Lots of help: only one answer

/ M-R / 41 Comments

And the answer is that I must stop letting Comments be open: I have to approve them. What this is going to mean to my time in the mornings I can’t think. But it appears that it’s either time spent on clearing spam that Akismet has lovingly kept for me, or on manually approving comments.

I forgot to say a HUGE “thank you !!” to all who took the time to respond. I really am grateful, I promise !

That is what I currently see every morning – or the like, of course, as there are varying numbers of Akismet’s “OTY”s in the spam queue.

That is the remaining duo (of something like a previous dozen, all of which I deleted) that I’m keeping for Akismet if they ever get back to me by email. You will observe that they both state they’ve been cleared by Akismet; and if anyone can suggest WHY, I shall be grateful.

That is what I THINK I must change my settings to. In fact, the only change to what is already set and has been forever will be Before a comment appears, where I tick the Comment must be manually approved box.

Any further kindnesses available on this, please, team …?

Addendum:

If I show you this, you may begin to understand my grief and chagrin …

Who’s a spam expert ?

/ M-R / 37 Comments

I just sat down at my desk and fired up the screen, going as I always do first to my blog dashboard so as to be able to clear that bloody list of spam comments, only to find that since I was last here – roughly 3½ hours ago – there were TWENTY-TWO SPAM COMMENTS in the list !!! Jesus.

Now, I know I’ve visited this topic before, and I remember that people offered me helpful responses, but my rapidly ageing brain has failed to sort and collate them. Which means that I never grasped it. Sorry.

[hangs head]

So. Here are my questions all neat and tidy, to be answered (again) by those feeling kind:

  • when Akismet “blocks” spam, as per the green thinggy in my sidebar, does that mean the spam THEN GOES INTO THE COMMENTS LIST ?
  • or does it mean that Akismet burns it out of existence and it disappears in a puff of smoke from my blog ?
  • and following on from this, is what I find when I open my dashboard – to my incredulous RAGE –
    “Akismet has protected your site from 3,696 spam comments already. There are 22 comments in your spam queue right now”
    the spam mentioned in that somewhat vainglorious boast in the greenwidget ?
  • or are they spam that Akismet has temporarily removed from my Comments so that I can check them and then destroy them myself ?

Let me see if I can be less confusing (cross yer fingers !) …

Is Akismet blocking a one-stage or two-stage process ?: i.e., does it shift spam from Comments to that list in the dash and let you do the burning ? – or does it burn most of them and leave some it’s unsure of in the dash list for you to decide about ?

And what is the link between Akismet and that Comment Moderation command in Settings ? – for it’s that command that makes me think Akismet is simply not doing its job.

Daily Prompt Photo Challenge: On Top

/ M-R / 47 Comments

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/on-top/

In a post created specifically for this challenge, share a photo that means ‘On Top!’

on-top

Stringer and a very old friend of ours had climbed Sacré Coeur inside, and this was what he shot once out again. You don’t get to see the Eiffel Tower so far away all that often …

Dunno what that thing on the left in the distance is: it can’t be Le Défense because there’d be other high things as well …

I love our blogging community !

/ M-R / 42 Comments

A while ago now, Sparkonit posted a most gratifying list of blogs it referred to as “awesome” and to be followed.

Those of us fortunate enough to be cited in the list immediately checked out all the others in it as a first reaction. As you do.   :-)

One of the list is that from which you see a screengrab, above: Simon Johnson’s extraordinarily well-written cycling travels in Ireland and Wales, culminating in travelling through some of England before reaching his home again. Simon’s ability to write interestingly on the travels themselves, coupled with an amazing ability to provide background information, beats anything Chic and I wrote of our travels into a cocked hat: I found his posts absolutely fascinating.

But nevertheless I managed to find the odd thing to niggle about, and did so. You wot knows me understands that I niggle only when I think you’re letting the side down, regardless if it’s only a fraction; by which I mean that I think you’ve done [X] that’s had some effect on the quality of your post.

As to who the devil I think I am to say things of this nature – there is no answer: it’s just me.

In spite of this, Simon’s found time to read my book. Only the gods know how, and he has a lot of things going on in his life – or would certainly like some of them to be going on that aren’t yet ! – but he has, as his post accessible via that screengrab attests. He will be providing his actual review tomorrow …

And by the way; another of the bloggers on the list is Barbara Pyett, who reviewed “ATLMD” a short time ago. And yet another is Mary-Gwyn Bowen of The Painting Pundit – about whose failure to review my book … well … probably the less said the better. Ahem.   [grin]

Not forgetting to draw to your attention again to the best review any writer ever had, that came from our fellow-blogger Sue Terry at Whispering Gums who, whilst lodging in a somewhat rareified stratum, is nevertheless a very nice and perfectly normal person !   :-D

But I am guilty of having temporarily overlooked another, by our Susan Edelman, which I posted a week or two ago: such rudeness on my part ! – it was because of the unimportant fact that she was overlooked on that list. As if that matters ! Ditto with Colleen’s review: oh, I am ashamed.

But no-one can be surprised by my appreciation of this blogging community.

Your correspondent admits

/ M-R / 50 Comments

I gave another of my library talks on Tuesday evening.

It wasn’t one of the big audiences, but only – ermm … [thinks] … about seven people, We sat in lovely comfy chairs, with a big plate of nibblies of various kinds and a tray of bottles of nice stuff (including champers !). I had a glass of a very nice white: I needed something, as at that stage I thought no-one at all was going to turn up – it was pissing down, outside. But they did, all at once, and off we went. I mean, of course, off I  went …

It was the first time I’d talked in so intimate a setting: I blame my behaviour on that – surely not on one measly glass of white !

For I think I must have showed/shown off dreadfully. I confess that I’ve always been ready to do that – to show off – and every one of you who is itching to say “Tell me about it !” can go to blazes.    :-)

I gave a version of The Talk, and then read Sue Terry’s review of “ATLMD” to them; this I had decided would put the book in a better light, so to speak, than its author could (as she is bound to say nice things about it, isn’t she ?!). And I finished with reading them a very  short chapter. Then I said “Now ask me something” and sat back.

To my surprise, it was the first group who didn’t ask me about the film industry: no, I found we were discussing, to my appalled horror, my abilities as a speaker ! This is not meant to happen, and I floundered under the compliments: I am hopeless at being gracious in such circumstances, and want nothing more than for it to stop.  This is A Failing, as has been pointed out to me: one is meant to be able to accept nice things said to one and not screw one’s face up and look the other way. Something to do with self-esteem, right ?

Those of you who have already read “ATLMD” know that said quality is not … ahh … omnipresent in your correspondent. I do realize that those who haven’t can be forgiven for thinking I’m a loudmouth smart-(_|_) who thinks the sun shines out of the same spot, but that’s just years of brazening it out. I think …

But then I have to admit the business of the showing-off.

:-|

They don’t marry. How can one person be a frightful show-off and have no self-esteem at the same time ?

Nothing to do with extra- or introversion (sorry, Chris !) …

I must still be fodder for someone to trepan me and stare fixedly into what I laughingly refer to as my brain, and then come up with a pronouncement of amazing depth and wisdom.

I sure could use one.

I know, I know – but …

/ M-R / 33 Comments

ScienceDumpDon’t sigh and roll your eyes, because we’ve all (and recently) been discussing this … I’ve never seen the topic presented in so compelling a manner before – and I’m ready to bet you haven’t, either. Unless, of course, you’ve already laid eyes on this Science Dump video …

Daylight Saving NEEDS to be talked about – or at least read about – because the reasons for its origins might as well be lost in the mists of time for all the sense it makes now.