Controlling Comment Spam

I'm finding that more and more blogs are locking down their comments in order to control spam. I hate going to a site, and wanting to comment, and finding that I've got to register in order to do so. I've got enough registrations and signups and logins to last me a lifetime, and I refuse to starting adding them for individual blogs! I don't mind the log in for Blogger blogs so much, because at least it's ONE login for all of the blogs. (Although having to log in and then do one of their annoying captcha codes in an unreadable font does push my buttons!

If you're using Wordpress.com for your blog, here are a few settings you can tweak that allow readers to easily leave comments, without opening yourself to spam:

Go to the options tab in your dashboard, and then click on discussion. Make sure "Allow people to post comments on the article" IS checked.

Check the boxes that say e-mail me whenever anyone posts a comment, and when a comment is held for moderation. You need to know when comments are left on your blog so that you can respond appropriately.

Want to approve ALL comments? Check the box that says "An administrator must approve the comment"

If you want to allow your previous commenters to have unmoderated comments (and I highly recommend this!), make sure you have the following boxes marked - comment author must fill out name and e-mail and comment author must have a previously approved comment. That means anyone who has previously commented on your blog will have their comment appear instantly. You'll still receive a notification that a comment was posted, but you won't have to moderate it.

Comment moderation: I have my comments sent to the spam queue if they contain more than 2 links (since most SPAM comments typically do!)

You can even add certain spam words - if a comment contains any, they'll be sent to the moderation queue

Your best help for controlling comments? Install Akismet and use it!

Once you remove a required login for comments, you'll see comment activity increase on your blog. Another suggestion is to reply via email to all comments left - it's a nice little way of saying thank you to a reader for taking the time out to visit.