The Conservative Cat

Here's a typical example of this kind of comment. (I've Xed out some stuff to protect people's privacy.)

IP Address: 221.232.246.203
Name: Jason XXXXXX
Email Address: XXXXX@gmail.com
URL: http://belikethesquirrel.myblogsite.com/blog/_archives/2005/9/7/1205786.html

You have some really cool stuff at your site. I'm sure gonna come back here. out little pieces of bread and cups of juice: http://www.nvswaminathan.com/wp/?p=2 , <a href="http://www.cosmicbuddha.com/blog/archives/001169.html">Fantastic blog</a>

The comment is obviously bogus, because it's attached to a very old article (a common spammer trick) and it contains a sample of the idiot-language that is the trademark of all spam. If Bruce allows this comment to see the light of day, the theory is that any subsequent comment with the same name and email address will pass through our spam filter.

It's worth noting that all three of the links in the above comment point to legitimate blog articles. If you go to the actual blogs you will often find a fairly recent article denying any responsibility for the spam.

Movable Type's rule system allows you to assign different weights to the various criteria. If the spammers are successful in creating these fake identities, bloggers will simply adjust the weights to compensate. In addition, the default settings for Movable Type 3.2 flags for moderation any post with three links in it. The above comment does, in fact, contain exactly three links (the URL in the header counts), so it is going to be flagged for moderation and immediately junked in almost every case.

The penalty for allowing comment spam is severe: the constant activity can bring down your web server. (That's why we got thrown off Lunarpages.) Nonetheless, I consider the pointlessness and stupidity of this strategy to be hopeful sign. It means the smart people have gone elsewhere, and maybe we can look forward to a future where these people are only a nuisance instead of a constant threat. Let's hope that day comes soon.

Respectfully submitted,

Ferdinand T. Cat