[wp-hackers] An idea for preventing spam

[Kyle VanderBeek]

On Sun, Apr 10, 2005 at 02:08:12PM -0400, Basil Crow wrote:
> The idea is: automatically put the comment in moderation (or even mark 
> it as spam) if it ends with
>    by <a href="(.*)">(.*)</a>
> since most comment spam I'm getting nowadays ends with the words "by" 
> and a link.

In the anti-spam world[1], we'd call that a "bad solution".  Though it
would catch some spam, it's far too simple.  I'd bet on about a 40% or 
more false positive rate.

This certainly doesn't warrant a plugin of its own, IMHO.  Doesn't 
someone have a plugin that allows you to apply a customizable set of 
regex's to comments?

[1] I actually work in the email and anti-spam world for a living.

-- 
kylev at kylev.com
  Some people have a way with words, while others... erm... thingy.