©2023 michael raven
New comment spam tactics alert for y’all… I haven’t seen some of these before, so I am sharing them with you.
First, I had someone who has never interacted with the site use the pingback feature to link to their own work by hyperlinking to a recent post of mine within their own writing to get folks (namely me) to follow the link back. The actual page does not actually mention my site at all, nor me, nor quote my writing. It is just a hyperlink within their text, which is not the intended purpose of a pingback. The fact that there are multiple pingbacks to other sites with no mention of the sites is proof enough for me of their intent.
Secondly, on my contact form someone asked how they could pay to be featured on this site as a writer. I’ve never solicited material from other writers and I won’t with this site (I can’t image how I would do it elsewhere either, as I am generally opposed to promoted writing). I most definitely will not take cash to feature your writing on this site. Combined with the author’s name that is associated with an actress/singer who uses the same name (although it is a common enough surname and given name to be possibly legit), I have marked that request as spam for Akismet to add to their filters on the off chance it is. Perhaps it isn’t spam, but there have been zero interactions with the person (or bot) submitting the comment otherwise on this site, which increases my suspicion level (I’m a bit on the paranoid side of cautious when it comes to internet scams).
Finally, I recently received a Reader follow and email follow from someone who interacted for a brief moment, but doesn’t seem to be aware that they did anything along those lines. I won’t go into the details in case I’m wrong but everything screams phishing and/or catfishing the more I looked into the site. Or someone who might need serious professional help, at the bare minimum. Still, it is a potential vector for spam, so I dropped that hot potato and might stop Reader follows and the email sub.
It also should be noted that I do not follow other bloggers by request, nor do I allow comments linking to other sites that do not appear to be commenting for any other reason than to try and drive traffic towards their site. I delete those comments and, if that kind of comment comes too frequently, they get marked manually as spam. If you write something I am interested in, I will continue to check you out and possibly follow your site. But I won’t do it just because you ask me to. And no — I never share my followers lists for free, barter, or sale — don’t be absurd.
I promote other sites because I like what they offer and think someone else might like it too. Not as a matter of trade.
I love interactions with folks when you feel up to it. I do not like self-serving interactions or attempts to get information from me someone doesn’t need (e.g., email) when they have no history of interactions.
sceadugenga 
That all sounds imcredibly involved. Your canned spammer, I mean.
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I go for long periods without this kind of stuff, but when it comes, it surprises me at just how much effort is put into the effort to get something for nothing. And when it does arrive, it tends to come in fits and spurts, which makes it easier to tune my radar to it.
As much work as people put into scams, it makes you wonder why they don’t get a real job. It’s got to be easier.
I’ve been blogging, off and on, for around 20 years now. I’ve developed a sixth sense for these things thanks to the efforts of those who came before (some of which were not caught right away).
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I had the thought. Used to work security, and fraud, man… the irony is huge. Everywhere you go.
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Everywhere…
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Thank you for sharing.
Blessings always.
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Thank you for this information, Michael!
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You’re welcome. I hope you don’t need to use the knowledge. Meet attitude is the more you know about these possible spam sources, the better we can all avoid them.
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I agree with you! Regards!
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Personally I don’t get it – the desire to ‘poach’ someone else’s contacts (I shall not say ‘followers’ as so many have their own agenda anyway) in order to ‘sell’ what they might be offering. Mind you, I don’t really do advertising – if I want or need something I’ll go and get it, not wait for someone to sway my thinking. Off on a tangent here; the UK used to be a very respectful country regarding shopping – not really any pushy, in your face sales people. Nowadays you can’t even walk the city streets or enter a large store without being accosted by charity workers (I have no issues with charities and donate to those I wish to) playing the guilt card.
Anyway, to the issue in hand. Thanks for the heads up on this appalling behaviour, I will keep an eye out.
By the way, should you ever feel the need to promote yourself on my site I accept all currencies!!
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LOL. 🤣
I’ve got some money from a board game for you. It’s worth far more than the material I need promoted.
We have some Salvation Army bell ringers that act offended if you pass by their kettle without dropping a greenback or forty. I know what you mean.
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Board game? Intriguing.
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In my defense, it sounded much more clever in my head.
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🙂
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Ugh! Between here and Instagram…the spammers sure do get creative (yuck). Anyone who messages me out of the blue and asks to be featured or for a follow back I instantly block. I have to share the craziest one I’ve gotten recently, and it was on Instagram.
A woman claiming to be a psychic drawn to my energy messaged me and I deleted the message without responding because I’m not interested (and I’ve gotten lots of these). Within minutes she messaged me again calling me a bunch of names and telling me she was cursing me and my family (and everyone on my followers list). I blocked her. She created a second account to then AGAIN tell me how I’m cursed. It was funny/scary. I blocked her again, but damn, it can be weird out there.
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Cue twilight zone music on that weirdo. I get those on occasion when I was still posting on IG. I called someone out on their BS (“If you pay me money and give me your book, I’ll give you a favorable review”). THEY blocked me after a message, “offer rescinded”. LOL.
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That’s hilarious!
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Started watching “Banshees”, BTW. Enjoying it so far.
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You have to tell me what you think of the ending.
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Well, Padraig certainly wasn’t dull anymore…
I liked the ending — I wish more cinema took the risks required to not end “happily ever after” (except, in a way, I think it was a happy ending).
I liked the glossed over banshee-ness of the old woman and how she played a Cailleach figure. I found myself less sympathetic towards Colm and more toward Padraig by the end. The character I most gravitated towards was Siobhan, interestingly enough — she seemed to be the one who made one of the greatest changes that was not played up for the simple fact that she decided she needed to do some for herself after her “sacrifices”, whereas everyone else started and remained “selfish” in their motives.
The ending left me with uncomfortable emotions, which I embraced. Too many stories and films eschew making people feel uncomfortable except in the name of shock value. Admittedly, some of Colm’s actions smacked of shock value, but the overall choices had a deeper purpose in terms of the story.
I’m trying to decide how I feel about Dominic and his father. And Jenny 😦
I’ve gone on too long…
Overall, I enjoyed the movie — thanks for bringing it back to my attention. ❤
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I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I, too, was left with uncomfortable feelings. It transported me so fully into its odd little world I wasn’t sure what had just happened. It was like a confusing dream. I spent a long time trying to decide if I liked it or not, but now that I’ve had some distance, I think it’s rather brilliant.
My husband thinks each character might be representative of the Irish civil war, and I could totally see his analysis (although I haven’t read any articles to confirm this was the intention of the film). But whether or not that’s the case, each character feels representative of how we can be in the world—accepting of our fate, fight it, run, etc. It was as thought provoking as it was odd.
I did wish the poor donkey would have met another fate😢
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And yet, Jenny’s fate was foretold by the banshee’s wail. 😉
I suppose that could be the case. It certainly explains why elements of the war seemed to have a narrative role rather than just a backdrop. I’d have to brush up on the civil war and think about it some more before I could agree or disagree. While I know the general gist of that war, I can’t say that I’ve been all that compelled to dig into the weeds of the matter. Hmm, something to look into when I’m complaining about not knowing what to do.
What I found wonderful was the sense of humor in tragedy that most films fail to capture. The ending is a tragicomedy in ways. About as absurd as most things in life.
I’m glad to see we share some similar thoughts. I might think I was odd for liking the film as much as I did.
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“What I found wonderful was the sense of humor in tragedy that most films fail to capture.”—Same. There were several shocking moments that also were super funny. I loved how nobody really took any of it seriously.
I minored in film in college and used to hang around the movie reviewer at the newspaper when I was a journalist always up for a debate about film. It’s a fun medium to discuss. So much there! Now, with TV being almost on the same level, there’s never a shortage of interesting things to watch and talk about.
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The humor rang true based on my past associations with the immigrant Irish community here in Minnesota. Like Native American humor, Irish humor is sometimes something you “get” or don’t.
My approach towards film is more from a writer’s perspective… I’m “uneducated” from a cinematic perspective. Always willing to banter about it, but most people don’t watch the kind of things I like to watch.
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