WordPress.com Forums » Tag: report spam - Recent Posts

ismailimail on "New way to spam"

ismailimail — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:30:51 +0000

@macmanx, I'd just like to say that I have resolved this mystery, and headache of alleged fake/spam followers for myself. Here is how I have resolved it for myself.

1. Treat WordPress Reader like an external news reading platform or a Social Network. I have nothing to do with it as I am consciously not setting up my blog on WP Reader. WordPress deciding to setup my blog content on it, is as same as anyone else taking my content from my blog and hosting it on their own. I cannot stop them other than file DMCA if they are outright stealing. WP Reader on the other hand presents my blog content in a nice enough format, it is just so that I have no control over it, nor do I see a potential of increasing audience there, so I am not going to bother about it right now.

2. Turn Likes OFF on my blog. Thanks to WP for providing this option.

3. Turn the notification email off when people subscribe my blog via email, or Like my blog post through WP Reader. I no longer care who subscribe to my blog (via any means) given that WordPress is the one responsible for managing the email subscription for me, i.e, I am not running a mailing list, nor do I subscribe anyone directly. Given that there is lack of data and visibility of who and why anyone Likes a post through WordPress Reader, I am not going to bother receiving email notification from them. If people care enough for my blog content, they can make a comment or two, which is a better gauge of liking than a mere like-click.

This practically resolves all my issues with spam/fake followers. If tomorrow WP decides to give blog owners some flexibility in managing their content on its Reader, and if tomorrow I see good number of my potential users on Reader, than I might consider adopting it like I have adopted Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus as an extension to my blog on WordPress (unlike WordPress Reader, all three of these platforms provide reasonable control for the host).

macmanx on "New way to spam"

macmanx — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:12:33 +0000

I do not see an option on this page to "turn on/off" likes site-wide.

Choose "Turned on per post", this will turn off Likes throughout your entire blog and require you to turn them on per post as desired.

ismailimail on "New way to spam"

ismailimail — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:55:49 +0000

Likes can be turned On or Off only on your blog. As of now, there is no way to turn the Likes Off on WordPress Reader. The same goes for Email Subscription. You can turn Email Subscription Off on your own blog, but people can still receive email from your blog if they subscribe your blog through the WordPress Reader.

tucsonblonde on "New way to spam"

tucsonblonde — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:35:43 +0000

Hi macmanx!

All I see when I go to Settings>Sharing to turn off "likes" site-wide is this:

WordPress.com Likes are
○ On for all posts
○ Turned on per post

I do not see an option on this page to "turn on/off" likes site-wide.

You can only choose between the two.

Please clarify! Thanks!

macmanx on "New way to spam"

macmanx — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:01:40 +0000

Thanks for the suggestions, we are seriously considering them!

The best solution IMO is for the LIKE button to disappear from READER when we turn it off on selected posts, simple as that.

That was an oversight which we are fixing.

There are some blogs where Like is just not suitable or desired and having an ability to turn it off completely is logical.

Go to Settings -> Sharing in your blog's Dashboard and select "WordPress.com Likes are - Turned on per post". This will turn them off site-wide, and you can enable them for specific posts by editing the post in question.

WP once had rating system with stars and all.

Go to Settings -> Ratings in your blog's Dashboard and select any of the two options for "Show Ratings on".

ismailimail on "New way to spam"

ismailimail — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:55:43 +0000

I am in the same boat as @supernu. There are some blogs where Like is just not suitable or desired and having an ability to turn it off completely is logical.

WP once had rating system with stars and all. I believe it is still out there but as far as I could tell, it didn't work out either. I am okay with Likes (or more appropriately, social features) as long as they work and behave reasonably and are not prone to abuse.

supernu on "New way to spam"

supernu — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:45:51 +0000

If you had the ability to moderate "likes" as we do comments would that work for you? (gureggu made that suggestion, I was okay with it, and sherpakyle was amenable but still looking to get rid of the ability for the like button to display in the Reader)

Moderate Likes will mean clicking on their profile to see if their blog is just another "make money" blog or it's an actual contributing member of the WP.com community. I'm not a big fan of the idea, but I'm sure some would want that option.

The best solution IMO is for the LIKE button to disappear from READER when we turn it off on selected posts, simple as that.

Letting me disable LIKE on my blog, and FORCING me to waste my time checking notifications from spam LIKE's from the READER, makes no sense whatsoever.

I wonder what WP.com’s motive in allowing such contradicting option was.

It renders my choice to disable LIKE on my own blog, useless.

That's just rude programming/coding!

timethief on "New way to spam"

timethief — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:06:00 +0000

Actually they aren't three blogs they are three pages on the same blog and he claims web developer. What a @#$5^ that one is.

timethief on "New way to spam"

timethief — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:03:46 +0000

Yeah that's the same make money blogging guy with 3 blogs. Report both gravatars even though they are the same image.

tucsonblonde on "New way to spam"

tucsonblonde — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:01:15 +0000

Sorry to add, but I just noticed that the same photo is even being used on several different gravatars... see this post of mine and who "likes" it two photos show up twice! https://tucsonblonde.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/on-blogging-part-iv/

timethief on "New way to spam"

timethief — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:59:08 +0000

Click gravatar and arrive on gravatar page.
Click "report abuse" link on bottom right hand corner of page.

tucsonblonde on "New way to spam"

tucsonblonde — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:57:07 +0000

OMG! I'm glad I did a search on the web, because as of two weeks ago some of the same "people" mentioned above are "spamming" my two blogs as well... (I'm almost afraid to post the links here ... that even more spammers will find me?!) If you follow my gravatar, I added links to my two main blogs just today.

There are several pages of messages here, and I'm sorry to say, I do not quite follow what it is that I can, and should, do to stop these "bloggers" from taking over my posts, or from following my blogs, so they can like posts as soon as I make them?

Can someone tell me where I can find specific instructions on how to report these spammers? Someone above mentioned that I should surf to each of their WP.com blogs and click on a link to report the site?

Or I should click on their gravatar to report the gravatar? I don't know how much good that will do, since half the people spamming my two blogs were already mentioned above, and obviously, nothing has happened to those particular "blogs"/"bloggers" since this thread got started...

Please help!

olivejooce on "New way to spam"

olivejooce — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 21:52:35 +0000

@timethief thanks! I've done that.

timethief on "New way to spam"

timethief — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 20:13:08 +0000

(3) it is. :)

sherpakyle on "New way to spam"

sherpakyle — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 20:09:38 +0000

@timethief
and (3) an option to remove the "like" link from the reader but leave it active on the blog.

timethief on "New way to spam"

timethief — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:50:02 +0000

Well maybe we are making some headway here then. What Staff need is ideas for how to resolve this and so far there are two.
(1) Provide the ability to Moderate "likes" as we do comments.
(2) Remove the "like" link from the Reader and wherever else it appears when the blogger disables the "like" button on the blog.

windwhistle on "New way to spam"

windwhistle — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:46:40 +0000

@timethief. Absolutely. If we could moderate Likes as we do comments, I'd be delighted.

timethief on "New way to spam"

timethief — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:38:10 +0000

Should I also provide their usernames here? Would that be helpful?

No posting them here is not helpful. Reporting them to Gravatar Staff is all you need to do. Thanks.

olivejooce on "New way to spam"

olivejooce — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:15:40 +0000

I've also been receiving many likes from users that were mentioned in the first post. And so, thank you, I am happy to have read this thread and gain information, as well as, know that I'm not alone!

I have gone to their gravatar profiles and clicked on the "Report Abuse" icon. I hope this is enough. Should I also provide their usernames here? Would that be helpful?

Thanks again for the Support service here! You all are doing a great job!

timethief on "New way to spam"

timethief — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 01:27:58 +0000

@windwhistle
@scriptorobscura

If you had the ability to moderate "likes" as we do comments would that work for you? (gureggu made that suggestion, I was okay with it, and sherpakyle was amenable but still looking to get rid of the ability for the like button to display in the Reader)

scriptorobscura on "New way to spam"

scriptorobscura — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 01:16:22 +0000

@windwhistle

I second your thoughts completely. I couldn't agree more. "Like" and "Follow" spam has become such a rampant problem here on WordPress, and nothing is being done to stop these people.

windwhistle on "New way to spam"

windwhistle — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 01:14:23 +0000

Add me to the chorus of those complaining about spammers/abusers of both Follow and Like. These have gotten out of hand on my blog, per my post about it today. (Too lengthy to repeat here.) WP needs to take a seriously look at the problem and come up with some worthwhile solutions.

macmanx on "New way to spam"

macmanx — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:48:44 +0000

The difference between a like and a blog reply is you can't reply from the reader.

Under any post in the Reader, click the Comment link. ;)

thanks for your quick replies and anything you do to help make this issue better

You're welcome!

sherpakyle on "New way to spam"

sherpakyle — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:36:33 +0000

Why not provide the option to allow us to simply eliminate "likes" originating from just the reader?

That is one thing we have considered.

That would be fantastic and the most fair option for the community as each person could just handle this issue the way they prefer!

While I like the idea of holding them for moderation as mentioned above, I still wouldn't be able to tell if the person liked it from the reader or not. The difference between a like and a blog reply is you can't reply from the reader. As I never post something short enough to be read in it's entirety from the reader I find all "reader likes" to be a form of spam and would rather have the option to eliminate those entirely.

macmanx, thanks for your quick replies and anything you do to help make this issue better (even if it's not what I prefer).

timethief on "New way to spam"

timethief — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:12:16 +0000

@gureggu
Good idea!

I do not want anything at all automatically appearing on my blogs. I moderate every comment.

macmanx on "New way to spam"

macmanx — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:10:07 +0000

Have an option for the blog owner to either allow all likes or "hold" them for moderation.

Yes, that plan seems to be the most likely so far.

gureggu on "New way to spam"

gureggu — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:07:52 +0000

I think treating "likes" like blog replies might be worth looking into. Have an option for the blog owner to either allow all likes or "hold" them for moderation.

If the second option is selected, perhaps some mechanics on the backend could let additional likes bypass that hold and approve automatically (if desired).

Just spit-balling.

macmanx on "New way to spam"

macmanx — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:07:13 +0000

For a very small percentage of posts that are short enough to read in their entirety through the reader, we live with the ability of someone to just "like" away very quickly.

That depends on the blogs you follow, I follow a lot of photo blogs, so they're of course fully visible in the Reader, and I like my easy Like button there. ;)

We do our best to provide the option for all use cases, and don't want to exclude anyone just because one type of blog post may be more prevalent than another.

Why not provide the option to allow us to simply eliminate "likes" originating from just the reader?

That is one thing we have considered.

sherpakyle on "New way to spam"

sherpakyle — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:02:00 +0000

For a very small percentage of posts that are short enough to read in their entirety through the reader, we live with the ability of someone to just "like" away very quickly. If one actually "likes" the content the extra step of going to the actual post to "like" it from the post instead of the reader shouldn't be that difficult.

WordPress provides the option to completely eliminate "likes" on our post. Why not provide the option to allow us to simply eliminate "likes" originating from just the reader? It is the lack of that option that I find draconian. I guess I'm just not seeing any value to the ability to "like" through the reader and at the same time I'm seeing a large cost associated with that feature. It feels like an unnecessary trade off given the extremely low percentage of posts that can be seen in their entirety through the reader.

macmanx on "New way to spam"

macmanx — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 22:18:11 +0000

Frankly, what is the point of liking a post through the reader which it is impossible to have actually read other than to engage in some form of spamming?

Not all posts in the Reader are long enough to be truncated.

It seams draconian to require bloggers to disable "likes"

We aren't requiring anyone to do anything, it's still a choice.

If you keep Likes enabled and report the spammers if/when they Like your post (if you're sure they're spammers), it will help us crack down on them. After all, spam comments come in all the time, and reporting them as spam is a better solution than closing comments.

Meanwhile, we're working on a way to rate-limit Likes, which will take care of any of the bulk-spam-Likers.