Is SC moving? Maybe

A few minutes ago, your host attempted to reply to a comment left in the post "Call me", and was greeted with this error message:

Your comment has not been posted because the computer you are using appears on a list of machines exploitable by spammers. You can fix the problem by consulting the following results

dnsbl.sorbs.net - HTTP Proxy See: http://www.dnsbl.sorbs.net/cgi-bin/lookup?IP=XX.XXX.XXX.XXX; Dynamic IP Address See: http://www.dnsbl.sorbs.net/cgi-bin/lookup?IP=XX.XXX.XXX.XXX
dnsbl.njabl.org - open proxy -- 1076661603
[IP addresses changed to protect SC's privacy]

It seems that, in response to the growth of comment spam, TypePad has taken advantage of a couple of blacklists which work according to the following criteria: "due to your mail server being misconfigured as an open relay or your computer's IP address being listed as a dynamic/dial-up IP". The latter one is the relevant problem in this case; SC does in fact make use of a dynamic IP address. TypePad provides a workaround by allowing the user to enter a verification code by reading text that's been garbled, just like Yahoo uses to verify that real humans are registering for their e-mail services, but the idea that I'm now treated like a stranger at my own blog makes me quite irritated. Had SC been irradiated in the right place at the right time, the phrase "Hulk SMASH TypePad!" might be appropriate now.

Your host has no special expertise to offer in regard to the problem of fighting spam or ads. He will mention that he's ruined the "search" function in his notebook's installation of Windows XP due to overzealous attempts to remove the toxic "ShopNav" search assistant, which he never consented to install (annoyingly, the search function no longer works, but SC's IE installation still gets redirected to "drsnsearch.com" frequently). Judged merely by the number of hours of productivity that spammers are causing everyone to to lose, SC would favor the death penalty for these schmucks, but that has the unfortunate property of ending quickly, while spam does not. Therefore, your host proposes instead that they receive life sentences, with the only entertainment being computers in their jail cells with web browsers specially rigged to redirect all requests to randomly selected advertising sites. If only Hammurabi had been born at the right time to practice Internet law...

As for the practical consequences of this development, SC apologizes to his readers for the intrusion, and promises to consider alternate hosting ideas. However, a move only makes sense if I have reason to believe that comments will become meaningfully more secure as a result without imposing excessively onerous burdens on readers. Suggestions very welcome.

Comments

[blinger]

if you decide to move I would suggest going with POWWEB for hosting. You could use MovableType to power your blog, I'm pretty sure typepad templates, and MT templates are fully compatible.

Or you could consider migrating to some other blogging tools which offer greater versatility than MT, such as drupal,nucleus wordpress, or B2evolution - all of which are free. There are additionally paid software such as expression engine which I am using.

I would suggest that you take a look at the Blog software breakdown comparison chart to help you decide. If you decide to go with POWWEB for hosting, I get a little kickback if you go through this link as my referrer id is included.

If/when you decide to move, if you need help with anything just let me know and I'll be willing to help out. Once you move to your own paid hosting you will realize that you have much more versatility and freedom to do what you want with a site vs being with a blog only host.

[codeman38]

So how would a blind or severely dyslexic person on a known dynamic IP address leave a comment, anyway? That's one of my biggest annoyances with those anti-spambot techniques: they're blatantly inaccessible, with no workaround...

I like hosting my own blog, incidentally because I can block spam by blacklisting certain spammy words and domain names as well as *known* spammer IPs (as in, those that have actually posted spam to my blog), and can also screen comments with suspicious content so that they only show up upon my approval.