I run a do follow blog for a reason. It seems like the right thing to do to recognize those regular contributors that have made the blog a success. I require 5 or more posts before the no follow tag is removed and I screen every comment.

But it creates a lot of work. Every limo service & locksmith in the world seems to make an effort to leave inane comments not realizing that I would need to approve 5 for it to be of any value. In the end, I delete probably ~10 unapproved comments every day to try and keep things working smoothly here.

Worth it? I am not sure but I enjoy the conversation and really want to encourage the real thing.

I received the following comment earlier today and I thought, cool…the Ann Smarty has stopped by.. It struck me as odd that she would leave a somewhat plagarized comment…but her gravatar looked right and I was in a rush so I approved it.

1. Yes, the Google “way” of solving all problems via algo does not work very well when this spam is obvious, painful and contrary to ground truth. In the past they have only removed very high profile cases and all else sits and awaits time for the system to be “innoculated”.The delay, which can seem like 2 lifetimes to a struggling SMB, is a PR disaster waiting to happen.

   Comment by Ann| link building services (1 comments) — January 5, 2010 @ 5:00 am |Edit This

I contacted Ann, and of course she didn’t write the comment. It turns out it isn’t the Ann Smarty at all but rather a Phillipine laborer impersonating Ann, using her gravatar to make it look convincing and trying to create links for “Lease an SEO” in Nebraska. Ah, the benefits of global outsourcing.

Oh, and be on the watch out for comment impersonators using her (and mine as well) avatar looking to get a cheap link.