I have literally just received some comment spam on my blog. Nothing unusual in this, I get 50/60 comment spams on Binary Moon every day.
What is strange is that it made sense. It was a genuine comment from Channel 4 (a large uk television channel) looking for contestants for a new tv show. It was on a post about game programming despite the comment having nothing to do with game development. It included a name and phone number to use for applications for the show. It was, in short, an advert.
I expect spam from people selling illegal drugs, distributing porn, and selling stolen/ fake goods but a spam comment from a legitimate company advertising a legitimate product? I've never seen that before.
Do they really think I'm going to let the comment through? I don't benefit in any way by letting the comment through and they look like spammers by posting an advert on an unrelated blog post. Very strange and more than a little confusing. I'm thinking about emailing them with a link to this post to see if I can get some sort of response.
BTW I have no intention of actually mentioning what show it is being advertised or any contact details as this will only serve to promote them more than letting the comment through in the first place would.
3 Responses to “Legitimate comment spam?” Leave a reply ›
dude, spamkarma2 is your friend.
no need for a moderation cue (queue?), it just works.
I'm an Akismet man. It catches pretty much everything.
I'm not so worried about the spam since I get many a day and have that under control, I'm more concerned about the fact that "legitimate" companies are advertising their products in such a way.
Personally, I would jump up and down and make a fuss about it, see if many others have experienced it, and see if any journalists on IT websites would be interested in poking at Channel 4 with a big stick about it.
I have zero tolerance for spam and if I had an opportunity like this, to blast a company that is spamming, I would take it in a flash,