Stopping The Spam Flood

Hardly a day goes by – hardly an hour up until this morning – when my mail box isn’t filled with messages I really do not wish to see. After a while it becomes more than a chore, deleting all the rubbish, seeking out the real messages, blocking the real addresses or websites used by spammers. It’s not that anyone has my mail address, other than those I know and trust, but the fact that the comment form on this weblog has to be linked directly to me in case anyone (real) wants or needs to get in touch. Akismet does a wonderful job of blocking and filtering out the spam comments on each individual post, but what about the comments which do not appear, which are sent by mail and not designed for publication?

Photo Credit: IntelFreePress – Creative Commons

Up until now I have been using Contact Form 7, which has proven to be a very reliable and efficient method of allowing people I do not know, who do not have my mail address and do not wish to post a comment for all to see, to get in touch. This had its drawbacks, in that absolutely anyone could send a message, real or spam. Not fun for my mail box, and certainly not fun for me.

Now things are different. Contact Form 7 can be changed so that all messages sent are directed through Akismet, and known spammers, known spam terms are automatically filtered out. My mail box, since this morning, is surprisingly free of rubbish.

It’s these little tweaks which make life on the Internet so much fun, which enhance our pleasure in surfing, in reading mail, in communicating.

Love & Kisses, Viki.

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