Spamindicators

I've noticed some spam recently – all caught by WordPress' default spam protection, without needing to resort to services like Akismet – that indicate TWiki is being abused by spammers, especially on a number of academic installations. Ok, so, spam comment caught, all done right? Wrong.

It's not ok just to remove the spam comment on your site and sit back thinking "that's one spammer thwarted for the day," because there will be others who are more open to spam, who will not thwart the spammer and find themselves unwittingly putting cash in the pockets of spammers. I raised the issue with a link to a page on my former university faculty's domain, and it was dealt with fairly swiftly. Now, even if that page has slipped past a spam blocker, it's no longer pointing at a valid page and the spammer is again thwarted.

There has to be a way to harness the power of Akismet and other such spam blocking mechanisms to provide feedback to webmasters, rather than just blocking spam. Blocking is a rather selfish approach – "it's not on my site, so it's not my problem". What might be better is to email the webmaster of the domain on which the spam page is hosted in order for the page to get shut down. This might not catch all pages – invariably a large proportion of the links will lead directly to the target page, the spammer's client – but it will catch pages on legitimate sites and help reduce the credibility given to such spam.

Caveat: where this is tricky is in finding the right email to send to. Email is rarely published on pages now, for risk of further spam directly in the box. A standard email address like webmaster@somedomain is probably spammed enough already, or even ignored. Proposal of a standard email would likely get shot down in flames. Something to think about still.

Attn: New People Catching The Train

Dear all new people catching the train,

Yes, I realise that the price of petrol has gone significantly higher, and it's now much more cost effective to catch the train than sit for an hour in traffic. Welcome to the public transport system, we're (kinda) glad to have you here – more money in the form of more tickets can only mean good things for all our heavily subsidised public transport. However, as a regular train user, I would be neglectful if I did not bring to your attention a few things… just to keep us all happy. It's for the good of all, you understand of course.

Ways to make everyone's journey easier:

• Don't wait until the last minute to get up and run for the doors.
• Wait for people to get off the train before getting on. The train will wait.
• If someone who knows the timetable is running to make their train, don't stand in their way.
• Your bag/purse/laptop/newspaper does not deserve a seat. Neither does your umbrella, espcially so if it's wet. The floor or your lap is perfectly acceptable.
• Reading a broadsheet newspaper in morning peak is a no-no, unless you're a master of newspaper origami. A master.
• Don't stand in the stairwell. Don't stand in the door when people are trying to get out – hop out, hop back in.

Ways to avoid potentially looking stupid:

• Work out which way the ticket goes into the gate first. No-one in the morning peak will appreciate you trying to work it out at the gate.
• Ladies, the train is not a powder room. Applying lipstick is acceptable, basic facial make-up is borderline. Do not pluck eyebrows, apply mascara, or use a battery-powered curling iron to maintain that hairstyle. It's really not a good look. Guys… no, don't do it. If you're doing to apply any makeup at all, do so in the privacy in your own house.
• Don't try to change from comfortable clothing into businesswear halfway in. I don't know what you did in your car, but this isn't an overnight flight or something.
• Do not eat your breakfast on the train unless it is small and manageable. This means no cereal. Under any circumstances.
• Follow the cue of regular passengers when it comes to picking the door to stand in front of, if you're in that much of a rush.
• Don't loudly complain on the phone that you're "surrounded by people" on the train. Public transport, buddy.
• In fact, just don't use the phone for anything longer than a 2 minute call. We don't necessarily want to hear what Louise got up to last night, as saucy and unbelievable as it might be.
• Occasionally though we might. Not in the morning though. That's just distracting.
• Remember: left side of the stairs, please.