Akismet getting agressive these days? at Josh Bancroft’s TinyScreenfuls.com

Akismet getting agressive these days?

Published

on February 7, 2006

Like lots of WordPress users, I use Akismet to filter out spam comments. It’s worked really well for me so far.

In the last couple of days, I’ve seen a few people comment about how it’s gotten more aggressive, and has been flagging some legitimate comments as spam. With that in mind, I dove into the queue of comments it was holding as spam, and lo and behold, there were several real comments.

I recovered them, and they should be showing up now - sorry if your comment got blocked.

I don’t really know if this is related to Akismet getting aggressive, or if I was just lazy in checking the queue for good comments. When I first installed it, it performed so well that I got zero false indications, so I never developed the habit of checking on the queue. Guess I’ll have to change that now…

1 Response to “Akismet getting agressive these days?”

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1 David Langford
February 8, 2006 at 12:20 am

Speaking of comments. I’d like to request more cell phone reviews. I will be looking to drop Verizon as soon as my contract expires, but I don’t even know which cell phone to get with the new carrier because tinyscreenfuls hasn’t had a review of any in a while.
Sorry if I’m so demanding, but it’s causing me a lot of stress. It is such a big commitment. I’m not sure if I can handle it…

Josh’s Lifelog

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Arrived at our yurt at Nehalem Bay State Park. Barely have an EDGE signal. http://twitpic.com/fkv2 #
High latency and only 62kbps, but at least I won’t be offline all weekend. I am the pansiest camper EVAR. #
Survived the first night in the yurt. Barely. It got COLD last night. Low 30s. Heater couldn’t keep up below 40. Rough night… #
Everyone else, surprisingly, stayed toasty warm. I was the only one who couldn’t sleep and froze his USB dongle off. #
@blath LOL@ yurt street cred. You’re right - around here, that carries more weight than a fancy college degree. #
@leahjones We’re camping on the Oregon Coast. You have to reserve these suckers 9 months in advance. My wife loves camping. #
On the upside, three deer walked by this morning, and hung out grazing about 10 feet away. #

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Going camping (in a yurt) on the Oregon coast with the family. Yes, we’re going to freeze to death. That’s why we got a yurt - heaters! #

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I’m going to start posting my “link+commentary” items to my blog instead of to my linkblog. Want more to see them. That’s good stuff! #
Am I the only one that finds the VW Brooke Shields “get pregnant to get a VW Routan” bit vapid and offensive? #
A change to the way I’ve been doing my linkblog (”interesting items with comment from Josh”) and my blog: http://tinyurl.com/3nbq7v #
Today I am surly and have a headache. I should not be allowed to interact with people. Except you, Twitter. #
@Jerry_Makare I shall endeavor to stop being surly by the time I have to get in front of the camera this afternoon. #
@Jerry_Makare If we’re BOTH surly, that will surely make for some interesting video, no? #
Ooh, I just figured out a way to keep my “linkblog” items, with commentary, going into my linkblog site, as well as my blog. I love Tubes! #
@verso It was simple. I use a category for my “linkblog” posts on blog. WP categories have their own feed. I tell soup.io to import the feed #
@verso So now my linkblog stays “as it was”, my blog gets more interested posts, and FriendFeed stays the same. Ahhh, elegance. #
Two very cool free iPhone apps I just discovered and downloaded: I. TV (slick TV listings, via @sourcecode) and Trapster (speed trap maps). #
@jezlyn Yeah, I’ve seen some other TV listings apps that weren’t free, and frankly didn’t sound so hot. I.TV works great so far for me! #
I need a special character to denote “this is a full, feature-length blog post”, like @gruber’s ? on Daring Fireball. Any suggestions? #
Or maybe I should use the special character to denote “this is a linkblog post”, and leave “full blown” posts undenoted. What do you think? #
@verso Excellent idea. Now, what is the ASCII code for the “orange Croc” character? #
Ooh! What about this character? ? It looks like a link. What is it? Does it have any meaning I should be aware of? #
@verso I knew you could help! What do you think about this one? ? #
It has to be something that will display on modern systems, and fail gracefully on systems that can’t display it (nothing platform specific) #
Shoot. The ? character doesn’t work on my blog. Does it have an HTML entity code? I think I’m going to be limited to those. #
@pfs08 Ooh! That’s a good idea. How do I write/represent the character that Mediawiki/Wikipedia uses for an external link? Hmm… #
Rats. The way MediaWiki does it is with an image. That won’t work. #
I think I’ve figured it out. The ? is a Unicode character, and can be represented in HTML as ☍ Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/4szmtx #
@blogan Yeah, there are probably going to be places (Google Reader being one) where it doesn’t display correctly. Will test, decide if worth #
Ooh, mysterious. Apparently, the ? symbol is named “Opposition”. I think it looks like a link, though. http://tinyurl.com/4ttx52 #
@BrianEnigma Thanks! You beat me to it! #
Thanks for your help with that link character/Unicode nonsense. I’ve got it working the way I want: http://tinyurl.com/4zfr5x #
Hey! I posted my 2000th (and 2001st) post on TinyScreenfuls.com today, and didn’t even notice until now. Happy milestone to me! #
I missed my blog’s 5 year birthday/anniversary last month, too. I started TinyScreenfuls.com on Sept. 16, 2003: http://tinyurl.com/43cyuj #
I’ve been a blogger for over five years. That makes me OLD in internet time. You kids get off my lawn! #

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Here I am: http://tinyurl.com/3s8aqq Not really. My iPhone thinks I’m in Akron, Ohio. Huh? #
Were digital cameras banned at the debate? Cause everyone in the audience is taking pics with janky plastic disposable film cameras. #
THIS is why the internet is different from TV. A few hundred friends and I just watched something, and TALKED TO EACH OTHER THE WHOLE TIME. #
@betsywhim yes, if you don’t mind. Can I d you my address, and have you drop it in the mail? I’ll make it worth it. #
Watching the debate rerun on OPB - we missed most of it, putting kids to bed. Will be interesting having seen the Twitter reactions already. #
@RevTim you can turn off autocorrect in the next version of the iPhone OS (along with Google Street View). In beta now. #
I once knew a guy that called me “my friend” ALL the time. Like multiple times in a conversation. It was really creepy and uncomfortable… #
@biglabs Hey, have the winners of the Gnomedex Bug Labs contest been chosen/announced? Did I miss that, or is it still to come? #
@pmsi But, there’s no such thing as an “Intel biz tweet”. There are only people, who happen to work for Intel, who talk about their lives. #
@pmsi Sure, some of us talk about the Intel part of our lives, but some of us don’t. The value of Twitter (to me) is the PEOPLE. #
Seeing really weird, tiny artifacts on my Dell 2407FPW LCD. Like someone sneezed all over it, but they won’t wipe off. Eww. #
@jenvteal My monitor has never been outside, but yeah, it kind of looks like sap. #
Hey, I completely forgot about Ubiquity, and that I can tweet from it. Thanks, @caseorganic, for reminding me! #
i don’t think the character remaining count in Ubiquity works quite right, though. That last tweet was too long, and went over. This one? #
Oh wait, nevermind. The tweet displays fine. It’s just the “Latest” view on twitter.com, under the tweet box, that’s cut off. Lame! #
Why on earth would twitter.com allocate only 97 characters to display your “latest” tweet? Why not the full 140? Seems like bad design… #
@Viper007Bond You’re right that you can click to expand that truncated “Latest” tweet, but why even truncate it at all? #
@pmsi Then you’ll soon notice that those Intel twitter accounts are just repeating stuff from the site’s RSS feeds. #
@pmsi Oh, and if you want to direct your replies to me, I’m @jabancroft, not @jbancroft or @joshbancroft (though my search catches all). #
@pmsi Groups and organizations can’t tweet, because they’re not people. So you end up with rehashed feeds or a person masquerading as an org #
@funkatron Oh yeah? Well I think YOU’RE Crystal Pepsi. So there! #
@funkatron Yeah, fitting space to char counts on the web sucks, but is there anywhere it would be EASIER than the 140 limit on Twitter? #
@funkatron This is what I’m talking about (tweets getting truncated on Twitter.com, by design): http://tinyurl.com/3vawxp #
@Jmartens Did you walk through said door, or walk THROUGH it? Do you need medical attention? Will you sue? #
@pmsi Just trying to help. Welcome to Twitter! #
@Jmartens Glad to hear you’re not injured. Plate glass can be dangerous! We’ve got your back, man. #
@donpdonp Yes! I found one article on it. Apparently, the meteor hit, but there are no photos or video yet http://tinyurl.com/466pq2 #

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So, anyone seen any photos (better yet: video) of the car-sized meteor that’s supposed to be streaking across Sudan right about now? #
Bummed at the lack of meteor news/photos/video. Maybe tomorrow. (via FriendFeed) #
This is how long it’s been since I logged into MySpace - my profile still listed me as “single” (I’ve been married for over 7 years #
Or maybe I just never filled out that field. Still, it was funny. Don’t ask why I decided to log into MySpace all of a sudden. I don’t know. #
@lawduck Heh. I’m man enough to admit I like some j-pop. #
@mrinklin I know. That’s why I changed to “married”, so no one gets the wrong idea! #
@DrPizza Yeah, I think you’re right. I think I just never filled that part out, and it defaulted to “single”. #
“They” (mysterious captialized They) just roped off the cubes where my group (intel Software Network) sits with “Caution” tape… :-O #
Did you know: It’s a fireable offense to cross Caution tape at Intel? I can’t leave my cube! (note: the rule applies to electric work #
The real (boring) story on the Caution tape cordon around ISN: they’re replacing some of the carpet squares. Nothing to see. Move along. #
@ahockley I’d much rather they got around to removing the wall in my cube they accidentally installed a month ago and haven’t yet removed. #
@oregonian Yay for “more human interaction, less automation”! #
@jltitus Good luck! I’m sure you’ll do a great job. Your enthusiasm is contagious. #
@oregonian Can you let us know a little bit about the human? Who are you? Are you a group? We want to get to know you! #
@gregjsmith Ah, good to know. Good thing they didn’t corral us with the red tape! We’d all be fired! #
Caution! Intel Software Network! http://twitpic.com/f0h7 #
@oregonian Nice to “meet” you, Mark. Another suggestion - listed to the Portland twitterati for local news ideas. Stuff breaks FAST here #
Feel like angry music. Ah, Beastie Boys, there you are. #
@mellowynk Oh, there’s some RATM in there, for sure. #
And now for some speed metal - Dragonforce, I love you, but there’s NO WAY I’ll ever be able to do TTFAF even on Medium in GH3. #
@pmsi To see who at Intel is on twitter, look at who @pulseofintel follows. I might’ve missed a few. The group that uses SM the best? ISN! #
As @billpearson and @tersteeg have noted, our fancy IP phones have been rebooting themselves all day. It’s fun to watch! Or not… #
@psteinb I agree with @jmoriarty. if you weren’t cool before, Intel ain’t going to make you cool. #
@samgrover It’s some guy at PMSI, an agency here in Portland. No idea what they’re doing, though. Contact @pmsi and ask. #
It seems that @pmsi_intel is duplicating what I’ve already done (following known Intel people) with @pulseofintel. Not sure why… #
@eriksr Oh! The meteor is going to happen TODAY. I thought it was yesterday. Date fencepost error, sorry! Looking forward to pics and video! #
Dear Twitter: Does anyone have any extra of those metal bendy earpieces for a Jawbone bt headset? I can’t find my spares… #
I broke the metal piece of my Jawbone headset last year in Chicago, and have been headsetless ever since. *whine whine* #
RT @tiesque - check out this Legion of Tech video we did. It was all kinds of fun, original music and all! http://tinyurl.com/3htev7 #
@TiEsQue Thanks for posting that video, dear! #

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Why is there a helicopter hovering around my neighborhood at 6 AM? #
@lestew seriously? I figured lifeflight or escaped criminal or something. #
@ahockley That’s probably it. I do live near TV Hwy. #
TV Hwy was still closed (WB) near 209th when I just came by. Police were there videotaping something from that earlier lifeflight accident. #
@LeStew Not sure. I didn’t drive by TV and Murray (I live off of 209th). #
Caught this in my search feeds, but I have NO idea what she’s saying: “Vaccine Against Bancroft-itis working…” http://tinyurl.com/44re8w #
@Jerry_Makare I’m scared to even think of what would happen to me if I received a vaccination against Bancroft-itis. Would I melt? Explode? #
@Jerry_Makare Bancroft-itis symptoms include weight gain, compulsive feed subscriptions, urge to wear black t-shirts, and overtweeting. #
@Jmartens I disagree. I see no “upgrades” in the rumored new Kindle. Only downgrades. No more SD slot. No more user replaceable battery. #
@Jmartens It’s bigger, but the screen is the same size. How is that better? Joystick and diff buttons = possibly better, possibly worse IMO. #
@donpdonp Ah, yes. By the time the orange Crocs symptom appears, Bancroft-itis is already in its terminal stage, and there’s no hope. #
@Jmartens Boy Genius Report has pics of the new Kindle. Site’s down, but here’s the Google cache: http://tinyurl.com/4aobx8 Not sure I like. #
Gizmodo on “how to buy gadgets in China”, uses (with permission) several of my photos from the Shanghai PC Mall: http://tinyurl.com/3n5yts #
@Jerry_Makare What? You’ve got orange Crocs?! You’re right. You’re doomed. #
Man, Gizmodo’s content gets scraped and reposted EVERYWHERE. I’m getting hits from all kinds of weird sites from my name in that Giz post. #
@mikearmstrong99 The “proxy blocking TinyURL” issue is apparently a mistaken configuration on part of the pool. Search Intelpedia for more. #
@aodan8 Happiest of happy birthdays to you! Oh, and go look in the microwave… #
Hey! A ten foot diameter asteroid is going to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere over Africa in about 4 hours. Cool! http://tinyurl.com/54h7rt #
@briancrouch Well, they say “between 3 and 15 feet”. But it’s the first time they’ve even been able to predict/observe something like this. #
Ignite Portland 4 submissions are looking amazing, but we still don’t have yours. You have one more week! Don’t forget! http://bit.ly/ip4sub #
And, the Ignite event concept has made it into Wikipedia! http://tinyurl.com/3lxmml Many thanks to @StevenWalling at @aboutus for writing it #
And speaking of wikis, RT @stevenwalling Wikis Usurp Corporate Intranets (PC World article): http://tinyurl.com/4e7pzl #
Since creating Intelpedia (Intel’s now-huge internal MediaWiki-based wiki), I’ve heard of and helped start tons of company wikis. It’s fun! #
@jltitus Pretty soon, they’ll be writing you and your company up in PC World, the WSJ, etc. #

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Just updated to iTunes 8.0.1. Among the bug fixes: “Improves checking for updates from the App Store.” Yes, please! #
I got “tagged” by @blogan as a reminder to register and vote. I’m not going to tag 5 in return, though. I tag ALL of you. Do it! #
@donpdonp Are you sure it wasn’t kombucha? That stuff is spoiled *on purpose*. #
I accidentally bought a kombucha at Powell’s once, thinking it was juice. Luckily I smelled it before I actually got it to my lips. Yeesh. #

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@Jerry_Makare Nice! We Kindle users will eventually take over the world, you know. You will be assimilated. #
Was nervous about presenting my “10% innovation idea” in staff, but it was really well received. Now, to make it happen! #
It’s so cool that I know most of the people who wrote the Obama iPhone app that everyone’s buzzing about this morning. Great job! #
The new Nintendo DSi looks good. Two cameras, an SD slot, and bigger screens? Yes, please! Better use the same charger connector, though. #
Looks like the DSI drops the GBA cart slot to make room for the other stuff. That’s OK. That’s what my GBA SP (which I gave to Emma) is for! #
@eriksr Piracy is already rampant on the DS. I have a cart that takes a MicroSD card, and can play games from ROM files (only games I own). #
@eriksr It’s unclear if the DSi will boot or run software from the SD slot (beyond using it for pic/MP3 storage). But interesting point. #
@KevinCTofel XP in Fusion on Mac OS X on the MSI Wind? Let us know how that works out for you. I’m curious about VM performance on Atom. #
@gregscher Yup, I’ve been an Exposure fan from Day One, and it can still do some things the web version can’t - maps/location, etc. #
Just updated my Flickr iPhone Interface post with “what doesn’t work” and a screenshot of the home screen icon: http://tinyurl.com/4mfxnp #
RT @giovanni: SXSW interactive ‘09 panels announced http://ping.fm/sXxv7 #
Hey, Flickr has an “add friends from your email address book” feature. Is that new? I just added a TON of you guys as contacts. Hi! #
A cookie to the first to answer this Q: Does the multitouch trackpad on an Eee PC 1000 work (2 finger scroll) under Mac OS X (hacked)? #
Thanks for the Eee PC 1000 multitouch answers. @chrisorourke was first. @eriksr first with a link. Hon. mention to @superspiker. #
As your reward, have some cookies! http://tinyurl.com/4lfnwq #
I may have to rescind my cookies - those links go to the guide to install Mac OS X on an Eee, but don’t confirm that multitouch scroll works #
@superspiker et al: Ah, there it is. Mr X’s comment on August 18th confirms multtitouch scroll works: http://tinyurl.com/6cbx7t #
I unrescind the cookies I rescinded earlier. Thanks, guys! #
@kellyrfeller This one’s for you (Robert Plant related): http://tinyurl.com/4snyp8 How was the show - I’m jealous! #
My goal for the afternoon is to kick my inboxes you-know-what. These things are WAY out of control! #
RT @superspiker http://tinyurl.com/pdxbacon Donuts and Bacon t-shirt. Voodoo Doughnuts should start selling these - I’d buy one! #
Work Inbox 8 achieved. Better than the couple hundred it was sitting at. #
@lawduck I was JUST reading that. Very funny (cute aggressive Asus Eee PC marketing - http://tinyurl.com/3ql5ke) #
My Hackintosh Netbook dreams take a twist: Mac OS X goes onto the Dell Mini 9, and EVERYTHING works (wifi, sound): http://tinyurl.com/53xwvz #
All of the netbooks have something that doesn’t work under OS X (wifi, ethernet, audio, etc.). The Dell is the first where it all works. #
Fun things I’ve heard of people cooking in honor of the VP debate: moose stew and Baked Alaska. #
Me? I’ve been waiting for 20 minutes at a packed Papa Murphy’s for a chicken garlic pizza. Yum! #
I’m getting strange looks from people for how I’m dressed. I swear I didn’t plan a brown and orange ensemble on purpose! #
NPR analyst: “She did everything in her power to answer the question she WANTED to have been asked.” #
Paving my sister in law’s computer and reinstalling Vista. I feel dirty. #
I just discovered what the problem is with my SIL’s computer: it’s got an AMD processor. #

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Major kudos to Apple for dropping the silly parts of the iPhone development NDA: http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/ #
So many things to get done before my next meeting. Time to block out the world with headphones and get cranking. #
I’m freaked about all the weird stuff @tersteeg, @sharong, and @paranoidmike are tweeting that slipped into the bailout bill. :-O #
“Sec. 401. Permanent authority for undercover operations.” #
“Sec. 402. Permanent authority for disclosure of information relating to terrorist activities.” #
And then the absurd: “Sec. 325. Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products; wool research fund; wool duty refunds.” #
“Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility.” #
“Section 503: exemption from an excise tax for children’s wooden arrows” #
@zechariahs I haven’t looked closely at the bill. What changed with FDIC? #
OMG I LOVE the new Flickr iPhone interface. @gruber says it might be the best ever, and he’s right. http://m.flickr.com screenshots soon! #
@Jmartens This seems to be the text of the bill (at WSJ, via @tersteeg): http://tinyurl.com/3mtvt7 #
@Jerry_Makare I thought the bailout bill passed the Senate, but hasn’t gone to the House yet? #
@Jmartens LOL @ “FailOut” bill. Let me know if you find a whale in there anywhere! #
Just posted about Flickr’s new iPhone interface, with 11 screenshots. Share it if you like it! http://tinyurl.com/4mfxnp #
(Psst - some of you make a cameo in my screenshots, on my Contacts page. But I’m not going to say who! http://tinyurl.com/4mfxnp #

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I can haz dry pants? No! Can not has! Stupid dryer taking forever… #
Pro Tip: The AC power brick for the Asus R2H UMPC is the same as the one for the Eee PC 901 (and probably other Eee models), and works fine. #
Dear Twitter: Looking for examples of anyone who uses a netbook as their ONLY computer. Do you? Know someone who does? Let me know! #
@stephtara et al: Clarification: I’m using “netbook” to mean the little 7″-10″ systems like the Eee PC, Acer Aspire, Dell Mini, etc. #
@b3gl You use a laptop, but have you ever tried a netbook? I’m interested in the mix of laptop/netbook/desktop usage people have. Thanks! #
Thanks all for the netbook usage feedback. Sounds like they’re often used when traveling/away, but no one has gone 100% netbook yet. Hmmm… #
You netbook users, what is it that keeps you from using it as your 100% full time only computer? What other computers do you have? #
@philips But you can use an external keyboard and hard drive when you need it. Would that change how you feel about netbooks? #
@blath Power/performance limitations are a real factor. As is strict privacy of files. Small devices are more likely to be stolen. #
@jakeludington But what about hooking up to an external monitor, with better resolution? Would that make a difference? #
I’m working out a “grand unified theory” of cloud computing and the devices we use for it. Should be interesting - will post when ready. #
@jarvitron Good points (better 3G/wifi handoff and fast standby). Though my Eee PC 901 stands by in about 3 seconds. Pretty quick, to me. #
@jen I agree. Who wants to be limited to just one computer? 1 computer per company -> 1 per household -> 1 per person -> multiples. #
@MightySquid But you can hook up to an external monitor. Why not do that? (not trying to argue, really asking why not #
I have my own reasons for why I don’t just use a netbook 100% of the time, but I’m holding back, want to hear what you think first. #
New must-use tool for web creators: smush.it takes a page, optimizes the images, and gives them to you in a zip file. Make your page faster! #
Smush.it is from Yahoo, and has a great Firefox Extension, or you can optimize the images by URL or upload. Unfortunate URL: smushit.com #
@RickBakas http://www.smushit.com. Too bad they didn’t get http://smush.it #
@jakeludington But isn’t lugging a big laptop around for “when you need it” the same as driving a giant SUV without passengers? #
@hangry I don’t know, but apparently smus eat images, and, um, emit them in a reduced form. #
@jakeludington The HP MiniNote 2133 runs 1280×760. Too bad it has a Via processor, instead of Atom, though. #
@jakeludington Which is why my fingers are crossed for an Atom-based version of the HP Mini-Note some day. #
Booting Ubuntu Mobile on the Asus R2H. So far, gets past the Ubuntu logo, and sits at a black screen… #
@jakeludington No one seems to be sure which CPU is in the Vivienne Tam model of the MiniNote, but one can hope for Atom! #
@bljarv is showing me his Hackintosh Acer Aspire One. OS X FLIES on this thing. That does it. I need a Hackintosh Eee PC 1000H! #
Recovering my sister in law’s computer after Vista SP1 nuked it (just like everyone in this 6 page thread @ms): http://tinyurl.com/3qa7vc #
@Yasumoto Actually, I’m booted into Ubuntu to recover the data (photos, docs, etc.), then we’re going to blow it away and re-Vista it. #
Rescuing 25GB of data off of a dead Vista PC 8 GB at a time, over USB, is SLOW. #
And now, on the last 1.5GB, Ubuntu decides to stop recognizing my flash drive. Long reboot from DVD, we’ll see if that fixes it… #

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