A big hurdle to classroom use.
I have been fighting it for a week or so, but tonight when I went to look at the comments on this blog there were 34 spam comments. To be honest, I can see spam being the biggest real hurdle to overcome if we are going to get classroom teachers using the technology. I have been aware for a week or so now about the spam reducing measures available with edublogs, and tonight I will be (with sadness) implementing them. I’m sad because I can no longer trust the www with my blog. :-( I also got the first bit of spam on the blog I am trying out with my chemistry class. A sad day indeed. Having taken several steps down the road to being a “champion” of web2.0 in the class, I am wondering if the hype can outweigh the time and hastle of dealing with the dross.
I therefore appologies if you want to make a comment on an old post. As of tonight old posts will be closed to comments automatically.
Surely there’s nothing wrong with Web 2.0 tools and teaching when the measures are there to stop spam. I use measures and receive virtually no spam. I also pay for my service and would complain if it ever got to those levels. Also, I know that WordPress has been targetted heavily this past wee while. It will pass. But when measures are available you just have to use them. It can’t be a big sweat for someone as savvy as you.
I was a bit reluctant to close off old posts as I know I sometimes read archives, and want to post comments on these. I wanted to be able to leave visitos to the tree house the freedom to comment on anything they read. When so much of web2.0 is enpowering and gives freedom, I was just a little sad to be taking away some freedom.
Its reasuring to know however that wordpress has been targeted recently and I hope you are right in suggesting that it will pass!
While dealing with Spam is a pain, you are right, I can cope (I think), but since masterclass in Stirling, I have been trying to keep a focus on the issues that less “geeky” people might have.
All that said, I look forward to the wordpress plugin which implements one of those “type the characters above” thingies!
Hi Struan,
Don’t give in to the spammers.
Wordpress does support the ‘dumb question’ thing, I think there probably is a type the characters plugin too, but it has not made it to edublogs afaik (well I can’t find it).
I’ve been using the dumb question along with some blacklisting at Sandaig for a while now, spam is not really problem (cross fingers). Before this it was, I recall watching them come in faster than I could delete ‘em.
Hosting a wordpress blog on your own site give you a lot more options than using a free service. wordpress is opensource (as is pivot) so costs nothing.
I got about a dozen spams when I first set up a couple of weeks ago. But nothing since deleting those. How has it been for you recently.
I agree with your comment that others will be reluctant with spam such as the ones I got. I think it would really confuse them, but then some people are still confused by turning a computer on!