Trackback spam a nightmare for TypePad users, while WordPress anti-spam filters and plugins make for smooth sailing
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005 at
5:33 pm
Filed under: blogging • TypePad • Weblogs • WordPress
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Have you ever investigated or reviewed blogsome.com? It hosts WordPress for free…its seems pretty good in that you get to use WordPress, but don’t have to go through the hassle of setting up your own site, although I just moved my blog there from blogger.
I’d be interested to see what you think of it in comparison to typepad/blogger.
WP’s spam controls are ok. Like any comment/trackback filter, it’s best at preventing previously-identified stuff; but if a new culprit comes along, it can wreak havoc (albiet short-term).
Whenever I get a trackback attack (and that’s pretty much the only way the spam comes in anymore, I guess comment-bots have lost their effectiveness), it’ll persist until I add the referring URL to the WP blacklist. That kills it. Curiously, the moderation trap of 2 or more hyperlinks doesn’t seem to be do much — plenty of trackback get through, they simply don’t have hyperlinks in the body of their messages. Again, the whole thing is constantly evolving. You pretty much have to check in on your blog daily — if you neglect it for a week, you’re bound to come back to a few hundred spam postings.
so why don’t you move to Word Press as you wrote Word Press is smarter?
Smooth sailing on blocks of ice over here….. weeeeeeee. I haven’t seen a spam comment, pingback, or trackback show up on my blog in the past 6 months, maybe even a year. Thanks to DrDave and ioerror with some very impressive plugins to WordPress I have been able to simply blog and not have to worry about spam =)
So when are you moving over to WP, girl? *tempts you with the dark side*
If you are using WordPress, be sure to include the Spam Karma 2 plugin. It’s a life saver!
Emily, I wound up going with Typepad for my blog based on your 2/26/05 post and other research. I am happy with it so far, but I have not started to promote it with legitimate trackback pings, blogrolls or RSS yet.
Should I wait till TypePad has WP type Trackback filters working before I promote my blog? I sent TypePad Support a question on your complaint post. But, after all, SixApart invented the Trackback, I think. I’m sure you’ve seen this info on the subject ( http://www.sixapart.com/pronet/comment_spam#recommendations ).
I just visited the SixApart HQ in San Francisco, and met with fairly new TypePad Support Director in the lobby (this could be a “support” issue). If you e-mail me, I will send you his contact info, as I know he is already working on improving the service from the TypePad Manual perspective. I got the feeling that he wants to hear all legitimate, constructive suggestions. While he doesn’t make the final decisions, maybe he can influence the ones who do?
Datapoint: I had to deal with my first blast of trackback spam today. WordPress was very easy to upgrade, and the anti-spam plugin I chose worked right off the bat. I’m still getting trackback spam, but it’s going into my e-mail and not onto my blog.
Let me 2nd a few comments above. Yes, you should seriously consider moving to WP. I can’t remember the last time a trackback spam got through my spam filter. Plus, at most I get maybe 1 spam comment per month that gets through said filter. I bet that sounds good to you TP folks out there?
And yes, any WP user really should be using SpamKarma2 &/or Bad Behavior. THe only caveat is that SK2 turns off your WP default comment moderation features so you can’t force comments into moderation (unless you use Peter Westwood’s SK2 hack which is terrific).
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