Comment Moderation and Word Verification

On my ABC Wedenesday post MorningAJ commented that I didn't need moderation and word verification on my comments and that I was wasting our (emboldened) time in having both. I beg to disagree. Here is an example of what happened last time I took word verification off.

"Did you really need to post a picture of your daddy's ***** . It's rancid. And get that b****y broken chair numb ****. And do some constructive work in your bloody life. Why don't you spend the day teaching your son to fix a F******d up bicycle ...."

There was more in that one comment alone.

By having moderation I can protect YOU from that but what about ME.

So for future reference - that's why I have comment moderation - to protect you - and word verification - to protect myself from some of those idiots out there. I don't want to be having to read stuff like that when I turn on my computer. It reduces auto-selling of breast enlargement and viagara - I've never really wanted either - and discourages others from wasting my time and theirs in deleting comments I would rather protect myself from in the first place.

My blog aims to be be reasonably people friendly, ethicqal, uncritical of diversity and non-aggressive (and even child friendly with the exception of the occasional slightly adult joke I couldn't resist for Happy Monday). Why should I have to lower myself to their level when I switch on my comment moderation? The price of fame I hear you say!

(And please don't suggest that I restrict it to people having Google accounts. I do. Have you ever tried complaining about a blogger to Google? Don't waste your time! For a while I had to have it open to all commenters because one of my close friends didn't have a Google account. Too much spam soon put paid to that but thank heavens she now has an account).