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Flushing suspicious comments on my blog
Posted on Sunday, January 11th, 2009 by pelf and filed in Blogging Challenges & Tips

I used to be good at catching a spammy comment and was equally good at marking it as spam. But recently, I always have trouble telling spammy comments apart from the real comments left by real people, whether or not they are bloggers. I have found that either the spam robots were getting better by sounding more and more like a real person, or I wasn’t getting better at detecting them.

When I think a certain comment is suspicious, the first thing I would do is to visit the site. If the site was an aggregator of some kind, or if it was written in a foreign language, or if it did not appear to me like a site that was maintained by a real person, I would mark that particular comment as spam.

If I was convinced that the site was maintained by a real blogger, I would then check out the “About Me” page to get the blogger’s name. I really don’t mind it if you used a nickname, or “your name @ your site” for example “Patrick @ Pays To Live Green” or “Nicole Price @ Great Prices Here” because I understand that it is a form of personal branding. But “Webmaster Radio” or “Genel Kultur” or “Affiliate Marketing” or “Discover” or “diet” certainly DO NOT sound like a real name to me!

The next thing I would look at is the comment. If the comment added value to the discussion on a certain post, I would let it pass, but only after I have changed the name of the commentator. However interesting a comment is, I would never let the commentator be “Affiliate Marketing”. If I couldn’t find a nickname on your blog, I would change your name to “Anonymous”. But if the comment was obviously a time-waster, I would hit the MARK AS SPAM button *flush*

The reason I monitor my comments is because I do not want to allow anybody to think that my blog is their playground. I do not want them to think that it is OK to drop me a useless comment and get some link love back to their sites. Moreover, I want my regular readers and regular commentators to know that my blog isn’t flooded by spammy robots. As much as each comment is important to me, I would rather have fewer meaningful comments than more meaningless ones. What values do those meaningless comments bring to my blog and my readers? None.

Because I do not receive hundreds of comments daily, I am able to mark a certain comment as spam (or otherwise) within 24 – 48 hours. But if you have a huge following, or if you receive a lot of comments, what do you do with these spammy-sounding comments? Do you give them the benefit of the doubt?

14 Comments
Some green DIY tips to use around the house
Posted on Wednesday, January 07th, 2009 by pelf and filed in Charity, Conservation & Environment

These are some green do-it-yourself tips that are particularly useful if you decorate your house by yourself (as opposed to paying a company or some contractors to do it). The common point behind these tips is that we should use less chemical products that are harmful to the environment:

  • Never throw unwanted paint down the drain where it can cause chemicals to build up in waterways.
  • Use a natural fibre brush and apply a little paint at a time to avoid dripping. No-drip paints may contain polyurethane, which is an environmental hazard.
  • Use borax instead of fungicide in your paste if you are papering walls and want to stop mould and mildew growing on paper.
  • Choose linoleum or other nature natural resources instead of vinyl flooring when covering your floor, because they contain PVC.
  • Never use lead-base paints because lead is a toxic substance.

What other green DIY tips do you have?

5 Comments
Little ways to save our planet
Posted on Monday, January 05th, 2009 by pelf and filed in Charity, Conservation & Environment
Psst…

The Giving Hands is down, for reasons I’d VERY much love to know. GRRR..

If you read my other blog, The Giving Hands, you will know that I have recently started something very interesting called theme-blogging. It is actually a concept I nicked from Joanna Young @ Confident Writing. So, I started with writing about plastic bags in December 2008. This month, I’m writing about something even more exciting, something that ALL OF US can easily contribute to, something that ALL OF US should learn about — the little ways to save our planet.

But since The Giving Hands is down at the moment (all links pointing to The Giving Hands will NOT work), I have decided to do it here instead :)

For a start, here’s some green “cleaning” tips:

  • Sprinkle a handful of salt into your rubbish bin to cut down on nasty odours. The salt acts by neutralizing unwanted smells.
  • Apply a little carbonated water or club soda to keep fresh stains from sinking deep into clothes.
  • Use a damp cloth to work white toothpaste into the silverware you want to clean, then rinse and dry. The mild abrasive in the toothpaste will clean the silverware without you having to resort to chemical cleaners.
  • To get rid of chewing gum stuck on clothings, rub with ice and the gum will slowly flake off.
  • Use a broom and a dustpan as a low-energy, environmentally-friendly alternative to vacuuming floors ad carpets.

What are the little things that YOU do to save our planet? Tell me about it!

15 Comments

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