Getting unwanted messages on your Guest Book and Message Board pages can be down right frustrating, so we've made some improvements to help you manage and get rid of all that spam.
Currently, both layouts already include a captcha -- an image with text in that any poster has to correctly enter for their message to show. Now, in addition to this, we have added:
- an automated spam checker that will hide comments that look like spam and after 14 days delete them,
- the ability to mark or unmark posts as spam,
- the ability for the spam checker to learn what is and is not spam based on what you mark/unmark as spam.
You can easily view posts marked as spam by going to your Guest Book or Message Board pages. Items marked as spam will show greyed out to you as a logged in administrator. To mark or unmark items as spam, checkmark the item and then click the "Mark as Spam" or "Not Spam" buttons at the top.
Alternatively, you can view all your spam in one place by clicking "Edit Page" on your Guest Book or Message Board page and then "Spam Management." Again, you can unmark spam. You also have the option to sort items by clicking on "USER" or "INSERTED" at the top.
On the Message Board page, note that if all messages in a topic are marked as spam, the topic no longer appears to your visitors. However, if any post in that topic is unmarked as spam, the topic will show again.
It's highly recommended that you take the time to mark and unmark spam. Remember, over time, this will help the spam checker to learn better what you want to keep and what you want removed.