How To Make Comment Changes in Blogger
/READ MORE// Talking Back in the Comments
Like we discussed earlier, commenting has a dark side.
The ability to leave a comment easily and quickly has been discovered as a tool by spammers. Just as with email, you can expect to get comments letting you know about a great return if you invest in a Saudi Prince's mortgage opportunity, Somalian Space Program, or shady Mexican Pharmaceuticals. These, in fact, might be some of the more reader-friendly options and it's things neither you nor your readers will want to read.
The Comments Setting tab of your Blogger dashboard provides some settings the can help cut down on how much Spam finds it's way to your blog. One of the best ways is to set whom can actually comment on your blog.
From the Comments Settings tab, find the 'Who Can Comment' drop down menu and select from one of the following options:
Anyone
This option allows absolutely anyone to leave a comment. There are zero limits on who can say what. It provides basically zero spam protection, but also offers no limits for legitimate readers.
Only Registered Users
This options lets in comments from users who are registered members of the Blogger community. This will cut down on SOME spam. It's important to note that not every Blogger account is legitimate - and not every reader who finds your blog will be from the Blogger community. You may loose some good comments with this option.
Only Members of Your Blog
This option prevents anyone who ISN'T a member of your specific Blog from leaving a comment. This means no one that you have not personally authorized as a member will be able to leave a comment. This is a lot of work for both the readers to register and the admin to moderate, but it means no spam.
You can add members to your blog from the Permissions Settings tab
There are two other important Comment settings you can edit if you are having spam problems. From the Comments Settings tab:
Comment Moderation
Change the Enable comment moderation setting to Yes.
Turning on Comment Moderation prevents anyone from being able to comment without having a comment be approved first. When anyone leaves a comment, you'll get an email letting you know. Once you log into your Dashboard you can authorize or reject the publishing of that, and any other comments you have. You can even moderate comments via email.
Moderating Comments is a lot of work, and on a busy blog can be a full time job, but it does improve the quality of readability for your blog, for the comments and gives your readers a better experience. It also has the added benefit of discouraging spammers from future spam attacks.
Word Verification
Change the Show Word verification for Comments to Yes
People who want to comment on blogs with Word Verification turned on must type in a word displayed inside an image to be able to submit their comment. Since many spammers could be using automated scripts, software, or 'bots' to post spam, and only real people can read the images, this type of verification - called Captcha - can significantly cut down on the amount of spam you receive. At very least, it is guaranteed to ensure any spam you do get is from an actual person.
At the bottom of the Comments Settings tab, you can enter an email in the Comment Notification Address field. This will send any notifications about comments left on your blog to the email you supply. This is a great way to keep track of comments left on your blog, especially if an older post becomes more popular later on and you might not see new comments left on them.
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