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03/26/2007: "Admin Note Re: SPAM"

I'm a tech guy, but there are certain tech elements that make me want to reach out and strangle someone. At the head of the list is unwanted electronic solicitations, otherwise referred to as Spam.

Most of us with email accounts have encountered spam, but with decent email filters the problem isn't as bad as it used to be (although, if you're a webmaster like me you still get nearly 500 a day ...). A lesser known problem is the spamming of posting boards and other interactive features by spambots that look for weaknesses and exploit them. At one time or another, every interactive feature here at SCMO has been hit, and now it's the MB's turn.

Earlier this morning, I saw that there was a whole bunch of new comments. Knowing that I only have so many readers, I suspected the worst - a suspicion that was confirmed once I checked out the comments. It took nearly an hour to remove all the links to sites selling porn, viagra, and other unsavory items.

Fortunately, the Greymatter program running our blog has pretty good anti-spam features that I can turn on, but they will require a bit of patience on the part of our posters. From now on, when you attempt to post a comment, you'll be asked to enter a phrase ("MarlinBlog") that will help convince the program that you're a real person with real opinions, and not some spambot.

I apologize for the additional steps, but hopefully this will keep our blog clean ...