We're sorry for the frustration some of you have experienced trying to comment on the website. Our web experts explain:
"Our site had a sudden and overwhelming surge in the number of comments being left by Spam engines (thousands a day). Any Spam filter is going to have a small percentage of 'false catches'. When the number of actual Spam messages increases to the rate we have seen, that small percentage of 'false catches' is suddenly a much bigger number.
When this all started, if a comment of yours was withheld, some of you tried submitting it again and again. But that is a key trigger for a Spam engine and the system 'learned' that you were trying to Spam the site. Then many of you created a number of usernames, and/or used a number of email addresses from the same computer to try to get around the problem. Another huge flag for the Spam engine.
Frustratingly for you - and for us - the computer now can't tell the difference between some of you and the 'bad guys'.
We are doing what we can technically on the backend to reteach the Spam filter. In the meantime, we apologize, thank you for your interest, and ask for your patience."
A Note To Our Valued Commenters
/ CBS Boston
We're sorry for the frustration some of you have experienced trying to comment on the website. Our web experts explain:
"Our site had a sudden and overwhelming surge in the number of comments being left by Spam engines (thousands a day). Any Spam filter is going to have a small percentage of 'false catches'. When the number of actual Spam messages increases to the rate we have seen, that small percentage of 'false catches' is suddenly a much bigger number.
When this all started, if a comment of yours was withheld, some of you tried submitting it again and again. But that is a key trigger for a Spam engine and the system 'learned' that you were trying to Spam the site. Then many of you created a number of usernames, and/or used a number of email addresses from the same computer to try to get around the problem. Another huge flag for the Spam engine.
Frustratingly for you - and for us - the computer now can't tell the difference between some of you and the 'bad guys'.
We are doing what we can technically on the backend to reteach the Spam filter. In the meantime, we apologize, thank you for your interest, and ask for your patience."
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