but hurled together like a load of bricks tipped off a truck. PS without the word verification you will still get a little spam (what slips thru the filters), but the Not a Robots won't battle.
Little big said…
I have only just found your blog and I am so glad I have. I live near Modesto and have been searching for a gardening blog in the Central Valley.

My spam filter generally does a good job of filtering comments on my end, and like you I have no hesitation for calling a spam a spam when I see one.
Laughed SO hard! It's all so true. Real people have so little time to comment, but the advertisers and robots, hey they work 24x7! I love your blog and read it as often as I can. I also have a link from my blog, and I often tweet my favorites. I hope it helps. You two really do a great job of informing, enlightening and entertaining. Respectfully, Deb B