I’ve tried to avoid throwing up a random public service announcement, but it seems I have nowhere else to go. I’ve got to hit the streets (my blog) to solve this funny problem: WordPress peoples, I’m having trouble commenting on your blogs!
I’ll craft a comment and it just disappears into the inter-ether. This has been happening for over two months. Eventually, I just stopped commenting, and now watch some of my favorite blogs as a silent bystander! Would you help me? If you are a wordpress.com blogger, and I’ve ever left a comment on your blog, it’s highly possible you have one of my comments in your spam.
The same thing happens on those blogs which run their own wordpress software (wordpress.org) and which have Akismet turned on. I think Akismet flagged my IP. Has this happened to anyone else? It’s the only explanation I can think of and I’ve tried everything else on my end.
If you don’t know how to check, try looking in your comment spam and use the search tool to get past the hundreds of spammers trying to sell you counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags. (Am I the only one who gets those?)
I’ve also written WordPress and Akismet to try and solve my dilemma but I’m a month into trying to contact them and still no responses. Hence the PSI.
*If you use Disqus without activating Akismet to block spam, then I don’t usually have a problem.
Sorry to bother up the blog space with this. Now back to sewing blogging goodness…
UPDATE: Just found out that Akismet has definitely flagged my IP as spam, which bans me as a true commenter. Good to know I wasn’t going crazy. Stinks because now I know my comments have ended up in many a junk folder and will continue to end up in WordPress purgatory until they resolve it.
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I use WordPress, but not Akismet. I don’t have the problem you describe. Good luck!
Hi Ramona, you do have a wordpress.com blog, which automatically uses Akismet. It is WordPress’ filter for comment spam and you can’t turn it off. Bloggers that install their own wordpress outside of wordpress.com have a choice to turn it off, or use another comment system.
Just yesterday I went to clean out my spam folder and found multiple mailings from you in there. Yet todays mailing regarding wordpress etc has come thru as do most.
Not sure what the problem is but I am sure many others will find your mailings in their spam as well.
Love your blog.
Hi Dee, that’s funny. Are you talking about spam in your email? This is different from comment spam on a blog. If my emails end up in your email spam folder than that has to do with whatever email program you are using and how it determines what is spam and what isn’t…
I have the same problem, there are numerous blogs out there that I have given up trying to comment on.
Me too! I thought it was that I was,on my iPad, but maybe something else?
I use WordPress and I’ve been told by at least one of my IRL friends that my blog doesn’t allow them to comment! Sounds like it might be a bigger problem than just her. Do you use a different commenting platform on your blog?
No, I don’t like the other commenting platforms out there. I see you are on wordpress.com, so you might want to try contacting them to find out why that is happening. Have you tried looking in your comment spam to see if your friends are in there?
I just checked, and I didn’t see any of her comments in the spam folder – the spam all looked legitimately spammy. She says she gets an error every time she tries to post a comment, so maybe it’s a separate (but equally annoying) issue!
Amy, I tried to check to see if any of your comments were put into the spam category, but the spam was cleaned out. Not one in there. So, if you were having a problem with my blog, I won’t know.
Thanks for checking Michelle; I can’t even remember all the places I’ve tried lately! But you never know who might end up there in the future ;).
I host my own WordPress blog and get hundreds of spam messages a day caught by Akismet so obviously I don’t have enough time in the day to check every single one…but so far I haven’t seen any false positives.
As I was typing this I just got another spam post about Louis Vuitton bags!
I’m with you girl. I often forget and then try to check my spam section about once a month… just quickly scroll through it to make sure nothing good is getting caught. When I did the bra-making sew-along a lot of real commenters were getting pulled in there. It was so weird. Most of the time, it works the way it should!
I am a wordpress blogger, and I’ve been having the exact same issue on a lot of Blogger blogs! Apparently neither side wants to play nice lately! I have never been able to dig through my actual spam folder, so I have no idea if anyone has been having trouble commenting, though I can dig through my “purgatory” file and haven’t had any legit comments in there in a while. And usually, once a person has commented, if it ends up in “purgatory”, I allow it and they have no trouble (to my knowledge) commenting again.
Sorry you are having trouble, I know how frustrating it is!
hmmm strange! i’m on wordpress but haven’t had this problem that i know of. hope it gets sorted out!
Hi
I have a self hosted blog now. I can’t remember if you commented on my blog before or after I moved. You’re definitely not in my spam. I know I’ve seen a comment from you at some point though.
Want to try again and we’ll have a test?
🙂
Even if you are on Akismet’s sh*t list your comments will only end up in spam (i.e. wont be deleted) so all you need to do is get a couple of WordPress people to mark your comments as ‘not spam’ and the algorithm will ‘learn’ from that.
The bigger issue here is not whether Akismet has you on a ‘spam’ list but whether your IP has been flagged as ‘grey’ or just outright untrustable. If that is the case (and it probably is if people aren’t even finding your stuff in the spam folder) it means either:
1. You don’t have a secure wireless connection and strangers have been using your wifi for ‘bad things’ online and your IP has been flagged for it.
2.You have a secure connection and someone you know and trust that has access to your password is misusing said connection for ‘bad things’ and been flagged for it.
3. You have hidden malware on your computer/ your computer is running sh*t in the background that some evildoer somewhere is controlling to spread scams/spam and that has been flagged.
4. The ISP you’re using has a bad reputation score online (i.e heaps of spam or other bad stuff originates from there and so the online lists don’t trust anyone on it).
I had someone contact me last year about their comments not going through WordPress and when I really searched their IP, it came up on a number of ‘bad lists’ (I’m talking about point #2 up there). I told her quite clearly that her IP was flagged and that while I was happy to list her comments as ‘not spam’ that wouldn’t change that fact that her IP was flagged. I suggested she use a tablet/ laptop that only she had access to (I assumed she was using a ‘dirty’ work computer). She never spoke to me again and I didn’t know why till another blogger (at an IRL meetup) told me said person’s got someone to look into it and since her sons and husband use the same connection (and apparently one of them was the source/cause of the bad things). XD
Not sayin’ you have that issue-just saying
1. Get your computer checked
2. Find out if your ISP is causing this and if yes, change to a good one
3. Don’t shoot the messenger (irrespective of the outcome)
Best of luck!
Thanks for the detailed response!
I’m editing my comment to mention that I’ve checked most of the routes you mentioned and thank goodness it is not related to malware, email or network hacking. My IP is in the clear everywhere but Akismet. Love that last bit–I learned a long time ago that when it comes to tech problems, never shoot the messenger.
I was going to suggest the same thing as theperfectnose mentioned (not as eloquently I’m afraid so), but yes maybe your computer has been compromised and you need to check it.
Hope it can be resolved! I would hate to miss reading your comments in my blog!
I have a Wordress.com blog and that happens to me when commenting on some blogspot blogs 🙁
Yep, found some of your comments in my spam box after you emailed me. A few others too…I’ll now be checking my spam comments! I was hoping that after I un-spammed you it would take care of the problem with my site but it sounds bigger than that. Hope it gets resolved soon…what an odd thing to happen to you!
Thanks, Jen! I’ll be able to comment on your site now.
There you were sitting with all the viagra and weird penis spam, you poor thing, I suggest a warm bath in some epsom salts to recover, you have officially been pulled to safety xx
I’m sorry to hear that Askimet labeled you as a spammer! How dare them 🙂
Glad you got it resolved!
How frustrating! Based on other comments here I guess I need to check mine and make sure everyone can comment. That’s weird.
Unrelated, but is there any way you could give me some advice regarding font squirrel? I can’t get it to work!
Hopefully it is working now! And I can probably help with the fonts… sent you an email ;).