The Day I Looked Forward to Casinos, Drugs, and Penises

A few weeks ago, this blog was hopping with comments and massive traffic. It was exciting. I threw myself into the joy and spent way too much time monitoring the blog and rejoicing in the sudden popularity. And, as I knew from past experience, it soon died down. My blog stats leveled back out from […]

Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll Replaced by Sex, Drugs, and Mortgage Rates

“Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll Replaced by Sex, Drugs and Mortgage Rates” That should be the newspaper headings across the planet. But it’s not. So I decided to make it one. “Bloggers Attacked by Sex, Drugs and Mortgage Rates” Is that a better attention getting headline? The reality is that bloggers and websites with […]

WordPress Anniversary: WordPress and Evil

As I look back on the ten years of WordPress, there is a dark side to blogging. While many blamed WordPress for the evil, like guns, WordPress doesn’t cause evil, people cause evil. In fact, WordPress, Automattic, and the WordPress Community has fought longer and harder against the evil doers in the world than most […]

Security and Protection: Understand the Social in a Crime Network and How to Protect Yourself

While the following is a bit off-topic, my head is spinning with all the layers and networks I’ve uncovered within this recent experience. A friend of mine called this a combination assembly line meets Wikipedia of crime social networks. It begins with my car being broken into and my purse stolen a few months ago, […]

Blog Challenge: What Are Your Most Favorite Blog Post Failures

This week’s blog challenge is: Brag about your favorite unpopular posts. On your blog, write a post about your favorite published but unpopular posts, blog posts you thought should have gotten more attention than your blog statistics report. Tell us why you think these are worthwhile posts and why you think they didn’t get the […]

Blog Struggles: Recovering From a Traffic Spike

In The Day I Looked Forward to Casinos, Drugs, and Penises, I discussed the after effects of a massive traffic spike: A few weeks ago, this blog was hopping with comments and massive traffic. It was exciting. I threw myself into the joy and spent way too much time monitoring the blog and rejoicing in […]

Blog Struggles: When An Old Post is New Again

You never know when an old post will revive itself and become one of the most popular posts on your blog at the moment. I’ve had this happen many times. Sometimes, it’s expected. More often not. In the beginning, it would send me into a panic, just another of my many blog struggles. I will […]

Are You Willing To Go Naked For One Day For Akismet?

Are you willing to let your blog go naked for one day? No, it isn’t time for CSS Naked Day. Mark on Akismet was intrigued by the announcement by Jesper Rønn-Jensen to turn off all comment spam protection on December 15, and now challenges all Akismet users to turn off Akismet for a day. It’s […]

Blog Struggles: Blogger’s Depression

It happens to everyone, including bloggers. You work and work, filled with enthusiasm, eager to embrace each day. Then something happens. For a blogger, it’s little things. A mistake found in a post months after publishing. You are embarrassed but no big deal. Then someone says something a bit sarcastic towards you, and not your […]

WordCamp Israel WordPress Tips Talk

The following are my tips and recommendations to help you get the most out of WordPress, be it on WordPress.com or the full version of WordPress as presented to hundreds of WordPress fans at WordCamp Israel (English) recently. This is a fleshed-out version of my program notes outline, with links to more tips and recommendations […]

Weekly Digest: Lorelle Recovers From WordCamp Israel, Sicks, Tackles WordPress.com Marketplace, Content Thieves, and Kicks Blogging Ass

I’m back in the states after an amazingly successful WordCamp Israel conference, and catching up with good friends and good food, arriving back in time for another keynote presentation in Seattle, then crashing down into sick. Cold/Flu/Cough/Yuck. On the good side, there are a lot of fun and exciting things happening in my life and […]

Fighting Comment Spam: WordPress Comments Mass Edit Mode

Every once in a while, the comment spammers win. Just a little. They use new techniques, new IP addresses, some method that slips by Akismet and other comment spam fighting tools. Your Comments Panel overflows with comment spam. After marking 10 or 20 as comment spam, your natural inclination is to fire off an angry […]

Checking WordPress for Comment Spam That Slips By You

A six month old post got a comment yesterday. Responding to the comment, I noticed a comment spam above it with obscene language in it. Specifically, a request for fetish sex. I was so embarrassed that this person had left a comment and saw that as the last comment. I’m so fussy about monitoring for […]

Weekly Digest: Blog Silence Day, Comment Spam Brainstorming

Welcome to the Weekly Digest from Lorelle on WordPress, a one-stop buffet of tips, tricks, and techniques on WordPress and blogging. Past issues can be found in the Weekly Digest category. For information on how to subscribe to this weekly digests of the events and activities on Lorelle on WordPress, check the bottom of this […]

Can We Work Together To Stop Comment Spam?

In iwaruna.com’s “Comment Policy Review”, the author explores the struggle most bloggers have in dealing with the issue of battling comment spam on their blogs. I started out hyper-paranoid and became a “Fort Knox of websites,” as a friend put it: I required registration. I required login. I monitored and moderated every comment. I turned […]