I’ve been getting strange referrals in my stat logs for a few days now. All are coming from different sites stats pages. Some are not accessible but a few have published their stats and sure enough, my blog is listed as a referral. The mystery is that I’ve never seen any of the sites, so I could not have referred them to anyone. Now, how the heck did my domain get into their referral logs? Almost all of these sites look legit, most being other blogs. I doubt they are manipulating their referral logs, especially those logs that are not for public consumption. So what’s the deal? Is some spammer playing with me and if so, why? What can he/she possibly gain by using my domain to spam others referral logs with? It’s a mystery and will probably remain a mystery unless someone floats by and can enlighten me.
One of the referrals was from a blog that had a piece on one of the WordPress developers gaming Google with hidden links/content. I got caught up in reading all the hoop-la and found it interesting at how quick some people are to judge without having all the information. The developer did make a mistake, whether it was done with full knowledge of the possible outcome or not makes little difference to me. He admitted to his mistakes, fixed them and took responsibility. What more can anyone expect?
What I find unbelievable is those who are demanding that he keep the WordPress community updated on what the developers are doing to earn money. I mean, he should ask them if it’s okay? Is that reasonable? I’m completely mystified at some of the demands users have made. I don’t even count those who don’t use WordPress, they just jumped on the flame bandwagon, in my opinion because they are the type who love to see something successful burn! Some kind of sick thrill-seekers. WordPress is free for crying-out-loud. Why would anyone begrudge the developers earning money off their product and/or success? I just can’t believe how small-minded some people are.
If you haven’t seen the original release it can be found Here. The developer’s reply can be found Here. You makeup your own mind. Should the developer be tared-and-feathered for his misdeeds? Should we all stop using WordPress? You decide.
Hi. You showed up on my referral list so I stopped by. I’m not sure if a spammer has gotten your url or not, but it’s quite possible. At any rate, hello.
Hello, Diosa, glad you stopped by and left a comment. I have never seen your blog before just now. This mystery will drive me nuts. I’ll probably spend days trying to figure it out! I doubt there is much I can do about it, if it is some sleazy spammer playing games.
Hi.
You showed up on my referral list 3 times on what would have been Friday, since I read it Saturday afternoon. I visited yesterday to see what it was and couldn’t find a link at all. I really like your blog though. You have some informative articles on writing and dealing with comment spam, so I bookmarked you in my del.icio.us links. I managed to thwart a comment spammer using Spam Karma. The onslaught finally came to a stop yesterday, though I hope they’re not regrouping for another attack.
Anyway, best of luck with all the troubles.
You showed up on my referral stats, as well. I get tons of spam referrals on my stats, but I can usually tell from the name whether it’s spam or not. Your URL sounded normal, so I stopped by.
Good luck solving your mystery!
Thanks, sauceruney and Mad Kane, for leaving a comment and letting me know that your referral logs were spammed with my domain name. At least now you might get a few legit referral from my blog.
Maybe I should ask for the spammer’s IP but I’m betting he/she used a proxy. This is becoming more annoying than mysterious but it’s not all bad. At least I get to meet a few new people and visit blogs that I would not normally visit.
I’m in the same boat is Mad Kane and the rest, Glo, but I’m n ot seeing it as a bad thing. I’ve found your blog because of it, which is reason enough not to be annoyed on my part
Thanks, Jeremy. I can only hope others feel the same way. I sure do not want anyone thinking I’m a low-life spammer. I shutter at the thought! I’ve spent way too much time fighting spam to become a spammer. I don’t understand the mentality of spammers at all.
I’m sure they will get tired of the game eventually. Until then I guess I will just be looking at others blogs and enjoy myself. You have a nice writing style and I enjoyed some of the posts on your site.
Hi,
I noticed that I had some referrals coming from your site but I cannot tell where they are on your pages. Anyway, I like your site and I will add you to my blog list.
m&s
Sorry, m&s, there are no links on this site to your site. It’s a cruel game a spammer is playing with my domain. But thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. I can’t even imagine how many sites were referral spammed with my domain.
Thanks glo, very kind of you! Let’s hope the game remains benign.
Wouldn’t you get a referral from various blogs and other pages if visitors at said blogs/pages decided to visit you, and by way of snapping the fingers (or clicking a previously placed bookmark) ended up with you? At least, that’s how I have read the entries in my stat log. If I’m right, I may have caused a referral from my blog now.
You only get legit referrals in your logs when someone clicks a link to your site that’s on someone Else’s site, hence the term referral. Bookmarks (links on your own computer) are logged differently in your logs and have no referral address attached. Spam referrals are done with a script/bot - no live person visits your site from the spam (referral) address.
I have always thought it a wast of the spammers time to send referral spam to sites that do not publish their logs. I just didn’t get why they would do what they do. Now that my domain name has been used to spam others with, I’m amazed at how many actually click on the referral links in their logs. I think clicking on a link inside my referral logs is giving the spammers far too much information about my site, which could compromise my sites security. If you’re that curious about the referral (which I usually am), then copy and past the referral address into another browser window. Never click on the link inside your logs!