Housekeeping

Several people this week asked why I no longer allow Anonymous Users to comment on the blog. The reason is comment spam: literally the same day Blogger started its new spam filtering process, I was inundated with comment spam. It was truly "coincidental." I'd always had a handful of spam comments before but this is something else entirely: we're talking 30 or 40 a day. This uptick in volume was very strange seeing as how it coincided with Blogger's new spam filtering service but what do I know; I always suspected companies like Google and AOL are in cahoots with the spammers. Blogger gives me this blog for free so I wouldn't be shocked to learn somewhere down the food chain they're making money off of us.

*** Adjusts tinfoil hat. ***

Anyway, last night I switched back to allowing Anonymous Users before going to bed and I woke up this morning to 10 spam comments. So it appears they found me again. Sorry. I'm changing back. I just don't have time to troll through dozens of spam comments a day.

I understand registering with Google or OpenID is a hassle and undesirable to some folks. I already have a Google account via Blogger so I really can't appreciate why its an ordeal but I trust you when you tell me you'll get inundated with e-mail spam. Believe me, I trust you on this one! I guess the spammers have won.

I don't understand spam. It seems so pointless to me. Why does anyone think this is a good way to advertise their product? You really think pissing people off is a great sales pitch? Of course, spammers aren't selling a product they are trolling for hits, but still: I thought the whole point of a hit is to get a page view and ideally a sale. I don't see it working that way.

I recently heard of the guy behind Dan Hates Spam. Daniel Balsam is a lawyer who now makes a very comfortable living suing spammers. He lives entirely off of the pre-trial settlements and judgments. I'm told this is how Fred Phelps and his merry hatemongers make their living, too: filing First Amendment lawsuits and living off the judgments. I prefer Daniel Balsam's ploy: spammers are truly the scum of the earth.

Maybe some day I'll change from Blogger to WordPress but no one has told me that this service is any better.