In the comments on my iPad 2: First Impressions post, several of you noted that you were bewildered as to why you always have to approve my comments and you don’t usually have to approve any others. I do know that those of you who’ve experienced this issue are on WordPress; that said, without the ability to see your Discussion Settings in WordPress, I can’t be exactly sure what the reasons are, but I suspect it is my comment signature, which I code as follows:
••V••
<a href=”http://www.gritandglamour.com”>www.gritandglamour.com</a>
<a href=”http://twitter.com/gritandglamour”>@gritandglamour</a>
Why is your comment system holding only my comments?
It’s this simple: I embed links in my comment signature that link to my blog and my Twitter profile. So depending on your Discussion Settings, WordPress is probably just doing its job by flagging my comment because it thinks it’s spam, based on the number of links in the comment. This may be why other legit comments are being relegated to spurgatory, as I call it.
How can you fix this?
- Log into WordPress. (WordPress.org or WordPress.com)
- Scroll down to Settings on the left side of your Dashboard.
- Click Discussion.
- While you’re in there, look at all your settings to ensure they are set as you wish. If they’re good, then the problem lies in the number you have set in the Comment Moderation section.
- To make it easier on you (and bloggers who embed a URL or two in their comment signatures), change the number in Comment Moderation to 3 or 4. That should fix the issue.
- Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
Use Comment Moderation and Comment Blacklist for better spam control.
Remember that for even better spam control, you should enter obviously spam-related words (e.g. escort, oem, viagra, plus all those nasty p*rn-related words) and spam IP addresses or URLs to your Comment Blacklist to automatically exterminate them.
Add words that are often part of spam (e.g., insurance, prescriptions, video, movie, movies, download, mortgage, massage), but could be used in a non-spam manner to the Comment Moderation field so you have a chance to approve if they are not spam.
To learn more about comment management, read the WordPress support page for Discussion Settings.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
@AnikaByAnika
March 23, 2011
Hi Vahni, great breakdown, yet again. I haven`t had that problem, but I have been trying to figure out how to leave hyperlinks in my signature, so thanks for showing how you do it
Also, thank you so much for your comment yesterday, have been thinking about you a lot. Will email you privately, just to say hi 
xx Anika
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@gritandglamour
March 23, 2011
Yay! Well it helped you in some way, so that is great!
@ConsiderMeLuvly
March 23, 2011
I never have that problem with your comments, but thanks for breaking it down in case I do!
@any2ndnow
March 23, 2011
V!! It’s funny that you posted this because I was wondering why your comments and Kristy’s were holding up, so I looked the other day and realized the same thing you just posted about! I adjusted my settings earlier this week to ensure that you, Kristy and anyone else with 4 links or less would be able to get through without moderation.
As always, you’re on top of it!
xoxo
Cyrillynn
Cyrillynn´s latest post: Remix Update- Outfits 7 – 10
Thanks so much for this information. I have had so much spam lately, it’s been making me crazy. I just changed my settings and added words on the blacklist. You just saved me a lot of time and aggravation !
@122 W. Manheim Street Apt. 8
March 23, 2011
You certainly have my wheels spinning. Askimet has been pretty good to me, but every once in awhile a sneaky little spam comment gets through. Thanks for the info V!
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@fuyumeuk
March 23, 2011
Oh wow i wondered why that always happened. Now its fixed
yay!
fuyume´s latest post: Welcome to Fam’s World
@BeautifullyInv
March 23, 2011
Great post V. I figured out this was the issue with your comments on my blog some time ago, but off to share so your wonderful explanation can help others!
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@flyingfabu
March 23, 2011
I’d been meaning to look up why some of my comments were held for moderation and you just saved me loads of time! I think you need a superhero t-shirt with a big “V” on it instead of an “S”. That would be awesome!
xo,
f
The House in the Clouds
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@gritandglamour
March 24, 2011
Lovelies, thanks for your comments! We’re in this together, learning together!
@arashmazinani
March 24, 2011
Ahhh this was the post that explained it all I’m going to have to check my wordpress settings. I was completely oblivious to this.
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@gritandglamour
March 27, 2011
Cool! Though now I must admit that I am contemplating skipping the signature. Would make commenting faster for me. Hmm.
@designedbyann
March 29, 2011
that explains why my blog always withheld Kristy Elena’s comments…she includes hyperlinks too!!
I go check my settings asap!
And its a good opportunity to introduce myself, as your blog is the first I visited when I joined IFB! I am Anna from Athens, Greece and I was delighted when I found out you’r Greek too!!
Keep up the good work!
Anna´s latest post: Spring Trend- Life in Plastic
@gritandglamour
March 29, 2011
Hello Anna! Efharisto! Glad you found this post helpful!
Hi Vahni! I’m a newbie in blogging. Thanks for the step by step procedure just in case I encountered one. I will try it also so I can minimize spam messages. Thanks for sharing.
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@gritandglamour
April 15, 2011
No worries, thanks for your comment!
Usually I set the number of links to 2..
However I believe we can control who can put more than that but still auto approve..
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