How do you feel about commenting on blogs? One of the most fun things about a blog is that you get feedback on what you write. With comments from readers, there is discussion and exchange - not just monologue! So you want it to be easy to comment ... but is it?
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ShareSpam robots are causing trouble
The misery of spam bots, i.e. automated mass mailings of comments just to give links back to various companies around the world, is causing problems with commenting on blogs. Many blogs require verification to show that you are not a robot, and these verifications are getting more and more fanciful.
Image verifications
The blogger Ama de casa recently wrote about the new photo verifications, where you have to tick off blurred food pictures or road signs or whatever ... do you recognise it? BP picked up on the discussion and asked readers how difficult it is to comment on her blog - an important question to ask!
Comment on our blog?
How does this work with comments on our blog? We have our own domain on a web host and use the WordPress programme for our blog. So we can choose how we do things ...
We have chosen to allow people whose comments have been approved once to comment freely thereafter (works if you use the same IP address, the same email address and so on). However, anyone commenting for the first time has to wait for me to manually approve the comment.
Now the question: Is it working well for you to comment here on the blog? If not, feel free to send us an email by clicking on "Contact us" on the right side of the blog.
Update: Since we have become responsible publishers for freedomtravel.se, we can no longer have this setting, but now we approve all comments manually. If you write a comment, it will not be visible immediately, but only when we approve it. Do not worry! Sometimes comments end up in the spam, but they don't usually disappear.
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Annika says:
Yes, comments are essential for a blogger. At least for me, and most people in bloglandia I think. Without comments I would not blog. It would feel like I was gagging for no one.
But sure, verification is NOT fun. Haven't seen the one with the food on blogger yet. But it does exist? USCH!!! I have a blogger myself and thus a google account so I don't think I see that awful thing when I comment on blogger blogs. But yes, it's probably almost the worst I've seen in terms of verification.
I don't want any verification on my end, all spam gets stuck in the filter anyway. BUT, I can't really decide about it. I think google rules there and they have a verification at least. I really hope it's not a similar one like the one ABOVE!!! USCH and fy!!!
Wishing you and yours a good weekend!!!
01 May 2015 - 15:26
Ditte says:
Thank you it works perfectly! When I comment via the computer, my details are already filled in but they are not if I comment via my mobile phone. This is the case on some blogs and I have not understood why, because there is also no box to tick that the data should be saved. Maybe it can be fixed?
01 May 2015 - 15:26
Annika says:
I forgot, Helena. Commenting with you is a breeze!
01 May 2015 - 15:28
BP says:
I'm glad you're also joining the "discussion", because it's actually interesting and important - just as you say: it should be fun to blog and fun to comment!
Must say that it is thanks to AMA and now you that I "get the chance" to take part in bread, rice and pastries and more that you poor people have to put up with. I have never encountered them, but the pictures are undeniably delicious;-)
I already answered yesterday that I have no problems at all with you, neither via the computer nor the iPhone.
1,000 thanks for the link by the way:-)
PS. Blogspot made a concerted effort a few months ago to get rid of spam comments. Personally, I thought some of them were really funny. I think I blogged about some. So I miss them liiiiiiiiiiite;-) DS.
01 May 2015 - 16:08
Åsa says:
Yes, it is very easy to comment with you! Will see if it is possible to fix it so with me too!
01 May 2015 - 16:14
Ama de casa says:
Commenting with you is no problem. With me, there are some (including BP) who find it difficult. What a shame! I don't want it to be that way, but I don't know how to do anything about it.
The comments are very important and fun - getting feedback on what you write makes blogging worth the "trouble". (A dear "trouble"!) For goodness sake, how much blogging has provided
🙂
I'm also doing the thing where I approve the first comment from a new reader. It feels good to be able to do that, even though I have never encountered any "trolls".
01 May 2015 - 17:46
Ama de casa says:
sv: I can agree with you that pommies are a bit boring with almost all food. But if you ask, you can usually get something else. Salad or fried vegetables, for example. It was actually not a problem at all back then when I wanted to avoid carbohydrates.
01 May 2015 - 17:48
anita says:
Hmm when I comment here, all my information is filled in, I did that the first time I commented I guess. Some blogs I comment on have number-letter combos that you have to write in and sometimes it can be very difficult to see what it says. I have never encountered food identification. How easy or difficult is it to comment on my site? I do not "approve" but all comments are included without my approval and I have never encountered anything strange (spam) Once only advertising for a Swedish weather site.
Surely I can make some settings on blogspot but I haven't even checked that.
01 May 2015 - 18:19
admin says:
Annika, can only agree, without comments it would be very boring! Maybe you avoid those image verifications where you have Blogger yourself? It's probably us "outsiders" who have to deal with them... I understand that you who have Blogger and the like cannot decide completely yourself.
Ditte, I recognise the fact that the information is filled in when you enter on the computer but not on the mobile phone from blogs I visit. Unfortunately, I do not know how to fix it ...
BP, haha yes, I think it's us "outsiders" (i.e. suspected spammers...) who have to deal with those cakes and dishes. It's ok when you can see clearly, but sometimes it's blurry and hard to understand and you have to do it again, and then you get a bit annoyed...
😉
Åsa, good to hear! You want it to be simple!
Ama de casa, for me it has so far worked to authorise once, hope it continues to work! The spam comments are stopped, but I get a lot in the junk mail. Working on blocking nasty IP addresses... Ok, maybe I should ask for something other than fries! But sometimes it is also difficult to know what will be served with the fish/meat and there is often a certain confusion of language.
😉
Anita, I agree that the numbers at verification can be both small and blurry... sometimes almost impossible to see! You probably avoid spam because you have to fill in words (or tick dishes/wine bottles) on your blog.
😉
01 May 2015 - 19:17
Lennart says:
Isn't it great to get comments!
It must be easy to comment otherwise you might give up!
Live well!
01 May 2015 - 19:39
Matts Torebring says:
It's great that you bring this up, it makes me really happy. The more people who write, the more fun it is, of course. I don't write so often, "How cute and beautiful", but write honestly what I think and feel, such as "about torn jeans", about the political direction we have in the country right now, or about emptying grey water in public places. Of course, I have a number of people who don't like me for this.
I can understand the robot blockers, but I don't think pairing road signs and dishes is childish, insane, stupid and downright silly. Three years ago I could have up to over three hundred spam emails in a single day. I had made a post about the iPhone and the inability of many people to communicate alongside their smartphone. Eventually, I deleted the post and the spam disappeared from my blog.
Some blogs can take ten minutes or more to get past the barriers, it doesn't help what and how you do sometimes. This scourge must be combated. In seven years of blogging, I have had only one nasty email, received at five in the morning. I discovered it as soon as I woke up. It's not worth putting up barriers to a single email in seven years.
I hope you can help put an end to these annoying roadblocks.
Personally, I find Worldpress more serious than others.
01 May 2015 - 20:16
Katarina Wohlfart says:
It works great! But I never get any answers? Do you reply and I don't get the reply to the email perhaps? In that case, something is not working. 🙂 I have commented often and for a long time so should get an answer I think... But that is often the case on blogs. I almost never get any answers and wonder if it is not because there is no mail. What do you think?
01 May 2015 - 20:39
Katarina Wohlfart says:
and on my blog you end up in the spam filter and I wonder why, because you are the only ones?
01 May 2015 - 20:39
Lennart says:
Follow your blog every day. Nice to read about your journey.
Lennart
01 May 2015 - 21:20
Veiken says:
I want to approve everyone, always. Then I know who I approve at the rate I respond so I don't lose anyone. Right now I have removed Lion and installed IP Blacklist instead. You can see how people or robots try to hack into the blog too. You must have the most secure password possible! I'll send you a screenshot of it via email!
After all, blogs and bloggers are fantastic. You get so much knowledge and response. 🙂
01 May 2015 - 21:52
Fantasy travel says:
It works well for me to comment with you. But I'm immediately curious about how it works for me....I might have to ask a similar question, thanks for the idea 😉.
01 May 2015 - 22:12
Marina says:
With you I have no problem whatsoever with the comments, I am "ready to go". Then there are some where you have to keep on looking for rice and bread, but that is in itself quite ok, it is worse when you have to fill in letters that are never right, then it is easy to get tired. I've ticked "no verification" on my end, and I think it works, but you don't really know yourself...
02 May 2015 - 4:00
ActiveDays-Camilla says:
It's always good to comment here and I like the fact that my details are still there, i.e. names and stuff! However, I am annoyed by these "anti-spam passwords" that are found on many blogs. I understand that you can be forced by them but they take away the joy of commenting. Especially since sometimes you don't even
see what it says on what to repeat... In general, it would be nice to have MORE comments in the Blogosphere... 🙂 🙂
02 May 2015 - 8:04
ActiveDays-Camilla says:
I just have to add that now I saw the "food variant" for the first time, shit, blurry pictures as well so you can hardly see what it is... And I HAVE recently bought new glasses....
02 May 2015 - 8:19
admin says:
Lennart, I agree. There have been times when I've given up when it was too complicated...
Matts, I love that you write comments with real opinions! Those are the best comments! I also understand that there must be robot barriers, but I don't understand that the numbers to copy must be so small and blurred ... or this new mess with food dishes ... Funny that you got spam on a particular post! I get spam comments on lots of different...
Katarina, I always reply to all comments (here in the comments section of the blog). I am of course aware that many do not go back and read, but I still want readers to know that I read their comments and that they CAN go back and read the replies if they want to. Sometimes, when it feels extra important that a reader gets my reply (like now), I copy it and put it directly on that person's blog (or email if it's a person without a blog). Get the answers to your email? I don't think that's possible... I know it works like that on some blogs (blogg.se for example) but I don't think I can fix it from this blog... Do my comments always end up in your spam filter? I do not know why, but I know that we who have wordpress blogs on our own domains relatively often end up in the spam of others ... Usually it is usually enough to approve once, and after that it usually works!?
Any way is good, as long as you feel it works. Why have you switched to IP Blacklist? I think we have a secure password! Please send the screenshot!
Fantasy travel, great! Funnily enough, your comment now ended up in the spam... But now I've approved it, so there shouldn't be any problems in the future!
Marina, glad you're not having any problems! Funnily enough, I have to approve your comments manually even though you've commented lots of times. It's not a problem, but it's funny because I've set the blog so that the comments come up immediately if you've been approved once.
Camilla, good to hear that you can comment here! I also understand that verifications must be in place, but they are often unnecessarily complicated...
02 May 2015 - 8:26
Deciree says:
With you it is possible to comment. I have seen a few times, if I comment from my mobile phone that these dishes come up. Otherwise on the computer it works fine.
02 May 2015 - 8:43
Mr Steve says:
Commenting has never been a problem with you, but I find all these verifications an abomination. I have even abandoned some blogs because of difficulties in posting comments.
02 May 2015 - 9:10
admin says:
Deciree, glad things are working well here!
Steve, yes the verifications are tedious (though perhaps necessary). I think it's ok if it's quick and easy. Not fun if it's messy and you have to do it all over again....
02 May 2015 - 10:02
Maggan and Ingemar says:
Wow, that's a lot of "answers" to read.
I have no problem commenting here with you.
However, I have heard that it can be a problem for me.
I have also received lots of spam in the past, after I blocked some, it has been pretty quiet lately.
Good that you bring up this with comments, I myself am bad at answering everyone.... don't know how many people go back and read the comment / reply.
Have a good trip....now the heat is waiting for you 😀.
02 May 2015 - 10:25
Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:
Commenting on your blog works great
I have thought several times about asking how it works on ours. We get an incredible amount of spam too.
Nisse
02 May 2015 - 12:04
admin says:
Maggan and Ingemar, it's a bit difficult to answer... I agree that many people don't go back and read. On the other hand, sometimes when I've done it on a blog and there are no answers, I'm a bit disappointed...
Nils-Åke, for a while I had problems commenting with you! Do not think that my comments came out at all! But last time it went well I think!
02 May 2015 - 13:51
JoY says:
Have no problem commenting with you, easy as pie. However, if I comment from my mobile phone, there are usually two similar comments, but not on all blogs, strange.
I don't have any spam in my house pepper pepper pepper.
Hugs
02 May 2015 - 17:08
admin says:
JoY, how nice! Funny with two comments! But I can agree that it is more difficult to comment from a mobile phone....
02 May 2015 - 19:34
Camilla says:
I can go crazy in some blogs, where you have to try to decipher what is written on a blurry picture...you write wrong, have to redo, write wrong..aaah. So sometimes I don't bother commenting. Likewise if you have to be registered on disqus (or whatever it's called) to comment.
02 May 2015 - 21:27
Inga M says:
It works well to comment here with you. What you write about spam comments I do not recognise from my own blog. But I honestly don't know how commenting on it works for an outsider. I don't need to verify, but perhaps I am automatically exempt from the blocks on my own blog. I blog on Blogg.se which is easy to manage.
I have set myself up to approve all comments. I have to do this because there are often threatening comments when I sometimes write about the predator policy in Sweden. (Nevertheless, I do not demand the extermination of any animal but there are many rather rabid defenders among animal rights activists).
The comments are of course important, but I would rather have few blog friends and have time to follow them without problems than have many that require a lot of time and care. Moderation is best. You have to adapt to your own conditions and not just go with the flow. I notice that blogs with complicated verifications and that you have to fill in your information every time feel too cumbersome, with them I comment less and less. Interesting to think about.
03 May 2015 - 9:38
Helga says:
No problem at all to comment but sometimes it can be so generally that the time is not enough to read other people's blogs. Then I prioritise writing my own posts so it will be reading once a week when there is time.
Like your blog!
04 May 2015 - 10:29
steel city anna says:
No problem commenting with you! Haha, yes the food pictures, so idiotic! They are blurry and do not look like the food that is asked for. You have missed a picture usually when I managed to locate a tarta or sushi ... Clearly takes away some of the fun of commenting!
04 May 2015 - 13:25
admin says:
Camilla, if you have to be registered somewhere to comment...well, I definitely give up!!!
Inga M, oh is that true? That you get threatening comments I mean...!!!? Yes, then it is good to get approval first! With you it is easy to comment by the way, no verifications.
Helga, glad you like our blog! And of course you should spend as much time as you want, and no more.
Steel city Anna, good that there are no problems! I know, and even fuzzy numbers (that you can't see properly) are quite annoying...
😉
04 May 2015 - 14:39
Inga M says:
Mmm.... I get threatening comments on posts about predators and it is enough that I wish on the blog that the predator policy will be implemented as decided by the parliament and it is not threatening to the survival of any animal species in our country. I do not publish these comments, but I save them in case someone decides to take what I write seriously. The so-called animal rights organisations have attracted some strange individuals.
06 May 2015 - 6:28
Gunnar Selberg says:
I'm not used to blogs but wanted to start or open for comments on my website kirunaguidetur.com.
Wanted to get some inspiration but almost everyone lacked the ability to comment. I was pleased when I got here, here it is obviously possible to comment.
08 September 2017 - 22:58
Mr Mattias says:
Interesting post.
Too bad you can't travel as much as you want these days. I hope Corona disappears.
08 December 2020 - 12:14