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"Would You Like a Side of SPAM with Your Comments?" - Blog Tips for Rain Drips

Okay, so we're working through the guidelines, and one of the areas that we are most definitely going to revise/clarify BIG TIME is in regards to what constitutes SPAM.

(Can I get a loud, collective 'AMEN!" from the ActiveRain Choir?)

Just so we are all on the same page here:

The first point of our ActiveRain Community Guidelines states:

Do not advertise yourself or your services in the comment section of another members blog post.

(What part of 'DO NOT' do we NOT understand here?)

This practice is normally referred to as "Comment SPAM." It is something that bothers and annoys the large majority of members in our community. We get a fairly significant amount of 'Contact ActiveRain' mail complaining about other members who consistently promote or advertise within the confines of their blog comments. Here is an example:

Hi Gloria, As you know, a big part of being involved here on ActiveRain is to help each other. The best way that I've found is by visiting each others' website, to improve Internet search rankings. I checked out your website, and I liked the pretty sunset design, that's really cool. If you have a second, please return the favor by checking out my website at http://www.dontyouhatespam.net/

01/21/2008 02:30 PM by George Spamalot Edit Delete Report as Spam

This comment adds absolutely NOTHING to the discussion. It has no bearing or relevance on the topic. Conversational blogging is about engaging the reader. It's about establishing a meaningful dialogue. The 'Comment Section' of someone else's blog post it is NOT, I repeat, NOT the place to promote your business, website, widget, services, etc..

There are other, more effective ways to use this network for promoting your business/services.

Interrupting the conversation is NOT one of them!

for Your Contiuned Reading Enjoyment:

"Removing Your Own Spam"

"Comment Junk Mail"

"The Karma of Comments"

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

social-media-is-a-conversation

Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com

Posted by Rich Jacobson Your Kitsap County WA Real Estate Broker on 01/22/2008 07:40 PM

Comments (65)

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65 Comments on "Would You Like a Side of SPAM with Your Comments?" - Blog Tips for Rain Drips

JAN

2008

AMEN, AMEN, AMEN, and I'll even throw in a HALLELUJAH!

AMMMMMMEEEEENNNN, I agree I dont like it when people advertise themselves in my comment section, write your own blog and promote yourself.

Yes that little spammer has made the rounds. Thanks for "tightening" up the rules!

Rich - Great post. I would like add that posting your web address or links of any sort in the comments section have "nofollow" tags, so there is absolutely NO (zero, nada) link value by adding them.

I think this is a common misconception and major reason that people do this so often.

www.IamTheGreatestRealEstateAgentInTheWorldOnYourBlog.com

I am sure you will hear a ton of "Amens". I love it when Bob makes a comment to people not to post their link in the comment section - I see this as common sense and common courtesy. It has never happened in any of my comments but I would have no problem deleting it and sending a nice little note to the offender.

cheesey, sleezy, a way to get yourself deleted in the blogworld.

I thought of being a wiseass and saying how much I agree and then including a link to my blog. But decided it is too important a topic to make light of!

Praise the Godfather!

I must say, I actually ate spam when I was little. Between two pieces of bread with a touch of mayo.......really good. Can't get myself to eat it now though!

Your absolutely correct. That's often the problem though. We have rules and laws but some people tend to think they're above these rules and laws and therefore do as they wish.

SOOOO what are you trying to say? Just kidding, I gotcha! I totally agree and I have seen alot of the recently, but I won't tattle, if they don't read this, someone will set 'em straight.

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! Is that loud enough???

Hey...I've seen that all over...but I don't think he's name was George LOL! How about the ones that say.... and have you seen my latest post.....tadatada?

Rich, good reminder. As you may remember, I was one of these folks who didn't understand this in the beginning but as you so eloquently pointed out, "it's like going to your competitor's office and putting your for sale sign in their yard." Point taken. I think it's usually just because folks don't know better, so reminders are good. I've tried to email posters when I see it, but if they repeat after that, they deserve what they get.

Colleen

Rich, yesterday I had someone who innocuously had a link to their website in their comment. I sent a very polite e-mail stating the following:

I appreciate your comment on my blog post. Would you mind going in to edit the comment and removing the link to your outside blog? I understand that you may be newer to Active Rain, but it is not considered "proper blog etiquette" to post an advertising link within comment on other people's posts.

The response I got about 20 minutes later was as follows:

Brian, Thanks for getting back to me. In my time at 'Rain, I have never had had anyone ask me to do this. The link is my sig and it is to my outside blog.

So I wrote back again:

I understand that. And I'm not trying to be difficult. In fact, it doesn't really bother me that much. It's just that everyone's comments already have a link to their blog profile which then contains any links or information that they wish.

Trust me there are MANY people on Active Rain that get upset about these things. I'm not one of them. The problem is that posts AND COMMENTS get indexed by Google -- so when someone writes a post for their local community and then a comment has a link in the comments, that link is indexed and may cause consumers to leave the blogger's post and head off to follow the link. In this particular instance I doesn't bother me, but you should be wary that there are certain people who WILL DELETE a comment like yours without warning.

Rich, I am glad that you are disseminating this information to a wider audience who may not have read the AR guidelines.

Oh, and Sally, I don't have a problem linking to their own post, as long as it is relevant to the conversation and not leading people away from one of my own Localism posts.

Sally - I don't know if it is entirely wrong to mention another post as long as it is appropriate. Clearly your example is not appropriate, but sometimes it does add considerable value.

One of my friends got that comment on her blog yesterday from a member.

As the blogs writer you don't have the edit.... but you have the choice of :

Delete Report as Spam

Which is the correct choice when the comment spam is from another ActiveRain member? Delete? Or Report as Spam? If it is an outside comment you would definitely hit 'Report as Spam' for a dirty rootten spammer. I used to think Delete but I have started doing "Report as Spam" when there is advertising for the commenter. I usually ask people to remove the objectionable materiak, but with someone like the person who used the efficient comment above (cut and paste to a number of posts) I would do Report as Spam....

He's spammed me and I recognized him in the comment on a friends blog.

To me here's nothing wrong with links in comments as long as they are ok with the blogger but a link, tag line, graphic that advertises YOU or your business is comment spam.

I had the same email in my box a while back and just thought they were new!

Or the tactic where someone initiates a post with some tease material and then provides a link and asks you to follow the link for the conclusion ! Just seems in poor taste.

Rich- Oh my! I just looked at the weather in Silverdale, 38 degrees! Wow, that is cold for Washington. I know from living there. Thanks for writing this post but you are preaching to the choir. You don't actually those that are here to spam are going to read your post? ;)Katerina

Very good way of putting this..."interrupting the conversation." It's always bad manners to interrupt the conversation especially when others are contributing and actively adding value. I don't think that those who do this understand that this is what happens when an advertisement is inserted in a blog post.

Rich - I have had to report a few comments as spam, and I really don't hesitate when they are as blatant as the example you mentioned. In fact, I think I saw that person comment somewhere. With the links to other posts, I don't have a problem with it usually, unless it is not relevant at all.

Rich,

From one drip to another...I hate spam...either the real thing or the 'virtual' variety! Thanks, Fran

Man! Is this not just the most awesome platform on the planet?

Great post, Rich. If you ever know someone moving to Scottsdale, I would love your referral. I once was a "Citizen of the Month" at Cochise Elementary School, so your clients will be in good hands.

Please visit me for more information at www.im_a_tool.com.

Rich and Brian...nope...wasn't related to my post at all. That's not a bad thing all the time...I'd rather have them email me though and not do it on my public posts.

Rich, I couldn't agree more... I think some folks are just missing the point of the comments being there to participate and add on to the post vs. living in the "it's all about me" mentality.

Rich, I'm glad you're putting a stop to this, I've been seeing it more and more often!

Amen and Amen. And hit the delete button when you get that stuff.

Well it needs to be aid, again and again. Guess I don't get why folks feel a need to include their website when it is also in their signature, or if anyone is interested they can click on their name and go to their profile for more information. Wonder what they would think if it was done to them?

Jeff

Sheesh Rich you and all the others are being rough on a poor newbie...... Seriously.... Just joking... This is great information that I have not concidered being new to the blog world. I will be sure to pay attention to this small detail. I think you did a great job in your presentation of the topic. There are lots of great comments here as well.

Let me ask this... if you are replying to someones post and they are asking questions about a particular subject and you have acess to a link that may help explain, what would be the guide line wether to post that or not. Just want to stay on everyones good side here in AR....

I guess this would be a bad place to promote my business. LOL

I have noticed a lot more of the spamming lately. Thank you for posting this reminder. Possibly some of the new members don't realize they are showing bad etiquette.

So that's comment spam.... I thought it was when a person just pasted the same comment a dozen times on different post. Shows what I know.

JAN

2008

Thank you, thank you, oh godfather of the SMITE button!

DELETE, DELETE, DELETE the spammers!

Rich- It was mentioned here that part of comment spam is when someone comes onto your Post and says "oh by the way I just wrote a Post about.."then proceeds to tell you to go read it. This is a Blatant attempt to get people over to their Blog.....and gosh golly but the people that do it the most are saying they don't!!!!! Amazing........and that absolutely is annoying, a "me-me" attitude......and a disruption of the "conversation" as you say.

There are some on here that do it religiously.....can we clean that up too?

Rich,
You said it. Now, lets all of us do it.
aj

Katerina wrote "but you are preaching to the choir. You don't actually those that are here to spam are going to read your post?"

But there are a lot of newer people who do not delete or report as spam when they see something like that,. Or even something more subtle in the comments on their blog. Like the come read my blog... I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine kind of comments. If new people don't allow it on their blogs or develop bad habits themselves the community will be a better place.

Then there are just a few who are going to do it no matter what the guideline

THANK YOU RICH- please post this on Realtors if you have not altready done so. I appreciate your writing this post. Too often we see, no one likes it, and it and as you said.... it adds nothing to the conversation. With so many new people, I am sure they do not realize they have nothing to gain from posting their pitch in comments. Sort of like preaching to the choir don't you think?

Hi Rich- I have seen these comments on a ton of posts, so thank you for bringing up this subject, but it probably won't reach the intended audience. I have also seen that the offender has been told several times to be careful leaving his link by the authors, but continues to leave it in other posts. Is there a limit that AR determines on how many times someone can leave these comments before they are "scolded" so to speak?

I'm sure that the guilty are thinking well "where's the beef".

But Amen to your comments.

OK, now I know what SPAM is, I'll be sending it your way next time I see it. I have to confess I did link to one of my posts in a comment once... but it was a post about AR not about me and my site.

this was a cool thread... one thing to leave a comment about the posters topic...another to come in and say "nice post....by the way did you see my latest post on" and has nothing to do with anything. It's spam. And if not contributing something to the posters topic...I think it's rude...then again....that's what I get for thinking lol!

In fact....they can go write a post about reading their last post. How's that?

Hey Rich, Í think that “George Spamalot” is a close cousin of mine (he does have a great first name :)

Poor Spammers don’t they realize that “Comment Spamming” only gets them negative brownie points.

Brother George - well, could you exert some family influence, and talk him into halting the SPAM?

Rich .......... LOL

Teach new bloggers before they go out into the blogosphere and make enemies... of people they may have to do business with in the future. Look at the second comment on Toby Boyce's outside blog... another Delaware County agent left a comment looking for business complete with broadcasting her phone number? Toby's X'd it out and removed the link to her website that is formed by leaving a comment on the blog. It can be tricky to comment on a local blog anyway...

That is odd out in the blogosphere in my experience (well there is actually lots of spam but it's in a filter.) Much more common to be comment spammed inside ActiveRain but not necessarily by someone local although I have had local home inspectors leave comments on my AR blog with elements that made it spam.

She is an ActiveRain member but I think very recent, I don't think the bad influence of the Spamalot family on ActiveRain can be blamed for her faux-pas. It may have just come naturally.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A link in a comment. Doesn't promote me? I think it carries on the conversation about comment spam. Is it comment spam? Or not comment spam? Not to me. But it is Rich's blog so if he feels like I am taking people from his blog unnecessarily or even promoting Toby, he could certainly ask me to remove the link or the comment.

A link in a comment isn't necessarily 'comment spam' as long as it's relevant to the discussion.

"That's a great point! Here's an article I read the other day that deals with the same topic"

as opposed to, "Hey! Want some HOT action? Just click HERE!

Amen to this! I hate shameless self-promotion!

hahahah....I remember the action one...some lady promoting escort service...haha.

JAN

2008

Rich,

I'm glad to see you're addressing this on a more serious note now.....I cringe everytime I see someone using someone else's post for their own self-promotion.

AMEN! As you no doubt are aware, I am one of those who won't tolerate spam. I always delete it and I always report it, whether it's in a comment or comes via ActiveRain contact form. I feel badly that I have to put it in General Comments, that there is no category I can check that says _ Reporting SPAM

Would that be hard to add?

Margaret - It gets to us just the same. We appreciate your vigilant support!

kinda reminds me of where you and I started. I'm still so glad my first mistake was with you. Kinda uncanny if you think about it, huh? My first comment was with the Don.

cheers

Gary - oh please! Now everytime you call me that, I'll think of how Fredo was killed out on Lake Tahoe!

JAN

2008

Excellent post....You couldn't have made it any clearer. Nobody likes spam.

either Bob or Rich or Cheryl (as the owner of the blog post ) ought to thnunk the spammer in this comment thread on the noggin for his spam link:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/350673/Open-Letter-To-HouseValues

Comment with a link just after a Bob Stewart comment in Cheryls very popu;ar post. This vendor is branching out and visiting outside blogs of ActiveRainers now and comment spamming them. He's not visited mine yet and there (at least on my WP.org blog I can just edit out the link to his site that he leaves in all comments. I would not just delete it though.

Rich - The thing that is funny about this is that people assume they are getting link love by adding their websites in the comments. If they only knew that the "no follow" tag was applied much of this type of advertising would stop.

Rich -- As this place grows, I see more and more of this. . .are we allowed to smite spammers!?!?! I don't see clear regulations against smiting in the community guidelines.

Here's a button, Lori.

Rich you do have to tell us how the community should deal with it. I feel like it is the blog owner's place to deal with it but many don't, won't, can't.

As ActiveRain gets larger it's only going to get worse.

Should we just wait for you to find them. Grit our teeth as we read through the comments...

This Smite button comlpiments of ImageChef.com The picture is a link to ImageChef.com

Maureen - Let's face it, this stuff doesn't always annoy others as much as you and me. I ran across a member today who didn't know they could 'delete' comments. So we definitely need to educate the masses a bit better.

Careful about passing that 'SMITE' button around. When it's used, Edison Power has a fit, and the powergrid in a 5 mile radius shuts down!

JAN

2008

Hi Rich, that's welcome news, you have another Amen from me. What about spam in general, meaning as posts. Even tho I flag a bunch of it in the marketing group, not much seems to happen to either the post or the poster. Any suggestions other than just deleting the post from the group? That doesn't work because they just post more the next day, etc...

comment on a friend's AR blog yesterday:

This is great, I'm still building my own vocabulary

Spammer Name - Team Spammer Real Estate

City State

http://www.teamspammer.com/ - link to the spammers website which starts talking as soon as you connect... "Welcome to Team Spammers "

Tell me that's not a spam comment where ever it is left. I am sure I saw Bob or Rich "thunk this spammer on the noggin" in comments recently when he posted the same comment spam for Team Spammer Real Estate but I guess this spammer has one thick noggin.

I asked the blogger in comments (after leaving a comment about the post) whether he was going to delete, ask the spammer to remove the spammy parts of the comment... Maybe I should not do that. I would not with a new member or someone I have not witnessed personally getting "thunked on the noggin" for comment spamming.

Vendors, real estate educators, coaches often seem to be the worst comment spammers but then again this is just a real estate agent.

comment spam in a thread is like the "elephant in the room." The blogger does not say anything about it. The others who comment tip toe around the elephant... Or maybe the blogger emails the person to remove the spam parts of the comment....

ActiveRain does need to let the community know they have a smite button on their post.. it say's Delete. They are in control. I think many on AR though want the comment no matter if there is spam in it... just for the number. Many are proud they have NOT deleted comments.

JAN

2008

This is a great topic. You know, spammish comments don't work; just like the wrong meta tags on your profile or website don't work. Rather, AR members who do this simply p people off...And what about the cut and paste comments!? This is really useful info, thank you! Oh well, I'm not perfect, but had to comment!

JAN

2008

Rich, it seems that it is just a lot of common sense. But as they say, common sense is not that common. I completely agree with you in that promoting yourself when commenting on another person's blog is a no-no, particularly when it involves links to another blog or website. My opinion is that each blogger should decide what to accept in their comments, as I believe it has been done up to now. Because as we all know, there are different definitions of what constitutes comment spam or not.

JAN

2009

Spam is easy to deal with...especially when it is blatant. I had a spammer hit one of my rare public posts with copy/paste comment spam so I blasted their posts with info and links to their competition.

My spammer was a professional marketing coach if you can believe it! I guess they charge people to teach them how to comment spam. HA!

Now THERE'S a brilliant idea!.....ActiveRain's New Anti-SPAM ware, Amanda 'Get Yer Frickin' SPAM off our Site, or I'll KILL you' Hall....

My name just keeps getting longer and longer. I'm gonna need a tricked out name tag pretty soon!

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Rich Jacobson Your Kitsap County WA Real Estate Broker

Silverdale, WA

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Keller Williams West Sound Realty

Address: Silverdale, WA, 98383

Office Phone: (360) 499-6367

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Providing Knowledgeable Empowerment and Relentless Representation of Real Estate Clients throughtout the Western Puget Sound, including all of Kitsap County WA, and portions of Mason, Pierce, and Jefferson Counties.

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