Tag Archives: comments

Grr Spam Comments..Here’s how to deal with them!

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Spam commenters driving you currently crazy?

You’re not alone — and lots of people have been asking me for advice lately.

So let’s first talk a little on the WHAT and then on ‘the how to deal with them’.

What Are Spam Commenters?

The main reason why people write spam comments is to provide links to promote their web site(s).

Common spamming techniques include:

1.  Creating pingbacks to blog post

Example of spammer's pingback email

2.  Adding links to their web site in the comment and/or the URL

Easiest option is to use Comment Blacklist or Comment Moderation

It’s as simple as:

1.  Go to Settings > Discussion

Image of Settings menu

2.  Add the spammer’s URL, email address, IP address or word(s) commonly used to the Comment Blacklist field or Comment Moderation field

  • If you are concerned genuine comments might be blocked you use the Comment Moderation Field

For example, IP address 69.174.246.208, their website and/or car details such as Acura or radiator would work for this comment spam

Example of a spam pingback

And it might look like this:

Setting up a comment blacklist

3.  Click Save Changes at bottom of page

Now any pingback that contain any of these words in its content, name, URL, e-mail, or IP is automatically:

  1. Held in your moderation queue (if you used comment moderation) – where you can decide if to approve or delete them.
  2. Marked as spam and you won’t receive an email notification (if you used comment blacklist)

Alternatively you could also use Akismet – here’s instructions for setting up and configuring Akismet!

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Tips For Dealing With Spam Commenters

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Like most bloggers I really love comments.

And it’s great to get comments that express concern such as “Sue – you’re back and…not blogging yet?:)”……. only to discover it’s a spam comments.

I’ll tell you how I minimize spam comments below – but first a little on the WHAT.

What are Spam Comments?

The reason why people write spam comments is to provide links to the spammer’s commercial web site; to get you and/or your readers to visit their site.

Common spam commenting techniques include:

  1. Adding links to their web site in the comment and their URL Image of spam comment
  2. Adding the link for their web site in URL Image of spam
  3. Creating pingbacks to blog postImage of spam pingbacks

Spammers generally write comments with minimal substance such as:

Thank you for this tips; Good Stuff!; Good job, bro; Very informative and helpful; Yes, it is very helpful; Thanks you for the information and I’ll return here often…….

If it smells like spam it normally is!

Check the URL to confirm— and DELETE!

Image of deleting spam

Refer to Managing, editing and approving comments for more info on deleting comments!

Ways of Minimizing spam comments!

An annoying aspect of spammers is they’ll often target posts with numerous comments.

So while deleting their comments helps it doesn’t prevent emails being sent to commenters who selected ‘Notify me of followup comments via email’.

The key is make it harder for spammers to leave comments so eventually they give up and move on!  And in the process reducing their spamming of your readers!

The two main methods I use are:

1.  Comment moderation

I’ve found comment moderation the most effective method because it allows me to target specific spammers.

It’s as simple as:

  1. Go to Settings > Discussion Image of Settings menu
  2. Add the spammer’s URL, email address, IP address or word(s) commonly used to the Comment Moderation field
    • Tip: For pingbacks I’ll normally include the word(s) they are using to link to my posts Image of spam moderation
  3. Click Save Changes

Now any comments written that contain any of these words in its content, name, URL, e-mail, or IP will automatically be held in your moderation queue where you can decide if to approve or delete them.

2.  Akismet

Image of AkismetAskimet is a spam commenting service designed to reduce comment and pingback spam.

It checks the content of the comment anonymously with an online server, to determine whether it is spam or not.

All comments considered spam automatically placed by Askimet in a spam queue where it is held for a month and then deleted.

Refer to these instructions for setting up and configuring Akismet!

Please Note:

  • With Akismet it is important to regularly check your spam screen to make sure Askimet hasn’t captured any legitimate comments or pingbacks.

Final Thoughts

@spammer!  Yes, I’m back from holidays and thanks for inspiring this post 8-)

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How To Moderate All Comments and Posts On Student Blogs

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I’m frequently asked ‘how to moderate all posts and comments on student blogs so that nothing is published until approved by a teacher’ because there are situations where it’s necessary.

I’ll tell you how to do it below – but first it’s important to mention educators have differing opinions on moderation and use two main approaches:

  1. Students are allowed to publish own posts and approve all comments
  2. Students posts and comments aren’t published until approved by a teacher

There are pros/cons to each of these approaches which I don’t have time to discuss in this post but would love to follow up in a later post.

So please share your thoughts on moderation by leaving a comment:

  1. Which approach do you take and why?
  2. Do you moderate all comments and posts?  Or not?

Step 1: Create the student blogs using the gmail+ method

The easiest way to moderate all the comments is for all comments from the student blogs to be sent to one email account.

You do this by creating the blogs using the gmail+ method.

How it works is Gmails ignores anything in the first half of an email address after a plus sign so if you create each email with the format username+studentname@gmail.com all emails will be sent to the inbox of username@gmail.com.

If you don’t want to use your own gmail account then set up a gmail account for your class e.g. room15@gmail.com.

This means every comment that is posted on any of the blog will automatically be sent to the one gmail account making it really easier for you to read, approve or delete.

All you need to do is just click on appropriate link in the email!

Image of comment moderation email

Here are instructions for creating student blogs (Remember to add yourself as administrator to the student blogs!)

  1. For free Eublogs blog users – read Creating student blogs using the Signup page
  2. Edublogs Supporter and Edublogs Campus users – refer to Using Blog & User Creator to create student blogs

adminbloguser

Step 2: Change The Comment Moderation Settings

The default comment setting for all newly created blogs is ‘Comment author must have a previously approved comment.’ This means once you’ve approved one comment from a commenter all subsequent comments by that person will be automatically published without being moderated.

For all comments to be moderated and approved by a teacher before appearing on the blog you need to change the comment moderation setting for all student blogs to include ‘An administrator must always approve the comment’.

Changing comment settings is as simple as:

  1. Go to Settings > Discussion Image of Discusion tab
  2. Select ‘An administrator must always approve the comment’. Image of comment moderation setting
  3. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page

For more information about managing comments refer to:

  1. Engaging with readers through comments
  2. Controlling who can comment on posts
  3. Managing, editing and approving comments

Step 3: Changing the Student’s role on the blog

In most situations student blogs are created with the students automatically assigned the role of administrator.

To moderate their posts,  so it a post is only published after approval by a teacher, you need to change their role on the blog to Contributor.

Please note you must first add yourself as as administrator on the student blog as follows:

  1. Creating blogs for your students using the Signup page – free Edublogs blogs
  2. Using the Blog & User creator to create student blogs – Edublogs Supporters & Edublogs Campus only.

adminbloguser

To change their role:

  1. Go to Users > Authors & Users Image of Author menu
  2. Select the user you want to change, click on drop down arrow to select Contributor and then click Change Image of contributor role

When a contributor writes a post it is saved as a pending to await approval by an administrator or editor.

To approve a post:

  1. Navigate to the dashboard of the student blog Image of navigating the blogs
  2. Click on Post > Edit Image of edit posts
  3. Those posts submitted for review by your student will have pending next to their title.
  4. Hovering your mouse over the title of a post brings up four action links: Edit; Quick Edit; Delete and Preview.   Image of pending
  5. To publish just click on Edit or Quick Edit and then click Update Post.

For more information refer to Editing posts.

Please note:

FINAL THOUGHTS

Please share your thoughts on moderation by leaving a comment:

  1. Which approach do you take and why?
  2. Do you moderate all comments and posts?
  3. Or do you allow students to publish own posts and approve all comments?

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Tips For Writing Commenting Guides & Guidelines

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Much of the learning from blogging happens as a result of commenting and interaction between commenters.

But how many of your readers know how to even leave a comment?  Or what are your comment approval guidelines?  Or how you interact with their comments?

In case you forgot to tell them here are some ways to help your readers.

#1 A Newbie Guide

Providing a guide that includes how to leave comments is always helpful–  not everyone knows how to write comments on posts.  The key is to think what does some one new to reading your blog really need to know.

Here are some examples of Newbie Guides:

  1. This is my Info For First Time Visitors! – explains how to subscribe using RSS or email and how to leave comments
  2. Michele Martin’s A Newbie Guide to The Bamboo Project – highlights purpose of her blog, what is a blog, how to leave comments, how to participate and important pages on her blog
  3. Tony Karrer’s First Time Visitor Guide – purpose of  blog, how to interact and an index of his posts

#2 Commenting Guidelines

Unfortunately not everyone knows what is/isn’t appropriate to write in comments on posts — this is where commenting guidelines can help.

Use your class blog as an opportunity to educate students, parents and other readers on appropriate commenting practice such as:

  1. Types of identifying information that is appropriate in a comment e.g. What are your rules about use of last names, IM and personal information?
  2. What sort of comments will you approve?
  3. What are you looking for in comments?

It’s also worth reminding readers that blogs are works in progress — they need to remember this when writing comments.  Check out how Jan Smith’s does this in the left hand side bar of Huzzah Blog.

Why not get your students to help write the commenting guidelines for your class blog? You might like to also include examples of good and bad comments.

Check out:

  1. Lisa Hill’s Mossgiel Park PS Blog Commenting Policy
  2. Abbey’s Blog Guidelines for ideas on how a student can add a comment guideline to their blog

Using Pages and Post For Your Information

Approaches taken by bloggers varies.  Some prefer to regularly inform readers on how to comment and/or their comment policy using posts while others use pages.

Larry Ferlazzo uses posts really well to inform readers about commenting.  Here are:

  1. His comment policy posts
  2. His leaving comments on this blog posts

Bloggers who use pages will either:

Final Thoughts

Remember I’m looking for examples and ideas to share with others.

Please a comment with links to any ‘About pages’, ‘Commenting Guidelines’ or ‘Newbie Guides’ you create so I can check them out!

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Here’s My Five Top Tips For Building Your Blog’s Readership –What Are Yours?

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Common questions new bloggers ask me is how do you build your blog’s readership?  How do you get people to read and comment on your posts?

If you’re looking for a quick solution – forget it!

Building your blog’s readership and community takes time.  Here’s my five top tips to get it happening!

#1 Become a Better Blog Citizen

Don’t expect people to read and comment on your posts if you aren’t doing the same on other people’s blogs!  Blogging is as much about reading other blogger’s posts and commenting on posts as it is writing your own posts.

Besides being a valuable source of ideas for writing your own posts it also helps develops relationships with others.   Interaction with other bloggers and their readers, in comments, often leads to new readers of  your blog.

Here’s what you need to do:

1.  Subscribe and start reading other people’s blogs

2.  Make an effort to write comments on other peoples blog posts

  • Initially leaving comments can be frightening!  But commenting is an important part of blogging.  It’s often where most your learnng happens.
  • Comments are about adding to the conversation — not ‘ WOW great post!’
  • Don’t comment for comment sake.  Comments should be meaningful, polite, and respond by expanding on the post topic, sharing your thoughts or explaining politely why you disagree.
  • If there is an option to subscribe to be notified of new comments — use it!  This way you will be notified of new comments on that post and can choose whether to respond to new comments
  • It’s okay to direct comments at other readers as opposed to the blogger.

3.  Respond back to comments on your own blog posts

  • Readers like to know you both read and value the comments they leave on your posts
  • Responding back in the comments of your post tells both that reader and other readers you value their input

#2 Link to other bloggers

All bloggers like people linking to their blogs and posts.

A good blogger follows the link in a pingback on their post to check out what a person has written about them.  If they like what you’ve written they may leave a comment and even start subscribing to your blog.

It’s good blogging etiquette to link to:

  1. A person’s blog if you mention a blogger
  2. The post if you are talking about a particular post on a blog

To learn more read:

  1. STOP! Don’t Press Publish! Have You Remembered to Add The LINKS?
  2. What’s A Pingback? And How To Write Links

#3 Building your Personal Learning Network

Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) are all about using web tools such as blogs, wiki, twitter, facebook to create connects with others which extend our learning, increases our reflection while enabling us to learn together as part of a global community.

Making time to connect with others in meaningful ways will build your blog’s readership.  People who already connect online are more likely to read and interact with your blog than your friends and family who aren’t as connected.

Twitter is currently the most important tool for connecting; especially since many now prefer to obtain links to blog posts via twitter than subscribe using RSS.

#4 Write better blog posts

Sad fact of life…not every one who sees your blog post reads it.  Even if they read — they often don’t read it all.

To keep your readers attention:

  • Every title
  • Every paragaph
  • Every heading
  • Every word
  • Every image

——has to count!

Read Here’s My First Five Tips For Writing Better Blog Posts — it’ll help you write better blog posts!

#5 You First, Readers Second!

One of the biggest reasons why new bloggers fail is they focus entirely on writing posts to please readers.  Every post becomes a chore because they aren’t writing about what interest them but what they think interests others!

Write about:

  • things you feel strongly or passionate about
  • what you’ve learnt — if you didn’t know than it’s likely others didn’t either

Good bloggers always write to fulfil their own needs first because they know by doing so they fulfil the needs of their readers!!!!

FINAL THOUGHTS

These were my five top tips for building your blog’s readership!  What have I missed?  Do you disagree with my advice? What would you expand on?

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