Are All Trackbacks Spam?
Hi Everyone
Quick Question for you.
What would you do with this Trackback?
Ordinarily I just place all my Trackbacks in the Trash or Spam folder but this one has a question I may want to answer.
- There's no email address.
- The website address supplied goes nowhere (IP Address not found).
The screenshot didn't come out nicely so I just copied and pasted the email deleting the links to their dummy website and my site.
Trackback
"A new trackback on the post "Here They Are - Our Top 10 Mom Blogs for 2017" is waiting for your approval
Website: writeaessay (IP address: 120.92.88.202, 120.92.88.202)
URL: sertyumnt
Trackback excerpt:
<strong>essay for me URL</strong>"
I am curious to find out what blog platform you have been working with? I'm having some small security issues with my latest site and I would like to find something more safeguarded. Do you have any solutions? "
Opportunity or Spam?
I'm tempted to answer simply because it's a chance to mention that I have complete website security through Wealthy Affiliate.
I've never replied to a Trackback. Should you?
What do you think? Is there any danger in approving and answering?
All the best
Lauren
Recent Comments
21
I personally would not answer it because it could be some kind of virus. I would not take a chance on that. I would just continue to do what you have been doing. I haven't gotten one before or I should not as of yet. So I don't know what one looks like. But I would just put it in spam or junk mail.
Mary
I've been wondering that as well. I've usually just marked them as spam, but I have wondered if there are any that are acutally ok? It seems most of them truly are junk or spam, but your example certainly does seem to indicate that there could be trackbacks that might be beneficial.
Hmmm. I am not too experienced with trackbacks. Don’t think I have even had one unless they are the same as spam which are obvious.
The question seems genuine and a great opportunity to talk about wealthy affiliate.
Can you not just delete source etc in message and answer it anyway or am I being naive ?
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
Lucky you, Karen. Thanks for answering. Strangely, the WordPress email said it was a Trackbacks but in the comments section on my website it just looked like a normal comment. But because I'm unsure I decided to treat it as spam.
You might want to read this blog of Steven about trackbacks, I always delete them. WordPress Trackbacks & Pingbacks
Thanks Loes. Checked my Discussion settings as per Steven's post and Allow Trackbacks and Pings was already unchecked so not sure why I still get them.
Sometimes, on new posts, the box is checked again after a WP update, you might want to check that
If I am uncertain about anything, I do not take action - Just my general rule of thumb for most things.
When someone or something is not clear, they often end up being a problem.
HOWEVER - Just read this, it doesn't sound to dangerous? Copied from WPBeginner.
What is a Trackback?
Trackbacks give bloggers the ability to communicate between websites. Its almost like one person saying to another “This is something you may be interested in”. The best way to think about this is a Youtube Response video. So for example:
– We write a post on our blog.
– You want to comment on our post, but you want your own readers to see what you have to say and able to comment on it.
– You will then write a post on your blog and send a trackback to our blog post.
– We will receive your trackback, and choose to display it as a comment or not. The comment display will be a title, excerpt and a link to your blog post.
SCARY BUT THE CHOICE IS YOURS!! Lol
Better wait for the experts!
Wayne
See more comments
I have not come across that yet. I also do not know what a Trackback is.
Thanks for the post, though.
Mojalefa.