And Speaking of "Banned..."

I've been getting a fair amount of comment spam lately, so I'm turning on the verification function. I do hope this won't discourage any of my legitimate commentators.

It was a hard decision. Entries like this latest one certainly provide some small entertainment value:

Feinstein versus file-sharing
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told a Judiciary Committee hearing this week that file-sharing networks may need to be shut down if they continue to traffic in illegal files.

Hey, your blog is very entertaining and informative. Thanks for keeping it fresh with good content. I have a site [link removed] about noise canceling headsets that you may like. Read our reviews on noise canceling headsets and see what you have been missing.

I'm not sure why this poster feels they have to precede their comment with a news brief. Not only does it counter their attempt to make the rest of the post look like a legitimate comment, but it's not even related.

Or is it?

By a show of hands, how many people would pay money for a headset that cancels the noise of Dianne Feinstein?

At any rate, I really do have to chuckle over this poor person's lousy attempt to look like a real comment. How many people really leave comments just to tell people they like their blog, and not mention more specific context? I mean really. I'd like to think my blog is "entertaining," but I hold no delusions of it being "informative."

But he's got to cover both angles, since he has no idea what type of blogs he is spamming. It could wind up in "Joe's Daily Joke Blog," but for all he knows, this could be dropped into "Dr. Harvey Nerdstein's Hudson Bay Mollusk Blog," where "entertaining" alone wouldn't cut it. So he drops in "informative," too. Which shows this person is really trying to look legit!

And "fresh?" Oh, please! Why not just say "Thanks for keepin' it real, homie. Peace out. Word." I post maybe once every few days on a good week, half the time I put myself to sleep. I'm far from "fresh."

And does anyone really promote their own sites in someone else's comments? Just what in my posting gives any indication that I'd be interested in noise canceling headsets? He's like the guy that you sometimes see at parties--you know the guy. You could all be having a meaningful discussion on British Literature in the Early Industrial Age, and this guy will break in with something like "I've got a ouija board at home. It told me I should ask out Brittany Spears. I think I'm gonna."

Finally, "come read our reviews...and see what you have been missing"? It's reviews of headsets! I'll take a wild guess and say I can't be missing much! It's almost like your TiVo sending you a message saying "Hey, you know all those commercials I've been filtering out? I've actually been saving them for you! Come see what you've been missing!" My time is somewhat limited, folks, and if I'm missing something chances are I WANT TO MISS IT!

Yes, I know, I'm taking this too seriously. But remember, this guy is trying to convince me he's a legitimate poster, not spam. Why? I don't know. If I were someone like The Manolo, who gets lots of comments and doesn't appear to read them closely, it MIGHT work. But I have a (very) small following. I NOTICE! The effect is the same if he takes this route or just drops in something like:

Bernie's Amazing Reviews of Noise Canceling Headsets! Free Pr0n and viruses to the first 1000 clickers!

I guess I won't miss these after all. Let the verification begin!