How do I block spam followers?
-
Is there a way to block spam followers? Since my blog was featured in Freshly Pressed in May, I’ve been plagued by “followers” to my blog who turn out, on inspection, to be commercial websites selling stuff (computers, supplements, property in Thailand), which are clearly somehow “subscribing” to my blog in an automated way that I don’t understand. Spam comments to my blog are successfully filtered by Akismet, but spam followers seem to have a back door.
I’m getting between five and seven of these a day now! One or two are genuine (you can usually tell by their names), but I’m wary of even clicking on the blogs to check their validity, as they may be “phishing”. Is there a way of blocking followers, please?
(Further to this: I was informed by email yesterday that my second WordPress blog is to be Freshly Pressed. This is a newer blog and I fear this will also be swamped by spambots. I’ve emailed back to request that it is not featured in Freshly Pressed, but have had no reply.)
Any helpful tips, please?
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
-
We cannot block or delete subscribers from public blogs. Anyone and everyone can access public blogs and that’s indeed what the public designation means. However, please read this about public blogs that become private blogs > Blog Privacy and Subscribers > http://wpcommaven.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/blog-privacy-and-subscribers/
Note that you have complete control comment moderation. http://en.support.wordpress.com/settings/discussion-settings/#comment-moderation If your blog is public others can, of course, read it and they can submit comments but you can Moderate all comments and choose which ones to approve or not.
I suggest you set your blog so that first time commenters are held in moderation until their first comment is approved, then from that point forward they will not need approval. Settings > Discussion. The next step up is to set it so that all comments are held in moderation until approved. http://en.support.wordpress.com/settings/discussion-settings/
Mark only spam as spam http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2013/01/24/mark-only-spam-as-spam/ and delete all troll comments. http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/how-to-starve-a-troll/
For trolls, you can “blacklist” them at Settings > Discussion toward the bottom of that page. Enter their email address, their username, and if they included it, their website URL. That will automatically send them to moderation so that their comments do not appear on the blog. Do note though that if they are determined, they can use a different email address or username to get around that.
Also, do not put their IP address in the blacklist. IP addresses are no longer unique, and you might end up blocking legitimate visitors. Also, all they would have to do is go to a wi-fi hot spot, or connect via a different ISP and they could get around that.
-
On the bottom of your > Settings > Discussion page you can set the maximum rating for gravatars. If someone has an inappropriate rating for a Gravatar image that’s actually porno orientated you can use the “Report Abuse” link on their Gravatar profile bottom right hand corner to let Staff know. If the follower has an inappropriate blog hosted here at WordPress.com, you can also report that to Staff. See here Report Mature or Spam Blogs
-
Thanks for replying, and for all the links. I have absolutely no problem with comments. I moderate, and Akismet filters out most of the spam. My only problem is with spam subscribers. Having read the link, it’s perfectly clear to me that there’s nothing I can do about it. (Other than switch to “private” which is a bit like not having a blog at all, as far as I’m concerned.)
I must admit, I really wish I’d not been in Freshly Pressed. It seemed flattering at the time, and I can’t undo it, but all it’s done is lay me open to spambots. I hope the Freshly Pressed editor who contacted me replies to my email requesting for my second blog not to be featured in Pressed …
-
Thanks for your second reply! I’ll have a go at the gravatar ratings setting. (I am currently attempting to report all the spam blogs who follow me, but it’s an arduous process and – as I mentioned above – I fear clicking on strange-looking URLs!)
-
The bottom line here is we WordPress.com users have no management capability over followers. http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2013/04/09/wordpress-com-follower-management/
-
-
@cherilucas
If there is some meanbs of managing our followers please post it here publicly. -
-
-
My request for my second blog not to be Freshly Pressed has been politely and sympathetically accepted. I figured: one blog with a spam target painted on its back is enough for me!
(I now accept that you can’t be “public” without attracting unwanted traffic. It clearly comes with the territory.)
-
(I now accept that you can’t be “public” without attracting unwanted traffic. It clearly comes with the territory.)
Yes it does and it means we cannot have much confidence in the numbers of followers reflected in our site stats. Clearly some are not motivated a true interest to engage with the content they find on our sites. They are merely following and clicking like buttons to attract traffic back to their commercial sites.
-
Clearly some are not motivated a true interest to engage with the content they find on our sites. They are merely following and clicking like buttons to attract traffic back to their commercial sites.
Which is why I have suggested that the display of specific followers & “likes” be blocked from being displayed on a site –
However in looking at the amount of traffic I get back from comments and likes is minimal – maybe the link back is worth more to a search engine?
-
Fascinated to know how a bunch of morons using YouTube can start a chinwag on my site on a totally unrelated topic when they’re all moderated, spammed then permanently deleted by me. Perhaps someone might like to enlighten me because it has me banjaxed!
I have the commercial rubbish as well, plus the what site platform are you using bilge.
-
No one can start any conversation on your blog unless you approve their comments. Note that you have complete control comment moderation. http://en.support.wordpress.com/settings/discussion-settings/#comment-moderation If your blog is public others can, of course, read it and they can submit comments but you can Moderate all comments and choose which ones to approve or not.
-
@traceymorait
We do not delete spam because doing that means the spam filter does not learn it is spam. We mark it as spam because Akismet is a learning engine. See here please https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/spam-comments-have-increased-in-number?replies=2#post-1858826 -
Thanks for your help @timethief. It seems I’m confusing comments with discussion. I didn’t realise they were separate elements.
I have taken your advice, gone through the options, and added YouTube to the blacklist. This seems to have done the job on those comments, at least. Naturally I don’t want to completely block genuine followers from commenting.
- The topic ‘How do I block spam followers?’ is closed to new replies.
WordPress.com Forums 