Comment spam on Textpattern.org

gaekwad · 2013-12-27 19:52:26

Right now, there’s significant comment spam: textpattern.org/comments

Can someone with the keys perhaps jump in and clean up? Failing that, if someone can give me the keys, I’ll go in and mop up.

Last edited by gaekwad (2014-05-19 13:53:53)

Bloke · 2013-12-27 20:26:41

gaekwad wrote #277587:

Right now, there’s significant comment spam: textpattern.org/comments

Yowzers, well spotted. After a swift bit of database wrangling, all is calm, all is bright.

gaekwad · 2013-12-27 21:17:42

Thanks, Stef. For info, this article seems to be a common entry point, and there’s already some more spam since the cleanup. Are the comments checked against any block lists?

Bloke · 2013-12-27 22:10:06

gaekwad wrote #277590:

Thanks, Stef. For info, this article seems to be a common entry point, and there’s already some more spam since the cleanup.

Hmph, that new one was from someone else. Removed.

It’s interesting how some articles attract sustained spammage. I’ve seen that on my own site even though comments are moderated, go through Jukka’s comment spam plugin, and any remaining script kiddies are thwarted by smd_prognostics. But one article in particular is constantly hit with futile spam messages. Randomised IP, no obvious pattern to the author name, but the fact that none of the messages have ever appeared in public has not deterred whichever pharma company is behind it. *shrug*

Are the comments checked against any block lists?

Not as far as I’m aware. Just bog standard Txp commenting with no plugin assistance. Comments on .org are a waste of time anyway so when we move to whatever is its replacement, they’ll be switched off.

philwareham · 2013-12-28 14:49:23

Switch the comments off now, might as well. The new site isn’t going to materialise for a few months yet.

Bloke · 2013-12-29 10:18:57

philwareham wrote #277599:

Switch the comments off now, might as well.

Done. Unfortunately (?) the way the tags are set up in the templates means that switching comments off removes all existing comments from the public-facing site. Probably not a major issue as there wasn’t much value in them anyway, and I therefore don’t see the value in changing the templates to show them again. Shout if that’s an incorrect stance.

Gocom · 2013-12-29 12:44:43

There are some comments that are warning about broken plugins and linking to correct download locations. There isn’t many of those, but some.

Bloke · 2013-12-29 14:28:19

Gocom wrote #277625:

There are some comments that are warning about broken plugins and linking to correct download locations.

Good catch. OK, I removed the erroneous tags so comments display even though they’re shut off.

^{<grumble>too many comment tags in Textpattern</grumble>}

ruud · 2013-12-29 15:06:12

I’ve removed the “recent comments” box from the front page (using txp:hide, it’s still in the template). No point in showing that if there will be no more new comments.

Bloke · 2013-12-29 17:24:30

ruud wrote #277632:

I’ve removed the “recent comments” box from the front page

Thanks. I missed that one.

gaekwad · 2013-12-29 17:48:47

Another:

textpattern.org/tips/422/how-to-speed-up-your-textpattern-web-site#c012825”
textpattern.org/tips/410/disable-logging-for-your-home-ip#c012917

Last edited by gaekwad (2013-12-29 17:49:39)

Bloke · 2013-12-29 18:53:17

gaekwad wrote #277636:

Another

Thanks, eagle-eye Pete. Taken care of.

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