The Spammers Found My Site Before My Target Audience Did. Figures. 🙄

The bots keep saying 'Hello dear.' Dude... even my VCR had better pickup lines. 😄📼

I built this site hoping real people would show up and connect with my writing, music, and all the retro chaos I enjoy talking about.

Instead, the first visitors were spambots with suspicious usernames, weird links, and the kind of enthusiasm only a broken script could love.

If you've ever launched a blog and watched the comment section fill up with "Great post dear" from accounts that clearly weren't born yesterday, you know the feeling. It's like setting up a brand-new arcade cabinet and having a raccoon crawl inside before the kids even get a turn.

I mean, really?

I spend time writing, designing, and polishing everything so it feels welcoming, and the spambots arrive like they got a VIP invitation. Meanwhile, my actual audience is still out there somewhere, probably searching for me with one hand on the keyboard ⌨ and the other holding coffee. ☕

So this post is my little Xennial rant about that glorious reality: how the bots found me first, what I did about it, and why I eventually stopped trying to be polite to digital freeloaders.

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So... You Filled Out the Sign-Up Form... Just to Spam Me?

The spammers found my blog. Oh no!

Let's walk through this totally radical journey. A spammer somehow discovers my website. Instead of thinking, "Hey, maybe this site isn't for me," they decide to...

1. Visit the sign-up page.

2. Enter a name.

3. Enter an email address.

4. Pass the CAPTCHA.

5. Confirm their account.

6. Log in.

7. Ignore the giant "Don't spam" notice.

8. Finally post... the digital equivalent of someone stuffing junk flyers into my mailbox.
   

Congratulations? That's a lot of effort just to become the internet version of a telemarketer. It's like buying a ticket to a concert, waiting in line for two hours, finding your seat... and then spending the whole show trying to sell everyone extended car warranties.

Who wakes up and says, (("You know what sounds like a productive day? Creating fake accounts on random websites so I can advertise things nobody asked for."))

Apparently, somebody does.😏 The amount of effort you put into getting banned could've been used to learn an actual skill.

And let's talk about CAPTCHA for a second. That little box is basically standing at the front door asking, "Are you a robot?"

The spammer clicks... "I'm not."

CAPTCHA: "...Good enough."

Dude... even my Nintendo games asked harder questions than that.

Meanwhile, I'm over here writing blog posts about Synthwave, faith, music, creativity, and game art... and the spambots are treating my member list like it's an all-you-can-spam buffet. Bold strategy, cotton.

The funny thing is, every extra step they have to take just makes me more confused.

They willingly signed up. They willingly logged in. They willingly ignored every clue that said, "This isn't the place for spam." That's commitment. Misguided commitment... but commitment nonetheless.

The good news? The Delete button is still undefeated. Every fake account they make eventually meets the same final boss. Game Over. Please insert fewer coins.

You jumped through every hoop on the sign-up page just to discover the Delete button jumps higher. You've officially completed the CAPTCHA, verified your email, logged in, posted spam... and unlocked the exclusive "Account Not Found" participation trophy achievement. 🏆 Way to go, champ! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

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So... Why Do Spammers Keep Showing Up on Blogs?

I've been thinking about this. 🤔Out of the entire internet... they choose my little corner of Synthwave, faith, music, and creativity to drop a random spam link. Really?

Picture this: Someone spends hours writing a heartfelt blog about creativity, hope, or retro music. The spambots read exactly none of it. Instead, they burst through the front door yelling:

⚖ (("BUY CRYPTO!"))

🤑(("GET RICH FAST!"))

🌎(("VISIT MY AMAZING WEBSITE!"))

It's like someone walking into a church potluck, ignoring the food, and shouting, (("WHO WANTS TO BUY A USED LEAF BLOWER?"))

Wrong audience, dude. The funny thing is, spambots don't care what your blog is about.

• 🏝 Synthwave? Spam.

• ✝ Faith? Spam.

• 🍳 Cooking? Spam.

• 😺 Cat photos? Believe it or not... also spam.

They're basically the digital version of someone throwing advertising flyers out of a helicopter and hoping one lands somewhere useful. No strategy. No context. Just...

(("Maybe this one."))

What's even funnier is that many of them aren't trying to join a community at all.

They're hoping their links stay posted long enough for someone, somewhere, to click them. It's the internet equivalent of taping a business card to every telephone pole in town and hoping for the best. Except instead of telephone poles... it's my comment section. Not on my watch, scammers.

So if you're a real visitor... Welcome aboard. If you're a spam bot... The delete button has been lifting weights. It's ready for another workout.

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How To Finally Tell the Spambots, "Game Over."

Retro Sonya reacts to spam bots on her blog

After deleting enough spam comments to fill an entire floppy disk collection, I finally decided enough was enough. My first line of defense?

Comment Approval.

Instead of letting every random comment instantly appear under my blogs, I switched to requiring approval first.

Translation:

"You can knock on the door... but I'm looking through the peephole before I let you in."

Totally radical.

If you're using Wix Blog, here's how to turn it on:

1. Go to your Wix Dashboard.

2. Click Blog.

3. Select Comments.

4. Go to Moderation Rules.

5. Add a rule!

6. Turn on Approve comments before they're published (You set the rules based on comments left with links, attachments, media, keywords, and who to include or exclude from that rule). You can even choose to have them deleted as soon as they are detected, so you won't have to manually do it every time. How convenient!

Spambots can still knock... but they don't get to redecorate your blog with sketchy links.

Unfortunately... the spambots still showed up. They just traded instant spam for a waiting room. That's when I realized... Why am I spending my evenings playing Whack-a-Spam? So I cranked it up another notch.

Comments Disabled.

Cue the tiny violin for the spambots.

If you're using Wix, disabling comments is simple:

1. Open the blog post in your Wix Editor.

2. Click the Post Settings (or the post options menu).

3. Turn Comments off for that post.

Or, if you'd rather disable comments across your blog, go to your blog's comment settings and switch comments off site-wide. Some people might think disabling comments sounds harsh. I call it reclaiming my sanity.

Protecting your community from spam bots

If someone signs up for my website only to post junk, they're not joining the community anyway. They're treating your blog like a free advertising billboard.

Wrong arcade, dudes.

I'd rather have one genuine comment from someone who connected with my music, Synthwave, or faith than a hundred fake comments that all begin with:

(("Hello dear..."))

No. We're not doing that.

Think of it this way. If someone walked into your house carrying a stack of junk flyers, you wouldn't hand them a megaphone. You'd point them toward the door.

Same principle.

Your website.

Your rules.

The spambots can go find another arcade cabinet to mash buttons on.

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Conclusion: Sorry, Spambots... The Arcade Is Closed.

So, what's the moral of the story? If you're running a blog, don't feel guilty for protecting your community. The internet has enough noise already. Your website doesn't have to become the digital equivalent of a freeway billboard covered in "LOSE 30 POUNDS IN 30 MINUTES!" stickers.

Real readers are looking for real conversations. Spambots are looking for free advertising. Those are not the same thing.

Spam will be deleted on site, and so will the spam account.

After enough "Hello dear..." messages and enough mystery links to places I'd never visit with someone else's browser, I finally decided my time was worth more than babysitting fake accounts. Totally tubular decision.

To the spambots reading this... First of all... I'm impressed. You somehow found a blog about Synthwave, faith, creativity, and retro nostalgia. You created an account. You solved a CAPTCHA. You ignored the giant "No Spam" notice. You posted your link anyway. That's an Olympic-level commitment to making bad life choices.

Imagine if you redirected that kind of persistence toward something useful. You'd probably have a successful career by now. Instead, it's...

Delete.

Ban.

Game Over.

Insert fewer spam links. Learn a skill for crying out loud! Or don't. It's your bad decision.

The best part? The real visitors are still here. They're the ones who stick around to talk about shimmering synths, retro games, faith, creativity, and all the wonderfully nerdy things this site was actually built for.

Everybody else? Well... There's an eject button on every VCR for a reason.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to crank up some Synthwave, sip my coffee, and enjoy the sweet sound of spambots bouncing off the moderation queue like Goombas running into a brick wall.

Stay rad.

Stay creative.

And may your comment section contain more humans than bots.

That's the most tubular ending I can think of. 📼😎

Have you ever had spam ruin your vibe? Tell me your worst spam story below. #BlogPost #IndieArtist #WebsiteTips #ContentCreators #RetroSonya