WordPress.com

1. themagicrobot
   Member
   Jan 29, 2013, 10:46 AM

   I've asked this question before in the forums...to zero response.
   In Discussions/Settings for a long time I've had "allow people to post comments on new articles" unticked. I've closed comments on all older articles too. But I still get (spam) comments via individual images. If I double-click an image it opens up in a new window with a comment box beneath it and this is how the spammers continue to get in. Am I doing something wrong when I upload images? Is there a box I should tick/untick that I am missing? Is there a global setting somewhere to get rid of the comments boxes on all the 100s of older images on my blog?

   The blog I need help with is themagicrobot.wordpress.com.

2. rachelmcr
   Staff
   Jan 29, 2013, 3:33 PM

   You may want to take a look at this forum discussion: http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/how-to-prevent-comments-on-attachment-page?replies=7

   It looks like there isn't currently a way to turn off those comments, but it seems there are plans to change this in the future. One way around it is to have your photos link to the file itself rather than an attachment page, although I'm not sure if there is a way to make a bulk change for a lot of previously posted images.

3. themagicrobot
   Member
   Jan 29, 2013, 4:31 PM

   Thanks for the response expattranslator. This forum seems to be teeming with people endlessly asking for their blog to be emptied and similar nonsense. They always seem to get a response but the last time I asked this question I heard nothing.

   So it looks like WordPress are aware of the issue but as yet haven't made any changes (plenty of unwanted changes recently mind you....).

   Surely this is a security issue as I keep having to empty endless spam that is evidentally being placed on my blog just by someone having Googled an image of mine.

4. rachelmcr
   Staff
   Jan 29, 2013, 4:46 PM

   Spam is annoying, but it isn't really a security issue. (Just as long as you don't click on their links!) Is it being caught by the spam filter?

   As with all free online services, I try to just go with the flow when changes are made here or when I think changes need to be made. It's nice to have free website hosting with engineers who do all the back-end work for you! (I also have a self-hosted WordPress site, which is great but requires me to do quite a bit more maintenance.) Since they are aware of the issue and agree it would be a good change to make, I'm sure they'll address it when they have a chance.

   As for the forums, yes, sometimes it can take a while for your questions to be addressed. Since a lot of the work is done by volunteers, it can be easier to quickly answer the repetitive questions since the answer is obvious and already known. Other questions take a little more thought and research. Staff do come through and deal with user issues, but it is on a first-come-first-served basis, so you have to be a bit patient.

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