Friday, February 24, 2012

Paint Party Friday: Week 50 Check-In


Welcome to Week 50 of Paint Party Friday!! Wow! Last week was another awesome week with so many wonderful paintings by our regular and a number of new partyers. Great to have you all joining us!

Last week, unfortunately, had one overwhelming factor hindering our enjoyment of the party and our fun in visiting each other and leaving comments. Blogger has changed their word verification so it is now all captcha and asks "Are you a robot?" We hadn't known it but we have discovered we are robots. We find the new word verification very difficult to read. Some of you have vision and hearing problems and we know for you it is much worse. Many of you have voiced your frustration with the new captchas, so we are again entering a plea here. PLEASE turn off your word verification.**

One of the things we love so much about PPF (and we are frequently told that it is what you also love) is the community of artists here and everyone's warmth and friendliness in visiting each other. We want to encourage visiting and commenting.  Captcha is seriously discouraging it. People are leaving rather than entering those annoying letters.

It is the default setting on Blogger so you may have it on and not even know it! First thing to do is check to see if it is on. We are not techies, but here is our attempt at an explanation:

 - Go the your Dashboard
 - Click on Settings
 - Click on Comments
  • You want to show comments so we can all see what everyone is saying
  • Please allow anyone to comment as not everyone uses Blogger and it helps our friends and fellow PPFers who have their own websites or use Wordpress or Typepad to be able to comment
  • The next 6 are less important  - whatever you prefer*
  • Comment Moderation - if you are getting odd comments or spam gets though the usually very good spam filter that Blogger employs or are paranoid (like EVA. Kristin and PPF don't use it and have had few if any problems - knock on wood!), you may want to approve comments. (If so, enter an email address. One you can look at easily because on Fridays it might be busy!)
  • Show word verification - NO!
  • Remember to SAVE!
Here are two links to perhaps better explanations with more visuals - a Youtube video done by Randomosity and a post by Cheriquitecontrary with screen captures.

While we are talking about Blogger settings, PPFer Geri of My Heart Art has a great explanation on getting replies so you are not a "no-reply blogger". (Dashboard - Edit Profile - check "show my email address" and enter it - SAVE profile.) We changed our settings when she first mentioned it and it is great to hear back from someone who has appreciated your comment. If you are uncomfortable with sharing your personal email address then email us (link on sidebar) and we can send you an invitation to get a gmail account which you can forward to another address.

**Having said all this, if you are having serious spam or security issues, of course you should keep word verification on or if you've tried the other options and moderation (and deleting spam) isn't working for you. We want you to feel safe.**

Phew - was that enough talking? Barely time for a poll. Last week's showed that while most of you are painting purists and haven't used digital painting programs, many would be willing to try! This week, we thought we'd ask about blog security since it is on our minds.


Please make sure to use your post URL address NOT your blog home page URL address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 Check-Ins.


Have a great time at the party!

*EVA has found that even with moderation some spam slips in unless she uses "embedded below post" on the Comment Moderation Placement section, then none does.

59 comments:

  1. I get a huge amount of spam, but my spam filters catch ALL of it. That's wordpress though. I go through it and maybe out of 50 spams, I will find 1 or 2 comments from real people.

    Mimi Torchia Boothby Watercolors

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  2. Thank you, Kristin and Eva, for hosting!
    And thank you for your help with comments...I could barely read those letter verifications and it was frustrating.

    ♥♥♥
    Happy PPF!!
    Mary
    Mixed-Media Map Art

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  3. Happy PPF everyone. I am so excited. I had an art dealer and gallery owner come by my house tonight. She critiqued my art pieces that I have been showing here on PPF. Made me a deal and took 9 out of 10 sculptural paintings. She even purchased them for way more than I thought. Yeahhhhh!!!!!
    Thanks Eva and Christin for all the inspiration and motivation.
    Nicole/Beadwright

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  4. great topic this week ladies! The captcha code is a bit offputting for me.

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  5. The captcha code is sooo frustrating and I have at times got frustrated enough to give up on leaving a comment! Patsy from
    HeARTworks

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  6. I checked my comments area and don't think I have captcha, but you will have to tell me if I do. I really find it annoying, too. Happy PPF!

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  7. thank you for encouraging everyone to turn off word verification. it really would be a big relief and help to make commenting easier!

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  8. My email is pretty good at detecting spam. . . I hate the 'captcha' and I know some of you have not had my comments added, sorry, but I did visit. I do not, nor would I ever, use that stupid thing. Thanks for all the comments on the captcha and how to get rid of it, because I would bet that there are many comments not being recorded for those who have it. Blessings, Janet Happy PPF

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  9. Glad we are all in agreement. Maybe it will make Google stop with the crazy word verification stuff, if they see we don't use it. It's just as easy to delete spam if you moderate your comments. Happy PPF all!

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  10. I get a bit of anonymous spam but it's random and easy to delete so far. I'm definitely not a fan of captcha! It's great you had the tutorial. Also, I really like it when people leave their PPF list number (where they appear this week on the list) as it makes it much easier to see their blog and comment back as many people have multiple blogs and names, this shortens the process and allows me to visit more people.

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  11. I'm going to take the comment verification thingy off cause it annoys me. I've only had one spam comment so far anyway. Thanks for hosting another PPF, this is seriously helping me keep my sanity until we are settled in the city!

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  12. I so agree with you on this one - it's easy just to moderate comments rather than to have the word thingy on and now it IS A NIGHTMARE!!
    Good topic - thanks for airing it.

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  13. I have had occasional spam comments, but they are easily deleted! Captcha is MUCH worse. As I do not see very well, I sometimes need several minutes to work out what the word is, and I HATE those word verfications in the meantime! Happy PPF, Valerie

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  14. I've found that turning off anonymous option helped a lot with spam. I'm not a fan of captcha so I don't have it on my blog and it's seriously frustrating to get it right these days when I'm trying to comment on sombody's blog.

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  15. I'm totally open and even allow anonymous comments. The blogger spam filter catches 99% of spam that comes through.
    Rinda

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  16. Yes, the spam filter is really good. Happy PPF anyone! This week was cat week in drawing Hope you like my kitties.

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  17. I'm so glad you raised this as a topic as the new word verification is so difficult to make out and it definitely makes commenting more difficult. I just doublechecked that I didn't have my set to that as default and thankfully I don't!

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  18. I have finally got to remove my captcha code. It was very annoying. If I see that spam is too much, I'll set up a moderation on comments. Have a great weekend!!

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  19. Hello, I do it, it^s important for the comunication in this site. Xo

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  20. So glad you raised this subject again as we all love to support each other and get very frustrated when we can't because of that new coding. Enjoy a word verification free weekend, Annette x

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  21. Yay to killing captcha! I switched mine off ages ago and the spam filter picks up all the rubbish so it's cool. This last week has been a real frustration. Your heart sinks when you see those blurry letters appear...

    My personal theory is that blogger did this on purpose to push people into switching it off. Their spam filters are so much better these days. I've found that it really is unnecessary to have it on.

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  22. By the way ladies - I do love the quirky illustrations you create for us every week. I think this week's is my favourite!

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  23. I'm glad you wrote this as a topic as the new word verification is so difficult to make out .In our german-speaking forums we help each other to make the right settings on our blogs to turn off our word verificatons.
    I am so happy that I found this party and to find so much new artist-blogs within the partyguests every week!
    Thank you very much for this!

    xxx Susi from Austria

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  24. Thanks Kristen and Eva for hosting Paint Party Friday, it's my second time I submit and I love it here! xx

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  25. That´s incredible... the most of the participants have got their word verifications still on...
    next week I won´t comment on such blogs any more that´s boring!

    have a nice weekend... that´s a sign for me that the most peaple don´t read anything! LOL!

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  26. Thanks for hosting ~ thanks for info ~ don't have place to 'turn off robot ~ so don't think I have it on my comments ~ please let me know if I do ~ namaste, carol (A Creative Harbor)

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  27. Thank you so much hosting Kristen and Eva! It's also good to know, that I am not the only one with word verification problems; it has been very frustrating! Hopefully this week commenting will be easier. Happy PPF! <3

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  28. thankyou fore adressing captcha, its a misery for me.
    Thankyou for hosting again this week, now lets have a party!

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  29. thank you so much! so very frustrating! i have had a blogger blog for 4 years and if you just moderate your comments, either blogger or the email will catch anyone who isn't there for commenting purposes...also, i disable anonymous comments...hope you have a great weekend, and thanks for ALL you do here!!

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  30. Thank you for addressing both issues. I am an artist but not a techie, so I appreciate a little hand holding in these areas. I had taken the captcha off quite awhile ago thinking it would help get more comments.(before the change- I am in misery and hate to even comment anymore.) I will work on the other e-mail reply thing so I too can reply to comments. I wish blogger would add the option to comment on the actual post like other sites. Also, thank you for hosting!

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  31. Glad to join the party this week!! Thanks for addressing captcha, it always takes me a couple of times to type it in correctly and drives me crazy.

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  32. so far almost every blog I visited from here so far today had word verification on... and i failed the spelling test twice.. ARGH!!!

    Mimi Torchia Boothby Watercolors

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  33. Happy PPF everyone! Thanks for all the great info on blogger and comments. So helpful!

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  34. Thanks for the great tips re: blogger comments!
    Glad to be part of the party. :-) HAPPY FRIDAY!!

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  35. Hi Everyone Happy PPF..thanks Eva and Kristin for hosting each week..you are both so fab!

    yes those captchas make me dizzy and a little crazy ha ha!

    Wishihg you all a sparkling wkd
    victoria

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  36. sometimes the capchas are so crazy and hard to read, I really hate them; once took 5 tries to leave a comment on a persons blog!

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  37. Thanks for pointing out that not everyone uses blogger and that some of us use typepad or wordpress and things work a little differently for us. I love the robot he is too cute! lol

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  38. Happy PPF!!! I will check my settings so it's easier to comment. :)

    Jenny

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  39. with newer version of blogger you can embedd comments and then be able to reply ~ to commenters ~ ^_^ ~

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  40. Somehow or other, word verification got set up on my blog & I didn't know it!! Thanks to EVA for letting me know. I have finally gotten rid of it! (and I hate capcha too!!)

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  41. I frankly gave up on commenting on blogs with captcha. :o(
    The new double word is awful! And sometimes the button after the verification is hidden, tucked in under a window ...??! If I have to go jumping too many hoops, I simply have opted for not commenting.
    I strongly recommend people to go and try their own blogs and see how hard or not they are to have visitors feel like making a comment and leave happy.
    I have been talking about this issue for a long time, and I'm happy to see you ladies are too.
    Lets see if more people get rid of it, and make blogging comments easier for all.

    The only thing that gave me spam was when I published my email, so that part I keep private.

    Thanks for this party, is awesome!

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  42. Hi, this is my first time posting. This painting was done in a class I take every week. I do not do alot of painting except what I do in class. I hopefully will have my next one done in a couple of weeks. I love all the work the people do and will definetly be visiting some of the blogs and leaving comments.

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  43. Hooray... it's Friday again! I've posted a special giveaway for my birthday so don't be shy... it's not too late to enter!
    Happy painting everyone!
    Renee
    xoxo

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  44. Well, silly me thought I had no word verification...wrong, I guess I did. But today I have changed it back, so should be easy for everyone to visit me and like wise for sites without Captcha.
    Thanks so very, very much to both Eva and Kristin for this fab painting community, enjoy it a lot and for addressing the word identity issue...very frustrating; hopefully many will follow thru with disconnecting it.

    Annabelle ; )

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  45. I haven' t had any problems with shutting off my word verification. I have great difficulty with the double word and always get it wrong....trying 4 times. I now try once and if it doesn't work, sorry I can't comment.

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  46. New here and just turned off my word verification! Excited to participate! - Jill

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  47. I just shut off my word verification. I go back and forth with turning it off when the spam gets to be too much. ;)

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  48. I have had no comment control for over two years and never a bit of spam. None so far (knock on wood). Happy PPF!!

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  49. Thank you for the tip! I don't know if mine has problems, but sure I will check. Thank you for hosting another PPF. I missed several!

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  50. The spam filter works pretty well at my blog (Blogger). I switched word verification off quite a while ago - I still feel pretty safe with moderating the comments. I didn't leave some comments on other blogs because I couldn't for the heck of it read the captcha - such crap!

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  51. Happy PPF!! I just shut off my word verification. I was using the new blogger interface and couldn't figure out how to shut off the comments there. I had to go back to the old interface to do it. I have had a couple spam comments even with the word verification, so we'll see how things go without it. From what everyone is saying, it shouldn't really be a problem.

    Glad to be joining the party, again. Thanks Eva and Kristin! Hooray for 50 weeks of PPF!!

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  52. I just shut off my word verification, too and am sorry I didn't do it sooner. Your instructions are very helpful. I haven't had any spam problems yet, though I am still pretty new to blogging. Thanks again for hosting PPF!!

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  53. Spam scares me! But I totally understand about the captcha thing. It annoys me too. Glad I have never used it on my blog!! :) Have a great week! And thank you again for sponsoring such a wonderful Linky Party!!!

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  54. Downton Abbey withdrawl is my inspiration this week. I don't even watch much TV but I was hooked!

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  55. i think Captcha's a good example of a 'good idea gone bad'. thanks sooooo much for writing about it!!! I had no idea I was not the only one who found it.....difficult

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  56. I'm glad to join you this week!!!
    Happy PPF

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  57. Missed ya, back in the painting swing of things!

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  58. I get the odd one...b
    and i don't have letter recognition as well...thanks again for the party...xx

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