Is anyone else on WordPress being carpet-bombed with a much-larger-than-usual quantity of spam? I’m not talking about a modest uptick; I’m talking about an exponential increase. Normally spam counts ebb and flow, but this is more like a tidal wave.
Years ago, when I had few followers and fewer regular readers, and likes and comments were rare occurrences, I started using spam for blogging fodder. My first spam post received multiple likes and comments, which was a new experience for me, so I did a few more of them. Somewhere along the way I got out of the habit, but every now and then I think about reviving the series. Meanwhile, here’s a little stroll down memory lane — my very first spam post, from 2013.
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Spam is a fact of life for bloggers. At bluebird of bitterness I get anywhere from a dozen to a couple dozen spam comments daily. Assuming there aren’t too many of them, I’ll usually skim through them before deleting to see if any legitimate comments have gotten caught in the spam filter (it happens occasionally). Sometimes in the process I find some pretty weird stuff, including comments that read as if they had been written in Russian, then translated from Russian into Swahili, and then from Swahili into English. The headline above is just one example of this type of comment, but I’ve collected lots of them over the last couple of years.
Some are critical, even insulting:
How is it that just anybody can write a blog and get as popular as this? Its not like youve said anything incredibly impressive more like youve painted a pretty picture over an issue that you know nothing about! I dont want to sound mean, here. But do you really think that you can get away with adding some pretty pictures and not really say anything?
Nearly all of the commentary on this web site dont make sense.
The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.
Hey, you used to write excellent, but the last several posts have been kinda boring. I miss your tremendous writings. Past several posts are just a little bit out of track!
Sorry, pal, but you get what you pay for.
Some offer suggestions for how I could improve the site:
Naturally like your web site however you need to test the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I to find it very bothersome to tell the reality on the other hand I will surely come again again.
Typically the photos usually are secondary – we are seeking interesting banter, soulful debate, gripping waters of opinions bursting through your photos.
Any reader seeking soulful debate or gripping waters of opinions should look elsewhere, because bluebirds don’t deal in that sort of thing.
With some spammers, it can be a little challenging to determine whether they love me or love me not:
Accidently found your website when looking for different cake recipes, dont know how that happened! Google can be so dumb sometimes.
Thought about numerous clarifications relating to this challenge initially and you also possess smashed all those meals by means of showing a new must-see of an publish.
The other thing that makes me really sad is that people think it is adorable to have a pig that is overweight.
I just got up from sleep and I am already reading your post. It means something!
I agree along with you 100%. I would hesitation, for one thing, but I think that not worthy of talking about.
Oh, I agree — definitely not worthy of talking about.
A few spammers express profound puzzlement at my lack of fame:
I cant consider youre no more fashionable because you undoubtedly have the gift.
What i don’t understood is in reality how you’re not actually a lot more well-favored than you might be right now. You are so intelligent. You know therefore significantly on the subject of this subject, made me in my view consider it from so many varied angles. Its like women and men don’t seem to be interested until it’s something to accomplish with Lady gaga!
What i don’t realize is if truth be told how you are no longer really a lot more smartly-appreciated than you might be right now.
Listen, if you think I deserve to be fashionable, well-favored, and smartly-appreciated, then you should get all your friends to subscribe to bluebird of bitterness. That’s how a blogger gets to be fashionable, well-favored, and smartly-appreciated.
Sometimes there are questions from folks who are too lazy to scroll to the bottom of the page to find the answer:
Your web site quite a bit up fast! What web host are you the usage of?
But a lot of spam comments are actually rather flattering, once I decipher them:
Everyone loves what you guys tend to be up too. Such clever work and exposure definitely works for me!
Rattling nice style and wonderful content, nothing at all else we want.
Observe up the monumental hunk of process, I show handful points on this internet site also I deem that your net scene is stimulating furthermore has places of splendid news.
Lucky me I discovered your site by accident, and I’m shocked why this accident didn’t took place earlier!
I actually wanted to jot down a brief note in order to appreciate you for those magnificent secrets you are posting on this site.
This web page is somewhat captivating. I’m delightful I discovered it for the reason that I learned some recommendations at this time. Preserve blogging.
Terrific, what a pleasant learn! This discussion board is strictly what I was looking for, joyful I found this!
Undeniably believe that which you said. Your favorite reason appeared to be on the net the easiest thing to be aware of.
It’s a obedient dishonor you don’t a gift money add! I’d definitely ply money for this fantastical webpage!
Im simply no expert, on the other hand imagine you merely made the very best point. You undoubtedly know very well what youre discussing, and I will surely get behind in which.
I will not debate together with your endings simply believe you are precise on the income!
Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it. Look advanced to more added agreeable from you!
Wow, this paragraph is pleasant, my sister is analyzing these kinds of things, thus I am going to let know her.
My good friend and I were just talking about this particular subject, jane is always wanting to prove me wrong! I am going to present her this particular write-up and additionally rub it in a little!
Wow, what a blog! I mean, you just have so a lot guts to go ahead and tell it like it’s. Youre what blogging needs, an open minded superhero who isnt afraid to tell it like it is.
Your means of describing the whole thing in this article is in fact good, every one be capable of without difficulty understand it.
This article is so great, i bet no one will dislike it.
Dislike it? I should say not — not if they know what’s good for them.
Don’t even THINK about disliking this.
Click here for more spam-related hilarity.
Rattling nice style, there. There is ones hope ever sometimes to be smartly appreciate. For absolute indeed, this one smartly appreciate your page.
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I smartly appreciate you taking time comment to post.
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😀 lol
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I read for enjoy, much laughter evoked. My English, she no so good, but faith I must in spell checker. Never wrong. No error here. Also, we no see you cat. Never cat. Away go you and stop asking muchly.
(no offense to anyone who does have trouble translating from their own language to English. It can be confusing) BWAHAHHAHAH…
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You should write spam emails for a living, seriously.
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“Spam Communications Engineer”
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🙂
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Haha, I’m really hoping most of these are auto-generated! Spam AI is not quite good enough even to enter the uncanny valley. But once it does, that should be a laugh! Haha 😬.
That person insulting you though, lol, they seem real but deranged. They gave up on you after just several ‘bad’ posts? Lol.
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Oh by the way, I seem to not be getting the amounts of spam that other people get, unless it’s just that I don’t have enough followers yet to get it. Although actually, maybe it’s just Gmail doing a good job of filtering out spam emails. I’ve only had a few comments that were worthy of being spamified. So I can’t say that I’ve seen any increase personally! Though, one of the bloggers that I follow did post about this— suggesting that their spam had increased with/because of coronavirus. And this does actually seem to be a trend!
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/667-spike-in-email-phishing-attacks-due-to-coronavirus-fears/
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Nope! I have no weird WordPress-related emails, and about 3 dodgy comments in a year.
I did find this generic spam email though:
“I want to be sure that your email is still active. Please take all my
life savings and adopt my son. I was diagnosed of Lung and bronchial
cancer which has spread, and I will not survive according to my
Oncologist report,”
LOL
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If it had anything to do with coronavirus, shouldn’t it have started last spring, instead of last week?
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Oh, ok nevermind then! I hadn’t realised it was so recent 😆.
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Lol! I’ve been getting tons of spam too, glad I’m not the only one! 🙂
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Sounds like we’re all in the same boat. 🙂
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I get spam like this, too. Most obviously haven’t read the post as it’s often irrelevant to what I wrote. I did a post informing of a free offer of one of my books. Spam said what I good expert I am and how my post had helped them! Duh!
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I’ve gotten spam comments chiding me for not using enough pictures on a post that was nothing BUT pictures.
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The spam I get most of is:
Muchas gracias. ?Como puedo iniciar sesion?
Spanish for:
Thank you very much. How can I log in?
😂
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😳😆
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That’s the one I keep getting…the “muchas gracias” crowd. Pages of them…
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Well my good fellow I am pleased so much that you wrote this masterpiece and shared it with us despite our inadequacies. What platform are your using? I like very much, the look is very professorial. You can purchase my guide “How to be a successful gigolo” by clicking the link http://www.iwanttomakealoadadosh.com
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I suspect my comment went in your spam folder!
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Nope, just moderation. Links will do that to you. 🙂
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I, too, have been getting a tsunami of spam comments lately. Maybe the coronavirus has everybody sequestered at home, with nothing better to do?
This post is hilarious, Bluebird. ❤
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You’re not going to believe this, Lady Q, but your comment got sent to the spam folder. And you’ve been commenting here for years!
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Right! I am working with Askimet right now, hoping to resolve this. For the past week, my comments have been going to spam. I don’t even know.
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I’m just glad I have this weird habit of checking the spam before deleting it. 🙂
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I am thankful for your weird spam checking habit, my dear friend. I have the same weird habit. The vast majority of the comments in my spam folder are definitely from spammers. But every once in awhile, I find a comment that isn’t spam.
Askimet just informed me that they found and fixed the problem, yaay! Their customer service people are great.
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NOW I know what is missing from your site! You’ve accomplished nothing with Lady gaga!
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Lady Quixote, here…. 😀
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Lady Q beats Lady gaga any day of the week.
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Awwwwwww!!! ❤❤❤
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I don’t think I even knew who Lady Gaga was when I got that spam comment for the first time (circa 2011). I’m an ignoramus when it comes to popular culture.
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Well those are a lot better than the obscene ones I get that are about a mile long.🥴😃
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad
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Maybe those mile-long obscene ones were really meant for “How To Be A Successful Gigolo” referenced above????? 😉
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😀 😀 😀
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No just disgusting
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Oh, dear. I hope my comment didn’t come across as dismissive of your disgust. My apologies if so.
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ALL of us find those obscene spam comments disgusting. I didn’t include any of them in my post because this is a PG-rated site. 🙂
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No worries
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🙂
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For the last several months, I’ve been getting dozens of spam messages that say “Muchas gracias. ?Como puedo iniciar sesion?” (“Thank you very much. How can I log in?”) They’re all directed at one specific post and appear to come from multiple locations (probably sent through a VPN to scramble where they’re really coming from.)
Most of the rest of my spam is written in Cyrillic characters and contains multiple links to foreign porn sites…
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Yep, I get some of those too.
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Akismet. WordPress plugin, excludes spam
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Akismet works pretty well most of the time, but I still check the spam filter because sometimes legitimate comments get caught in it. Yours, for example. 🙂
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One week, I got over 1500 spam comments. One informed me that recently my writing had declined, so I was very offended and not even the offer to increase my penis size (I am female) helped to entertain me 😉
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I get those “male-enhancement” messages too. I thought I’d made it perfectly clear that while I identify as a male bluebird online, in real life I identify as a female human. Whatever product they’re trying to sell wouldn’t help either the bluebird or the human side of me.
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This is very true, but you never know, maybe we could both grow one and want it to be bigger
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Scary thought…
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Very
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Oh, that cat! LOLOL!
(It wouldn’t surprise me if some EXCELLENT cake recipes end up getting baked in The Bluebird Kitchen every now and then 🙂 )
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Yes — no thanks to Google. 🙂
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Bluebird, your site just keeps getting better and better – since I first stumbled on it a few years ago, I have enjoyed all you post (that belong to us…). ;P
Just keep on plugging away, I’m sure you ignore the crapola that gets shoveled your way and pay it no heed!
Illegitimi non carborundum, FWIW.
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😀 😀 😀
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Besides what I commented above, I also get a lot of Russian spam, drug spam and sex-cam spam.
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The sex-cam spam is really annoying.
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Especially when my mousey pointer accidentally slides over the web link on my way to the delete button…
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I know! Gross!!
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I love these! I get a lot of spam asking who is the admin and drug spam.
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Oh gosh, I get those ones asking for the admin all the time.
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