Hazy is Not Spam

Posted byP. C. ZickPosted inThe Writing LifeTags:, , ,

2FBHazy.jpgI call her Hazy; she calls me P.C. And we call each other friends.

Thankfully, she contacted me recently to ask me a question. She thought it strange that I had not been responding to comments she left on my blog. She knows me well and knew something must be amiss if I wasn’t responding. We finally figured out that her comments of the past few weeks were being sent to my WordPress spam folder, along with all the strange symbol-names and foreign-language comments.

Her likes appeared just fine, but for some reason, her comments did not. I featured Hazy on Author Wednesday a few months back, and her post received more spam comments than any other posts to date. We’re not sure if that’s what set off the spamming of her comments or not. Thankfully, I was able to pull her comments out of the dead-end file and respond to them in my usual manner.

I’m sending out this post for a couple of reasons.

  1. I respond to every legitimate comment on my blog. If at all possible, I respond within hours. I enjoy every single comment and want those who take the time to respond to know how much I appreciate them.
  2. I hope if you’ve left me comments, and I haven’t responded,  you’ll let me know so I can search through my folders.
  3. If you feel your comments to other blogs go unanswered, you’ll make the effort to ask why.
  4.  Finally, if you miss a regular commenter on your blog, you’ll check into the situation.

Thanks to Hazy for bringing this situation to light.

 

 

Published by P. C. Zick

I write. It's as simple and as complicated as that. Storytelling creates our cultural legacy.

10 thoughts on “Hazy is Not Spam”

  3. How funny. Hazy is one of the few you comments on most of my posts, and a few weeks ago all her comments started going to spam on my blog, as well. I was miffed.

    “What the hell, WordPress?!” I asked out loud.

    WordPress gave me a deadpan stare that could hardly be considered a response. I like WordPress and all, but I wanted more of a reaction.

    “Don’t do that,” I said firmly. “Hazy isn’t spam. Stop it. Stop it right now.”

    WordPress never gave me the heart-felt apology I wanted, but Hazy’s comments seem to be coming through fine now. Thank God for small miracles. I find Hazy’s insights very encouraging. Plus, I only have about 3 regular readers, and 2 of them rarely comment on my posts. Without her, it’s all crickets and the ‘sounds of silence’ over on my blog, which sounds poetic, but isn’t. I need those comments!

    I’m weirdly glad to hear I wasn’t the only one, and even more happy to learn that you found the issue and resolved it. 🙂

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    1. I agree with everything, Dex! Hazy has been with me since the beginning and without her comments in my early days, I’d have thought I was the lone tree in the forest. However, I haven’t had a response from WordPress yet and a comment she left on a new post today did not get posted AND it’s not in my Spam folder! She’s also contacted WordPress. Let’s hope we can figure out why!

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      1. Wow. That is so weird. And frustrating.

        Far too many people don’t really understand how valuable feedback is to a writer. When you’re pounding away post after post on a blog, sometimes it feels like you’re writing to yourself. In a way, that’s fine. I mean, we write for the love of writing, right? But at the same time, even occasional comments go a long way to encourage us. Hazy is wonderful about that. She consistently leaves good feedback.

        Stop picking on her, WordPress!

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