SSPR - Please Stop Spamming Bloggers (Updated with SSPR Response)

Dear SSPR,
You have been sending me emails for months now, apparently from someone named Sarah who always has a "Story Idea:" for me. Since then I have asked three times (including a voicemail) to be removed from your distribution list. What happened today?  I received another email from Sarah about another awesome "STORY IDEA".

I've given up trying to stop your emails. You obviously don't care about my requests, or care that you're proving to me and a lot of others that you accomplish the opposite effect of PR - you demean your clients in front of the very people you're trying to reach. I would never write a story after receiving a pitch from you.

Are Spammers Machiavellian?

It started with a tweet.  Eddie Codel described Boston's streets as "Kafkaesque."  I found it on Wikipedia (it means disorienting), along with a listing of other name-inspired words. One caught my eye: Machiavellianism. The first line of the Wikipedia entry:

A Spammer is Spoofing My Email Address

How fun.  Imagine my delight to wake up the last couple of days to find thousands of bounced emails - all with my address in the From: line.  It's such an honor to see my address associated with other legitimate brands that are so proven in the fields of appendage enlargement. 

Here's what happens...

A spammer needs to send spam emails and they don't want to use an address associated with them.  So, they add someone else's address to the From: field of the email.  When the email bounces, it comes to the person's address. In this case, me.

Human Spam Comments - Where to Draw the Line?

The arms race between spammers and bloggers continues and I often feel like I'm on the front lines.  I'm so thankful for tools like Akismet that automatically prevent bots from spewing bullshit in blog comments.  

Site Note: Please Prove You Are Human

As Darren would say, this is a boring site note.  I have finally turned on Captcha for comments to blog posts.  This means that, in order to post a comment, you'll have to answer a simple question to prove you are human. I have a feeling you'll pass the test with flying colors.

More than anything, I want to know if you have any problems with the system. Thanks.

Updated: I'm testing a new system that I can't discuss right now (it's in private beta).  This means that you may not see the captcha question as described above.  

We're Off Like the Comments

We're taking off for Sayulita, Mexico, where our good friends are getting married next week.  We'll be back in action on November 12th. Until then, we won't be returning emails and answering phones on time.

Part of this vacation includes a vacation from dealing the beloved comment spammers.  Comments are off until we return. Adios amigos.   

Comments Off For a Bit (Updated: Comments Now On)

Updated: Comments are currently on.

Unfortunately, this site is getting absolutely HAMMERED by comment spam from a single source.  100's of bullshit comments a day for a few days now - all peoples' names.  Akismet (a comment spam fighting tool) isn't picking them up and I'm tired of dealing  - especially with a weekend on the way.

I'll turn on the comments again soon.  If you want to be in touch, please use the contact form. 

Our RSS Video - Hijacked on YouTube

Check this out... someone uploaded a bullshit version of our RSS in Plain English video to YouTube with a crappy ad on it.

I would love it if you could help me rectify this situation by reporting it to YouTube as inappropriate and/or leaving a comment on the video about it being a fake.

More on 43 Things "Neighborhood Watch"

A little while back, I wrote about a brand new feature from the Robots who created the online community site 43 Things . The feature is "neighborhood watch" and it enables "community members in good standing" to contribute to fighting the site's growing spam problem.

Just to day Daniel Spils posted a follow up describing how it has worked so far.

My Favorite Spam Comment

The last few days here at Common Craft headquarters have been a mix of elation and dismay. We've been working hard on the next version of our website. Now, this isn't just a design change - it involves a completely new platform, new host and new design. I had high hopes of a smooth transition, but those hopes were dashed in the last couple of days by DNS server geekery.