I'm glad someone figured out the spam trick of placing links in old comment threads on Movable Type sites (such as L.A. Observed). But what's with all the women coming here to ask for Rick Bragg's email address? Four this month (and a man) in the comments on an old post from May.
If you don't already know this, check out the Web Config area on MT, for IP banning. The person's IP is above every comment. The danger is, you may be banning a block of people you don't want to ban -- not just the spammer -- so it's best to check the address first in ARIN Who Is (http://www.arin.net/whois/). I'm sure there are pitfalls even then.
Posted by: Amy Alkon at October 14, 2003 06:28 AMBetter yet - check out the plug in released yesterday by Jay Allen MT-Black-List. I installed it last night and it's very easy to use.
Most of the IP addresses are fake and I've found that MT doesn't always ban the spooked addresses.
Posted by: cbernard at October 14, 2003 08:36 AMThanks for the suggestions. I've been blocking the IPs from the spammers for awhile. I hadn't thought the women looking for Bragg fit that categrory, but maybe they do. I figured they just had a story to tell...or were lonely.
Posted by: Kevin Roderick at October 14, 2003 10:11 AMand possibly, at some point, heard Rick Bragg.
Posted by: ben norton at October 14, 2003 05:39 PM

Don't know about Rick Bragg, but can someone please tell Jay Leno that it is pronounced NUC-LE-AR, not NUCEE-LAR?
(perhaps he can appear on the Letterman top 10).
Posted by: hanna at October 13, 2003 08:50 PM