I want to thank you all for your kind comments and words of affirmation on the new blog design. I have to admit I had a moment of panic the minute I hit that button and applied the changes to my blog. I've never been much good at change, and part of me missed that riot of noxious pink the moment it was gone.
For the sake of posterity, I'm preserving a bit of "Diva Pink" in the banner - at least for now. Or until I finally get off my ass and make a real header ... but don't hold your breath for that ... unless you've got 911 on speed-dial.
I've added a recent comments link in the column at right. I think it helps to foster a sense of community and I hope it will help you to more easily visit your fellow "Beach-goers" and discover some cool new blogs in the process.
Speaking of comments, I've had a spate of spam lately ... and a most insidious form of spam it is, too. Cloaked in the guise of semi-constructive / negative comments, this new form of spammer seeks to promote whatever it is they are promoting by pretending to be a person and leaving provocative comments - in hopes that readers will click on their name and be directed to their site. If you do, you'll be directed to any number of commercial websites. Its maddening!
I've been deleting them, but its happening with greater frequency.
I'm debating moving to comment moderation mode, but I'm not wild about the idea. I'm frequently away and I think it would be frustrating for you to post a comment in good faith, yet not have it appear for a few days. In particular, I'm concerned about weekends, when I'm rarely near a computer. Which leads me to my question of the day:
How do you feel about comment moderation? Would it frustrate you to leave a comment on a Friday and not have it appear until Monday? Would that inhibit you from commenting?
Please feel free to state your honest opinion in the comments. I want you to enjoy your experience here on Beach Eats and I appreciate your input.
Meanwhile, its pouring today and I couldn't be happier about it. The skies are gray, the temp is a shocking, and most welcome, 68 degrees at present and I am loving every minute of it. Such a relief after the relentless heat we've had this summer. I'd say its a perfect day for baking, but I'm consumed with more mundane and less tasty chores today.
I hope to have one or two yummy bites for you later on in the week, but for now, its back to the chores.
Happy Monday, and thanks again!
i do love the new layout! its awesome!
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to comments, you gotta do what you gotta do! sucks taht your comments are getting all spammed up and what not..
Moderated comments don't bother me one bit. Totally understandable. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Love your writing style.
I do comment moderation on my blog. I'm like you- some weekends I don't even go near a computer, but it seems to work fine for me.
ReplyDeleteAs a reader, it would not bother me in the least.
Blogger needs to add a feature where they send you a text when you have a comment and let you manage by sms if you want. Or do they?
Mo - Thank you, sister Diva! :)
ReplyDeleteMrs. Potts - You are so sweet, thank so much for you input and the kind words! :)
Kitten with a Whisk - first, love your name! Second, what a great idea about SMS moderation. If they don't have it they should!
I appreciate all the thoughts on moderation. I don't necessarily want to do it, but I'm considering ...
I understand comment moderation but find it can interfere with the conversation. One of the reasons I switched my blog to Wordpress was that it has a very good spam filter. Sure the odd comment creeps through, and it holds the occasional legitimate note, but I like it better since people don't have to go through the annoyance of word verification (which I understand is necessary on some platforms) and people can see their comment right away. Sometime I wonder if my comment will go through, so don't like moderation that delays.
ReplyDeleteLong answer. I know. But in the end you have to do what works best for you. Spammers adjust their methods as filters catch up to them. So it's always a game.
Good luck with your decision. And your header.
Set your blog so that comments must be moderated when a post is, say, 3 days old. I catch a lot of spam that way, and it doesn't inconvenience my readers.
ReplyDeleteI have a bunch of weird ass comments as a result of my year-long hiatus. It's ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried changing the "Who Can Comment?" option to "registered" or "google account" users? What a PITA.
Charmian - that's exactly why I hesitate to do it. I think it does interfere with the conversation ... particularly when the moderator isn't around all the time to post the comments ... like me.
ReplyDeleteI toyed with the idea of switching to wordpress ... but its not going to happen for a variety of reasons. And, you're right, spammers are always switching up their game. I'm just feeling bitchy about it because its happened a lot these last two weeks.
I really appreciate your thoughtful answer, thank you!
Lola - that is a fabulous idea! Especially since most of the spam seemed to appear on older posts. I'm on it. Thank you!
Mom - I noticed those weird-ass comments the other day ... then forgot to tell you about them. I have thought to change the "who can comment" option ... but I'm not sure I'll do it because I do have a few RL friends who don't have google accounts, etc., that want to comment from time to time.
Still, I'm considering that too. Thanks!
Since I moved away from blogger.com and their format I've had tons and tons of spam (but because I mediate my comments, you dont see them). Its a real pain, but I love my blog too much to change it now.
ReplyDeleteNo, it wouldn't bother me if my comments took a couple of days to show up :)
*kisses* HH
moderated comments don't bug me!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been able to blog for awhile - lack of time - but just wanted to say I like your new look! As for moderated comments - they don't worry me.
ReplyDeleteComment mod wouldn't bother me, I have it on two of my blogs hit constantly with Chinese spam. The others I have e-mail notification on every comment and I can quickly deal with it if it is spam. It's an alternative to moderating every comment.
ReplyDeleteAV
Well here's how little I know about the whole comment moderation thing...I thought most everyone did it. I do it...probably for no real reason, other than to get rid of the spam...what ever you decide to do, I will keep coming back!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the most irritating aspects of maintaining a blog, and it feels like spammers are becoming more emboldened. I moderate every post past a week and that takes care of 95% of the spam. This system works for me as most of the comments are entered within the first 3 days. I hope you find a good solution.
ReplyDeleteModerate away! Like Lola and Fresh, Local, Best, I monitor comments made more than 3 days after posting. I did this at first because I wanted to be notified if an old post received a new comment so that I could respond! Now, however, I'm falling behind on current comments but it has served well as a form of spam filter. 8-)
ReplyDeleteSimple and informative is what comes to my mind after visiting here. Best wishes.
ReplyDeleteA girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. In the brave new world of Net freaks and wierdos if delayed comments help then go for it! I think your readers have all made good suggestions. Perhaps trying them one at a time will let you know which works best for you. I don't mind delays or anything you have to do to keep an important part of my daily routine going. Put me down in the love BeachEats column.!
ReplyDeleteNo problem for me with moderation in any form (wink!)
ReplyDeleteIf you're getting spammed get rid of them before they are a problem for your devoted readers.
Love ya Diva! No moderation will keep me from reading away....
Again, I want to thank you all for your input and creative thoughts on this topic. I value all of your comments and wouldn't want to do anything to make your experience here less pleasant.
ReplyDeleteI think I will probably switch to moderating only the older comments as was suggested by a few of you. I think its a good compromise and one that will not detract from the flow here.
Thank you!!!
xoxoxo
Comment moderation is just fine. Also I've been using the intensedebate comment system for a while and I very rarely get any spam (if I do, they always catch it in a special folder).
ReplyDeleteI can definitely empathize--I've been getting a burst of spam comments lately too, mostly on my older posts and mostly with comments similar to yours. Except they send people to generic viagra sites.
ReplyDeleteBut I decided to keep my comments live and not moderate them. I agree with Charmian that it interferes in the conversation, and readers can't really interact with the comments from other readers as well.
At the same time, I wouldn't begrudge you the option of moderating comments. I don't decide to read or comment on blogs based on whether there's comment moderating, so it would make no difference to me. And it sounds like most of your other readers feel the same way.
My best to you--and my curses to these spammers!
Dan
Casual Kitchen