So, I read through the contents of my spam filter and thought: ” Some of these comments are actually quite good and some, although a bit silly, are very entertaining. ”  I needed more comments for Bloggasaurus, and as other bloggers have discovered, legitimate comments are often in short supply, so, I reasoned that, perhaps, I could find a way to use these rather than delete them. 

A few months before, a blogger left a comment on my original blog, in which he suggested to me that, perhaps, I should not be too rigid in  not approving comments which had commercial links or addresses attached.  Until that e-mail, it was my policy to ban, outright, anything remotely resembling spam that ended up in my spam filter.  He reasonably made the case that there was no harm in allowing some selected spam comments to be used as valid comments as long as there were no embedded, “no-follow” links in the text.  I thought about that and decided that he was right.  I do not remember his name because his comment along with all the data in my database was erased in a host company debacle early in the year ( see “Apologies, Farewell and Welcome.”) and I owe him my thanks because he taught me that flexibility can often bring rewards in more creative choices.

After this “Aha!” moment, I began to look at comment spam in a different way and realized that many of the comments that had been filtered out by my spam filter could be reconstituted for use as valid comments, as long as I would permit a commercial URL or link.  That is when I decided to start using selected comment spam as regular comments in my posts if they have some merit, in my opinion ( although, I still tag them as “spam” to let readers know that these were not ordinary comments-necessary since my responses to these are not ordinary responses.)

The advantage for me (and for any blogger that also decides to try this) is that, while valid comments are still rare, I still can use a large number of comments culled from my spam filter  that more than compensate for the lack of ordinary, valid comments.  Some of these comments are, frankly, quite amusing, although they were probably not intended to be, and, I thought, it would be a shame to waste them without sharing them with interested readers.  A few of these comments from my spam filter are a bit sarcastic and a little arrogant too and  some writers seem to feel that I need to be lectured.  I like these.   I enjoy them because it gives me the opportunity to have a little fun (admittedly, at the expense of the spammer, though with no malice on my part) and to dust off my rarely used dry sarcasm which is reserved for spammers only.

So, although I do not like spam and think it would be better if we didn’t have to deal with it, I have found a way to use it and enjoy it.  In my next post, I will share the best of these reconstituted spam comments with you and my responses to them.  The comments are often a bit bizarre, but so are my answers and I hope some of my readers, especially new bloggers or ”about-to-be new bloggers” will enjoy seeing what a blogger has to deal with sometimes.

Converting selected comment spam into valid comments is only one way to make practical use of spam.  There is another use.   When you select the comment that you will approve and respond to, you allow a commercial link and this is a link that you can click on to visit your spammers site.  It is only fair that you should be able to leave a comment of your own on his or her website, along with the url to your web site.  You should always check out the site of the  spam commenter to ensure that it is appropriate and acceptable to your professional standards and to the sensibilities of your readers if any of them should decide to follow that link.  In some cases there are pornographic URLs or other objectionable sites attached to the comment spam and it is not always obvious until you click on the link.  Always check out the links.

When you realize that comment spam can be of some practical use as raw material for valid comments , you will be able to greatly expand the comments attached to your posts and by using the spammer’s URL and link, you can go to their site, leave a real comment and forge a potentially valuable backlink.

To examine some of these comments and see examples of how to use them in a , hopefully, engaging and entertaining way, please have a look at the next post which consists of the best examples I have rescued from my spam filter and used in various posts as  bona fide comments.

Take care and “see you next time.”

–Wil

1. Spam in blogs (also called simply blog spam or comment spam) is a form of spamdexing. It is done by automatically posting random comments or promoting commercial services to blogs, wikis, guestbooks, or other publicly accessible online discussion boards. Any web application that accepts and displays hyperlinks submitted by visitors may be a target.

     Adding links that point to the spammer’s web site artificially increases the site’s search engine ranking. An increased ranking often results in the spammer’s commercial site being listed ahead of other sites for certain searches, increasing the number of potential visitors and paying customers.

     From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comment_spam

2. Comment spam

      Comment spam: Comments made with the sole purpose of gaining a backlink, which in turn will send traffic or link juice (provided the blog in question doesn’t use the no follow tag) to the site of the spammer. Some spam comments are very explicit and come with several links to drug or gambling related sites. Other forms are more subtle, where the commenter actually tries to leave a relevant message on the blog.

From: http://aris-haryana.blogspot.com/2008/11/bloggers-glossary-part-2.html

3.   Often blog comments include URLs, as a result spammers will often post blog comments in an effort to boost the incoming links to their websites. Comment spam often make no sense and the comments are simply a product plug. : Comments made with the sole purpose of gaining a backlink, which in turn will send traffic or link juice (provided the blog in question doesn’t use the no follow tag) to the site of the spammer. Some spam comments are very explicit and come with several links to drug or gambling related sites. Other forms are more subtle, where the commenter actually tries to leave a relevant message on the blog. 

To summarize: Spammers hope to send their comment spam to your blog so that the link they have embedded in their comment will create a “backlink” ( linking your site to theirs) thus making their site seem more popular and relevant to search engine robots. This can result in their site getting a better page ranking. You may not wish to be the unwitting host parasitized by spammers. Spammers do not ask your permission to use your site for their sole advantage.

     Spam was not much of a problem for me (until recently,) but as anyone with an established website can tell you, as soon as your traffic increases , so to, unfortunately, does the volume of comment spam.   When you set up your blog, you can expect the same and that is why it is a very good idea to make sure you have installed a spam filter on your web site.

 Take care and hope to have you visit again soon.—wil