Gravatar II, check your commenter
Hello everybody
I did not have the intention to come back so quickly as I only write 1 WA post a month.
Angry Cat, Photo Pixabay
I must confess I am getting irritated as this issue has been going on since the 11e November when I contacted SiteSupport. I know they are working on it as they have told me. It seems some things will be changed behind the scenes so this cannot happen in the future anymore.
What happened a few days ago prompts me to write a new post. I start feeling like Sherlock Holmes I can assure you, this story is getting wilder by the day.
For those who have missed my previous post, here is the link. Have a look so you will understand what this new post is about. https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/laparra1/blog/lovely-christm...
I received 3 comments thru SiteComments.
Top left of the comment was a picture of a person and also a name. As I did not know these people just to be sure I clicked on the first and got a Gravatar and the same name. I authorized the comment and replied. Then I clicked on the second and got the same Gravatar and it happened again with the 3e comment. These comments I did not authorize. I send a screenshot to SiteSupport.
From now on I will check the person if I do not know them. If they have a name will not matter anymore as I will check the Gravatar of all comments received before replying to any of them.
There seem to be at least 2 people on Wealthy Affiliate that have multiple profiles under the same Gravatar.
1 Comment per person on a post, that is the rule.
A little tip for newbies. This is an example. If I write a post about oranges do not comment and talk about apples as that shows you have not read the post. I will not approve those comments.
Greetings from the south of Spain,
Taetske
Recent Comments
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I have two gravatars because I have two email addresses and I once had 3 websites. I don't try to hide my identity. I have one WA account and therefore only answer each comment once.
EXCEPTION: In the paid comments I was once shown the same exact article twice!! I didn't think that was possible. I had already commented once, and I didn't want to lose my zero-skipped status, so I switched email addresses then left another comment. I don't know if the writer accepted. I believe that was a glitch with WA. I don't believe in commenting twice unless I'm invited back to answer a reply. Sorry if that one exception makes me a bad person.
Good Morning Cathy,
Do not worry for sure I did not mean you. This person(s) I am talking about is placing multiple comments at the same time on 1 post, trying to pretend to be different people.
These people have different little photos or images top left of the comments. It might even have different names. When you then click and see the Gravatar it is the same for all of them.
At the moment I am rotating all my posts from my 2 websites. That can mean somebody who is waiting to leave a comment is presented my post a second time after some months. In that case, I would skip answering if I were you.
Greetings from the south of Spain,
Taetske
We often get multiple comments even if we request just one. This exact scenario happened to me today. I requested one comment and got about 6. 2 of them were from the same person using two different accounts with the same Gravatar.
Good afternoon Jessica,
When that happens send SiteSupport a screenshot.
Greetings from the south of Spain,
Taetske
Good afternoon Deb,
Thank you for your comment. I do not know either how they do it but they do it big scale.
I only ask for comments once a day at maximum.
Yes, I know I can edit and that is what I am doing more than I like and already for a very long time.
As an example, if I write a post about oranges and my commenter talks about apples twice and never even uses the word oranges that shows me this person has not a clue. In this case, I refused to change the apples for oranges by editing the comment.
Greetings from the south of Spain,
Taetske
Strange things happen under the midnight sun.
I received a similar comment yesterday...commented on stuff that wasn't even in the post. It's the first comment I have ever disapproved.
Sometimes when requesting comments, I am sent to two or three posts by the same person. That's fine...guess that is not what you are talking about.
Good afternoon Fran,
No, Fran, that is not what I am talking about.
You receive 4 comments thru SiteComments. It looks as if they are different people as the little picture and name are different. When you click on it it turns out it is the same person as for all 4 there is only 1 Gravatar.
That is why when you do not know the person who leaves a comment it is important you verify their identity first before you accept the comment on your website.
Greetings from the south of Spain,
Taetske
I’ve been clicking the Gravatar and surprise I had two ...
so it does help I thanked you from first post but I’ll thank you again
Tim
Good afternoon Tim,
It is very important that you make a screenshot and forward it to SiteSupport.
Then, when you decline these 2 comments you give for both the same reason/text.
Greetings from the south of Spain,
Taetske
Good afternoon Cliff,
It is nearly 3 years I am here and I have never noticed this before.
It seems these are new people who recently signed up for WA. Not nice to disturb our normally peaceful community.
Greetings from the south of Spain,
Taetske
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I just had this happen to me today! I have not been using Site Comments much in the last few months but sure enough, that happened when I used it today. I clicked on the Gravatar and saw the same one for two different "people" and realized the same person is using multiple accounts. I am sure they are doing this in order to make money on Site Comments again. This is related to the problems we had when the option to get payment from Site Comments was brought on board last winter. It became obvious to me right away that some people were leaving as many comments as they could in order to make money with no intention of operating a real website. Some argued that made no sense since the payment for comments is too low. That is not true if you are living in Nigeria though! The payment for Site Comments is probably a real job there.
I feel badly for people trying to make a living but we are trying to make a living too. Therefore, I will not accept comments that are:
1) Made by the same person under different user names.
2) Copy and pasted from earlier comments (this happened many times to me and is why I first brought attention to this issue last year). By doing this the commenter does not have to read the post. They simply copy and past an existing comment and perhaps change some words or add a new sentence or two at the beginning or end. (Note: I think WA did something to address this duplication issue)
3) Made by a person who clearly has no interest in the subject of my post and did not even read or bother to understand my post.
4) Are barely related to or contradictory to the content of my post. It seems some commenters simply read the title of the post then proceed to write something quickly and end up totally contradicting the point of the post. I used to think they were being obstinate but then I realized this is probably just an indication they didn't READ the post at all!
5) Pushing a competing product in a comment on my post. If I am reviewing a product, what makes them think I will accept a comment that recommends a competing product and/or has a link to a competing website?
This sort of thing can lower our post ranking because it looks like spam...because it IS spam!! Say NO TO SPAM and do not accept these comments if you want a quality website.
I think WA cracked down on the copied comments so now these people are moving onto other schemes! I will report them.
Thanks for doing a post on this Taetske!
Jessica
Good afternoon Jessica,
Thanks for stopping by. You bring up many good points. Lately, I have become a little less flexible with comments as I am getting a tic tired when I have to edit the whole time.
This last incident started on the 11th Nov. when I discovered these multiple people with one Gravatar. When it happens one should report it to SiteSupport. Since my first complaint, SiteSupport and I have got 35 messages between us.
Various people have said it has happened to them too and I think this virus is widespread.
You are right in saying in certain countries $0.50 is money and that is why they have taken on the job of making comments. For us who receive these comments, it is a bore and I hope WA will put a stop to this practice.
Greetings from the south of Spain,
Taetske